MMA News

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

PFL Chairman Donn Davis has clarified his past comments on Kayla Harrison. Davis came under fire within the MMA community when he compared Harrison to NBA star Kevin Durant. Davis said that Harrison left PFL for the UFC because she’s a follower who needs validation.

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

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.

Harry Kettle - October 25, 2024

UFC president Dana White has revealed that he’s had conversations with Mark Zuckerberg over changing the promotion’s rankings system. As we know, Dana White is the man in charge at the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He’s been the face of the company fheor a long time now and beyond that, he’s also managed to take the promotion to unbelievable new heights. Of course, that doesn’t mean things are perfect – as there are still a few tidbits that he’d like to change.

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

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

UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira could soon be entering showbusiness. ‘Poatan’ has been out of the cage since his clash against Khalil Rountree Jr. earlier this month at UFC 307. Back for the first time since dominating Jiri Prochazka in June, the Brazilian went down on the scorecards early. ‘The War Horse’ scored a shocking second-round knockdown, and brought the fight to Alex Pereira.

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.

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

Belal Muhammad finds humor in Ilia Topuria’s plan to become a three-division UFC champion. Topuria is the reigning UFC featherweight champion. He will be putting his title at stake against Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi this Saturday. It’s “El Matador’s” first attempt at a successful title defense.

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 star Shara Magomedov has explained why he views former champion Michael Bisping as an inspiration. As many of you know, Shara Magomedov is viewed by many as the next big thing. The 30-year-old is 14-0 in his professional mixed martial arts career and he’s 3-0 since arriving in the UFC. This weekend, he’ll attempt to extend that record when he goes head to head with Armen Petrosyan in what promises to be an electric bout.

Harry Kettle - October 24, 2024

Dustin Poirier has questioned whether or not Ilia Topuria is capable of one-punch KO’ing Max Holloway at UFC 308. On Saturday night, Ilia Topuria will defend his UFC featherweight championship against Max Holloway. In the eyes of many, this is the most fascinating fight on the calendar in mixed martial arts. No matter which way you slice it, this one has the potential to be a Fight of the Year contender.