MMA News

Curtis Calhoun - October 25, 2024

UFC bantamweight contender Umar Nurmagomedov didn’t take long to respond to Merab Dvalishvili’s recent outburst at a fan Q+A event. Nurmagomedov is the presumptive No. 1 bantamweight contender after defeating Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi earlier this year. The undefeated Dagestani seemed destined to face Dvalishvili following the latter’s title win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306.

Curtis Calhoun - October 25, 2024

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou responded to UFC CEO Dana White’s latest claims and accusations regarding the rocky end to his promotional tenure. Ngannou’s long-awaited return to the cage went according to plan, as he finished 2023 PFL title winner Renan Ferreira earlier this month. He was making his PFL debut after almost three full years away from the cage.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 25, 2024

After a busy 2024, two-division ONE World Champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 looks to keep his momentum rolling when he returns in January 2025.   “The Kicking Machine” defends his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title against #2-ranked contender Nico Carrillo at ONE 170 on Friday, January 24, at Bangkok, Thailand’s Impact Arena. 

Cole Shelton - October 25, 2024

Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev had an intense final faceoff ahead of their highly-anticipated UFC 308 fight. Whittaker and Chimaev are set to fight in a five-round co-main event in a crucial scrap for the middleweight division. The winner of the bout could get the next title shot and this fight is a long time coming.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 25, 2024

Merab Dvalishvili believes Umar Nurmagomedov is running scared. While many believe Nurmagomedov is deserving of a number one contender fight, rumors have swirled that his next bout will not be for a title. Instead, the word going around is that Nurmagomedov will fight Song Yadong.

Harry Kettle - October 25, 2024

UFC star Khamzat Chimaev just about managed to make weight earlier today for his clash with Robert Whittaker. As we know, Khamzat Chimaev is a pretty unpredictable guy. In the cage, he’s an undefeated monster. Outside of it, however, it’s often hard to predict what he’s going to do next. From missing weight to long periods of time on the shelf, it’s a far cry from the man who first burst onto the scene during the pandemic with two wins in less than two weeks.

Harry Kettle - October 25, 2024

Paige VanZant has vowed to return to Power Slap after a draw due to a foul in her clash with Chelsea Dodson yesterday. Last night, Paige VanZant and Chelsea Dodson went to war at Power Slap 9 in Abu Dhabi. While slap fighting may not be to everyone’s taste, it certainly seems to have picked up some real momentum in the last few years. UFC president Dana White was interested enough to kickstart his own promotion and outside of that, plenty of MMA fighters and boxers have shown interest too.

Harry Kettle - October 25, 2024

PFL heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has admitted that he wasn’t sure he’d ever fight again after the death of his son. Last weekend, Francis Ngannou made his blockbuster return to mixed martial arts. Following his stint in professional boxing, ‘The Predator’ opted to head back into the cage with PFL. In doing so, he signed up to fight Renan Ferreira – a man who many believed was capable of defeating Francis.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 25, 2024

ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon has been quietly weighing up #3-ranked contender Jacob Smith ahead of next month’s rematch, and he feels his old foe is still singing the same tunes.   “The Iron Man” defends his gold against Smith at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug on Friday, November 8, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.  

Cole Shelton - October 24, 2024

In the co-main event of UFC 308, a pivotal middleweight bout goes down as Robert Whittaker takes on Khamzat Chimaev. Heading into the bout, Whittaker is a +200 underdog while the undefeated fighter is a -265 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the pivotal middleweight fight.  The pros believe Whittaker will be able to pull off the upset as they think he can drag the fight into the later rounds and get the win.

Cole Shelton - October 24, 2024

Khamzat Chimaev is getting paid at UFC 308. Chimaev is set to return to the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC 308 against Robert Whittaker. It’s a highly-anticipated bout and one that is key for the division. Although Chimaev is not the champion or a former champion for that matter, he claims he’s making more than most champions are for this fight and going forward.

Josh Evanoff - October 24, 2024

UFC President Dana White has co-signed on Islam Makhachev’s future welterweight move. The Russian has been out of the cage since a June title defense against Dustin Poirier. In the main event of UFC 302, Islam Makhachev faced ‘The Diamond’ in the latter’s third crack at undisputed gold. Despite some resistance from the challenger, the lightweight champion wound up securing a fifth-round submission victory.

Josh Evanoff - October 24, 2024

It appears that Dana White was in a generous mood at today’s UFC 308 press conference. This Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, the UFC will put on one of their last pay-per-view cards of the year. For what it’s worth, the card is an excellent one. In the main event, featherweight champion Ilia Topuria will look to make his first title defense against Max Holloway. ‘Blessed’ earned the title opportunity with a knockout win over Justin Gaethje in April.

Curtis Calhoun - October 24, 2024

UFC CEO Dana White quickly responded to PFL founder Donn Davis’s latest claims, comparing the two top MMA organizations. White and the UFC are hours away from one of their biggest cards of the year in Abu Dhabi. UFC 308 is headlined by a featherweight title clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway.

Cole Shelton - October 24, 2024

UFC CEO Dana White has continued to take aim at Francis Ngannou. White and Ngannou hadn’t seen eye-to-eye well before ‘The Predator’ left the UFC to sign with the PFL and box. But, following the Power Slap event on Thursday, White was speaking to the media and claimed he nearly cut Ngannou before he became the heavyweight champ.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 24, 2024

PFL Chairman Donn Davis isn’t exactly ruling out Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou. Jones vs. Ngannou is a fight that escaped the UFC’s grasp. Ngannou, who was the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, decided to leave the promotion to pursue lucrative boxing matches and a PFL contract. While Jones and Ngannou traded barbs over the situation, “Bones” was recently complimentary of “The Predator’s” successful return to MMA.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 24, 2024

Kayla Harrison’s coach, Matt Brown, believes his fighter is bringing buzz back to the women’s bantamweight division. Since Amanda Nunes walked away from pro MMA competition, some feel the women’s 135-pound division has been missing a spark. More recently, Julianna Pena defeated Raquel Pennington to recapture the bantamweight gold. Fans have scoffed at the current state of the division, however.

Harry Kettle - October 24, 2024

UFC fighter Joaquin Buckley has explained why he’s frustrated with the current state of the welterweight division. Over the course of the last few years, Joaquin Buckley has really put everything together. He has become a genuine contender at welterweight and, in the process, has developed quite the persona outside of the cage.