MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 31, 2024

Former ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Demetrious Johnson keeps a keen eye on all the action in ONE Championship. As a master of his craft, the American legend knows greatness when he sees it. That’s why he holds two-sport, two-division ONE World Champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 in such high regard. Johnson’s admiration was only solidified after witnessing Superlek’s incredible performance in the main event of ONE 168 this past September.

Josh Evanoff - December 31, 2024

The RIZIN ring returned to the Saitama Super Arena earlier today for their annual New Year’s Eve event. Today’s RIZIN: Decade was headlined by a trio of fun title fights. In the main event, Chihiro Suzuki looked to defend his featherweight gold against former champion Kleber Koike Erbst. The co-main saw the return of flyweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi, who faced rising contender Nkazimulo Zulu.

Josh Evanoff - December 31, 2024

Bellator featherweight contender Aaron Pico is officially a free agent. The 28-year-old featherweight has had an interesting career since signing with Scott Coker a decade ago. At just 20 years old, Aaron Pico made his professional debut on the Bellator 180 main card in June 2017. Despite a lot of pre-fight hype, Zach Freeman wound up scoring a first-round submission win over the prospect.

Josh Evanoff - December 31, 2024

UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington is still unhappy with his loss to Joaquin Buckley. ‘Chaos’ returned to the octagon in the main event of UFC Tampa earlier this month. Back for the first time since a loss to Leon Edwards last December, Colby Covington headed to the cage on short notice. After Ian Machado Garry was pulled to face Shavkat Rakhmonov, the former interim champion stepped up to face Joaquin Buckley.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2024

UFC star Tatiana Suarez is feeling confident heading into her UFC 312 strawweight title fight against Zhang Weili. At UFC 312, Tatiana Suarez will battle Zhang Weili for the UFC strawweight championship. It’s a moment that many have seen coming for quite some time, largely because of just how dominant Suarez has been whenever she’s been in the cage.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2024

UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov rated Islam Makhachev at a 4/5 after a recent training session ahead of UFC 311. The great Khabib Nurmagomedov has done some wonderful things in mixed martial arts. In addition to retiring with an unbeaten 29-0 record, he’s also helped train the next generation of superstars. Some are his own family members, and others are his close friends, such as Islam Makhachev.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2024

UFC welterweight star Ian Machado Garry has dismissed his current position in the UFC welterweight rankings. As we know, Ian Machado Garry is one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC. He’s young, he’s exciting, and he has great fight IQ. However, in his last fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov, he suffered his first loss in professional mixed martial arts.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2024

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has taken the time to reflect on his 2024 accomplishments ahead of the new year. It’s been another big, interesting year for Jon Jones. While he only competed once, that fight took place against Stipe Miocic in the main event at Madison Square Garden. On that night last month, ‘Bones’ was able to pick up a huge win to retain his UFC heavyweight title.

Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2024

Taisei Sakuraba hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps at RIZIN: Decade later this week. The young ‘Saku Jr.’ will make his MMA debut on RIZIN’s end-of-the-year show later this week. The bout will be Taisei Sakuraba’s first in the ring, but he’s no stranger to combat sports. His father is the legendary PRIDE fighter and UFC Hall of Famer, Kazushi Sakuraba. ‘The Gracie Hunter’ fought anyone and everyone, often accepting fights against opponents larger, and more experienced than himself.

Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2024

It appears the boxing match between Conor McGregor and Logan Paul is deep into negotiations. ‘The Notorious’ hasn’t been seen in the octagon in nearly four years now. Conor McGregor last faced Dustin Poirier in the summer of 2021, suffering a broken leg in the first round of their trilogy bout. While the Irishman promised a return to the UFC by the end of 2022, those plans never came to fruition.

Josh Evanoff - December 30, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili wants to be very, very, very active next year. ‘The Machine’ last appeared in the octagon in September, in the main event of Noche UFC. There, Merab Dvalishvili finally got his crack at bantamweight gold, against the hard-hitting Sean O’Malley. Ultimately, the wrestler largely controlled ‘Sugar’, winning the bout by unanimous decision after five rounds of action.

Cole Shelton - December 30, 2024

Jiri Prochazka is hoping to secure a third fight with Alex Pereira. Prochazka is 0-2 against Pereira, losing both fights by knockout. The former champ is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 311 against Jamahal Hill in an intriguing matchup. The winner of the fight would likely be in line for a title shot.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 30, 2024

One rising UFC welterweight continues to knock on Leon Edwards’ door. Edwards is hoping to start his road back to 170-pound gold on the right foot. He lost the welterweight title to Belal Muhammad back in July, which was a bitter pill for “Rocky” to swallow given he had the Manchester crowd behind him. The UFC will be returning to England on March 22, 2025.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 30, 2024

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold believes he knows who could have the edge in the upcoming light heavyweight battle between Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill. Both Prochazka and Hill have held UFC gold, but they’re coming off knockout losses to the current champion Alex Pereira. The two will share the Octagon on the UFC 311 card in hopes of holding on in the 205-pound title picture. For Hill, the path back to a title fight could be easier than for Prochazka, who has been defeated twice by “Poatan.”

Harry Kettle - December 30, 2024

UFC fighter Colby Covington has reacted to his corner wanting to throw in the towel during his UFC Tampa main event. As we know, Colby Covington took on Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa. Unfortunately for Colby, it didn’t quite pan out the way he had planned. Instead of bouncing back from defeat, he suffered a doctor stoppage loss as a result of a nasty cut on his eye.

Harry Kettle - December 30, 2024

Former UFC star Darren Till’s new opponent for his upcoming appearance at Misfits Boxing has now been revealed. As we know, Darren Till was once a big name within the context of mixed martial arts. He was a top contender in the UFC’s welterweight division, and even had a crack at the world title. Alas, following defeat to Tyron Woodley, his career went into something of a decline.

Harry Kettle - December 30, 2024

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has made some big comparisons ahead of his next fight at UFC 311 Following his win over Sean O’Malley, Merab Dvalishvili is now the UFC bantamweight champion. His dominant triumph impressed the masses and, of course, welcomed a lot of intrigue from the rest of the bantamweight division.

Harry Kettle - December 30, 2024

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has taken the time to predict who will be the male UFC champions by the end of 2025. Everybody knows that Tom Aspinall is next in line for a shot at the undisputed heavyweight championship. Of course, until negotiations are finalized with Jon Jones, he isn’t able to actually prove that he’s the best heavyweight on the planet.