MMA News

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.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 31, 2024

Kevin Holland believes there’s a path for him to put the current UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad to sleep. Holland has competed at both welterweight and middleweight. He currently calls the 185-pound division his home. Despite being a middleweight at the moment, Holland admits that he believes Belal Muhammad would be an easier fight for him than the reigning 185-pound king Dricus du Plessis.

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 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.

BJPENN.COM Staff - December 30, 2024

Japanese kickboxing megastar Takeru Segawa has always dreamed of stepping into the ring against Muay Thai icon Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Finally, that dream will become reality at ONE 172 on Sunday, March 23. The two striking titans will collide in a five-round flyweight kickboxing super-fight inside Japan’s legendary Saitama Super Arena.

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

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

Caio Borralho wanted to share the Octagon with Israel Adesanya in early 2025, but he thinks he knows why that will have to wait. Adesanya will be taking on Nassourdine Imavov in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card in Saudi Arabia. The bout will be taking place on February 1st. It’ll be Adesanya’s first fight off pay-per-view since 2018.

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.

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

MMA legend Rampage Jackson has detailed what he believes led to the downfall of his iconic career in the sport. As we know, Rampage Jackson is an icon within mixed martial arts. That’s been the case for decades now, as he made his mark both in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and outside of it. Of course, he declined, as is the case with most fighters.

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.

Josh Evanoff - December 27, 2024

RIZIN flyweight champion Kyoji Horiguchi wants to prove that he’s the best in the world. ‘The Typhoon’ hasn’t been seen in the ring since a bantamweight clash with Sergio Pettis in June. In a rematch of their Bellator 272 classic which saw ‘The Phenom’ score a knockout win, Kyoji Horiguchi dominated. After 15 minutes of action, he moved his unbeaten streak to five by unanimous decision.

Josh Evanoff - December 27, 2024

Canadian rapper Drake has named Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor his favorite UFC fighters of all time. It’s no secret that the 38-year-old artist is a massive fan of combat sports. Over the last few years, many fans have seen Drake place massive, million-dollar wagers on MMA and boxing events. Some of his biggest bets include a $1.6 million bet on Israel Adesanya to defeat Alex Pereira in 2022, $1 million on Alexander Volkanovski to beat Yair Rodriguez, and $450,000 on Jon Jones to knock out Stipe Miocic.