MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 12, 2025

Myanmar’s greatest sports hero closes his legendary journey with the ultimate recognition. Aung La N Sang sacrificed two decades building a legacy that transcended personal glory to inspire an entire nation through martial arts excellence. The 40-year-old former two-division ONE MMA World Champion receives his ONE Championship Hall of Fame induction at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on Sunday, November 16, inside Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. He joins Demetrious Johnson and Bibiano Fernandes as the third fighter honored with this rare distinction. He closed his career with a second-round TKO of Zebaztian Kadestam at ONE Fight Night 36 in October.

Dylan Bowker - November 12, 2025

Sean O’Malley is one of the biggest stars in the world of mixed martial arts today and his coach ideally would like him to return to the cage to kick off 2026. This was mentioned by Tim Welch during a recent interview that he took part in on The Ariel Helwani Show, as Welch said, “Hopefully in January. Hopefully, yeah in January. We’re kind of keeping him ready. Just got done sparring right now, so we’re starting to get his body ready to go for a battle… I mean gosh, there’s a bunch of fights that could happen.”

Cole Shelton - November 12, 2025

Leon Edwards has fired back at Carlos Prates over his recent comments ahead of UFC 322. Edwards and Prates are set to fight in a pivotal fight at welterweight on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Heading into the bout, Prates is the betting favorite, and he claimed that it is due to the fact that Edwards is past his prime.

Curtis Calhoun - November 12, 2025

Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman made a surprising admission ahead of the UFC 322 welterweight title main event. Islam Makhachev is days away from potentially becoming the UFC’s latest two-division champion as he prepares to face Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC 322 main event. Maddalena will make his first welterweight title defense against Makhachev in one of the biggest fights of the year.

Cole Shelton - November 12, 2025

Carlos Prates believes Leon Edwards is done as a true contender at welterweight. Prates is set to take on Edwards in a pivotal fight at welterweight on the main card of UFC 322. The winner of the fight will be right in the title picture, and Prates is confident that it will be him.

Curtis Calhoun - November 12, 2025

Tensions are ramping up between UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev and the division’s former titleholder, Alex Pereira. Khamzat Chimaev capped off his meteoric rise with a dominant UFC middleweight title win earlier this year at UFC 319 against Dricus du Plessis. Chimaev smothered Du Plessis with his wrestling and timely striking to dethrone the champion and kick off a new era in the middleweight division.

Curtis Calhoun - November 12, 2025

Jake Paul and former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua are reportedly weeks away from a collision course in the ring. Jake Paul was supposed to face longtime lightweight boxing champion Gervonta Davis in a highly anticipated main event next month. Just weeks before the fight, it was announced that the bout was canceled amidst Davis’s ongoing legal troubles surrounding alleged domestic violence.

Dylan Bowker - November 12, 2025

Chael Sonnen did not mince words when talking about the blockbuster viability that Ronda Rousey was said to have had in her career as an active fighter. During an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Sonnen delved into discussing the former UFC bantamweight champion and called into question the purported elements of just how popular a star the MMA promotion claimed she was in her heyday.

Curtis Calhoun - November 12, 2025

Joe Rogan has responded to UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey’s critical remarks during a recent podcast appearance. UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey is undoubtedly one of the greatest fighters, male or female, to ever compete inside the Octagon. She’s a women’s MMA pioneer, and during her prime, was a superstar who revolutionized combat sports.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 12, 2025

Could UFC 322 be Islam Makhachev’s unexpected swan song? On Saturday, Makhachev will enter Madison Square Garden in New York City. He’s hoping to walk out of the historic venue with the UFC Welterweight Championship. The titleholder is Jack Della Maddalena, and many experts believe the champion will be a stern test for Makhachev.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 12, 2025

As he enters a super fight at UFC 322 on Saturday, Islam Makhachev has received high praise from a top MMA analyst. Makhachev has been preparing for Jack Della Maddalena ever since “JDM” snatched the UFC Welterweight Championship from Belal Muhammad back in May. After vacating the UFC Lightweight Championship, which now belongs to Ilia Topuria, Makhachev is gunning for the 170-pound gold.

Dylan Bowker - November 12, 2025

Alex Pereira has called out Khamzat Chimaev for a fight under the UFC banner, albeit under the UFC BJJ banner. Chimaev is one of the big stars in the sport today, and the unbeaten fighter has called out Pereira multiple times now. The reigning UFC middleweight champion has also shown a keenness to vie for Pereira’s light heavyweight crown at some point, and ‘Poatan’ has offered up a response to Chimaev’s goading. The response came in a context not directly tied to mixed martial arts, and Pereira showed so much gameness in wanting to compete with Chimaev, he’ll do it on terms that are favourable for ‘Borz’. In a video posted to his personal social media, which was later re-posted to X account @ChampRDS, Pereira said,

Dylan Bowker - November 12, 2025

Muhammad Mokaev generated a massive highlight reel win last week, with UFC’s Hunter Campbell and Mick Maynard reaching out to him after his BRAVE CF title victory. Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Mokaev covered several subjects on the heels of his flyweight title win over Gerard Burns that came via head kick KO early in the second stanza of their BRAVE CF 100 bout on November 7th. When asked by the titular figure of the show if anyone from UFC reached out to him after his viral victory and if any plans of a return to the octagon were somewhat teased, Mokaev said,

Cole Shelton - November 12, 2025

In the main event of UFC 322, the welterweight title is up for grabs as Jack Della Maddalena defends his strap against Islam Makhachev. Heading into the fight, Della Maddalena is a +210 underdog while the challenger is a -280 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get the predictions for the welterweight title fight at UFC 322. The pros expect Della Maddalena to defend his belt and get the win as a sizable underdog, as they expect the size to play a major role.

Harry Kettle - November 12, 2025

UFC welterweight contender Sean Brady has received praise from Islam Makhachev ahead of UFC 322 this weekend. On Saturday night, Sean Brady will attempt to try and cement himself as one of the frontrunners for a UFC welterweight title shot. He will do so by going head to head with the unbeaten Michael Morales who, up to this point in his career, has impressed many with his ability to tear through everyone the UFC has put in front of him. Sean, of course, is on a pretty hot streak of his own right now.

Harry Kettle - November 12, 2025

Former UFC champion Dricus du Plessis has explained why he can’t pick against Islam Makhachev at UFC 322. On Saturday night, Islam Makhachev will attempt to become a two-weight world champion when he challenges Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC 322. It’s safe to say that a lot of fans and pundits believe he’s going to get the job done, but in equal measure, JDM earned the respect of many thanks to the way in which he was able to defeat Belal Muhammad to win the belt in the first place.

Curtis Calhoun - November 11, 2025

Former UFC title challenger Brandon Royval went on a wild tirade went asked about his interest level in fighting at The White House. We’re less than a year away from the UFC’s planned card on the south lawn of The White House. Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump pushed for a card at The White House, UFC CEO Dana White moved quickly to make his vision come to fruition.

Cole Shelton - November 11, 2025

Beneil Dariush is eager to fight at Madison Square Garden, which has always been a goal of his. Dariush is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 322 against Benoit Saint-Denis in a pivotal fight in the lightweight division. The timing works out perfectly for Dariush, who had circled the Madison Square Garden card as a potential return date.