MMA News
Daniel Cormier: Jon Jones made 'a huge mistake' not fighting Tom Aspinall
BJ Penn Staff - October 24, 2025
Daniel Cormier believes Jon Jones made a big mistake by not defending his UFC heavyweight title against Tom Aspinall. Jones, one of the greatest MMA fighters ever, enjoyed a brief reign as UFC heavyweight champ at the tail end of his career. At the same time, England’s Aspinall held the division’s interim title. Rather than unify his belt with Aspinall’s, however, Jones ultimately decided to retire from competition and relinquish his belt. It was only then that Aspinall was finally promoted to undisputed champion.
Nontachai Jitmuangnon drops to bantamweight seeking redemption against former tormentor: "It's my turn to go down and find him"
BJPENN.COM Staff - October 23, 2025
Nontachai Jitmuangnon will change weight classes for his upcoming redemption fight. The 26-year-old Thai striker abandoned featherweight to pursue unfinished business against the only man who’s beaten him inside the promotion. Nontachai faces Soner Sen in bantamweight Muay Thai at ONE Friday Fights 130 on Friday, October 24, in Bangkok, Thailand. The Jitmuangnon Gym representative suffered his promotional loss against #5-ranked bantamweight contender Abdulla Dayakaev at ONE Fight Night 33 in March, ending his perfect 3-0 start that included knockout victory over Dmitrii Kovtun.
Christian Lee juggles family duties with ONE World Title defense at ONE 173: "My whole life"
BJPENN.COM Staff - October 23, 2025
Two-division ONE MMA World Champion Christian Lee embraces chaos that would overwhelm most fighters. The 27-year-old manages three children under one roof with a fourth boy arriving soon, while running a thriving gym and defending ONE World Titles across two weight classes. Lee defends his ONE Lightweight MMA World Title against Alibeg Rasulov in their rematch at ONE 173 on Sunday, November 16, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The Singaporean-American seeks a definitive victory after their December no-contest ended via accidental eye poke.
Chris Barnett expects to break Hamdy Abdelwahab with his pressure at UFC 321
Cole Shelton - October 23, 2025
Chris Barnett is eager to return to the Octagon after a year off. Barnett hasn’t fought since last October, when he suffered a TKO loss to Kennedy Nzechukwu, in a fight he got hurt. Since then, he has been rehabbing, and he didn’t realize he was cleared much earlier than this.
Conor McGregor sends a message to UFC champ Jack Della Maddalena ahead of Islam Makhachev title fight: “He’ll be light work”
Dylan Bowker - October 23, 2025
Conor McGregor has weighed in on the looming title fight between welterweight titleholder Jack Della Maddalena and his title challenger Islam Makhachev. As JDM looks to show out against an elite pound-for-pound fighter in Makhachev as they fight inside Madison Square Garden, someone with big success at MSG like McGregor offerin g up his viewpoint adds a certain something to the proceedings. The information came from jiu jitsu standout Craig Jones, via footage shared to the Instagram account @mma.pros.pick, who is training with JDM ahead of this Makhachev fight. Jones famously got in work with Alexander Volkanovski ahead of fighting Makhachev, and the grappling considerations of the CJI figurehead clearly paid dividends in the first meeting they had.
Dana White 'hates' Tom Aspinall's remarks about refusing to fight surging heavyweight teammate
Curtis Calhoun - October 23, 2025
UFC CEO Dana White isn’t thrilled with some of Tom Aspinall’s recent comments ahead of his UFC 321 headliner against Ciryl Gane. Undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall will make his first title defense this Saturday against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321. Aspinall was promoted to undisputed titleholder following Jon Jones’s retirement, after months of holding on to the interim title during Jones’s controversial reign.
Huge heavyweight title change reflected back on 15 years later before UFC 321 title bout
Dylan Bowker - October 23, 2025
A massive heavyweight title change took place at UFC 121, which was 15 years ago today, and this historic lookback takes place as we are immersed in fight week for UFC 321, which is headlined by a clash for the heavyweight crown. On October 23rd, 2010, in Anaheim, California, Brock Lesnar entered the cage to defend his heavyweight crown against a surging phenom in Cain Velasquez. At the Honda Center in the main event of the night, Velasquez would put on a classic performance with the eventual multi-time champion ascending to the UFC throne for the first time. It was an impactful affair that saw Velasquez draw blood from Lesnar and finish him with a barrage of strikes in the final minute of the opening stanza to cause a changing of the guard at heavyweight. Curiously enough, the name of Brock Lesnar was also invoked during the fight week proceedings ahead of the UFC’s next heavyweight championship clash. The reigning champion, Tom Aspinall, was picking winners in hypothetical matchups, which at a certain point involved his opponent for Saturday, Ciryl Gane.
Martin Buday booked for massive title fight in first bout since controversial UFC ouster
Curtis Calhoun - October 23, 2025
Former UFC heavyweight contender Martin Buday will face a tall test in his first fight since a controversial release from the promotion. Despite a three-fight win streak and being on the cusp of title contention, UFC heavyweight Martin Buday wasn’t re-signed following a win at UFC Abu Dhabi in July. Buday defeated hyped heavyweight Marcus Buchecha, one of the top grapplers in the world and a former ONE standout.
Patchy Mix fails drug test in final Bellator fight, has fight overturned
Cole Shelton - October 23, 2025
Patchy Mix has reportedly failed a drug test in his final Bellator fight. Mix was defending his Bellator bantamweight title in the main event of Bellator Champion Series in Paris in May of 2024 against Magomed Magomedov. Mix ended up edging out a very close split decision. However, a year and a half after the fight, the result was overturned to a loss for Mix.
Tom Aspinall believes new No. 1 contender will be determined at UFC 321
Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 23, 2025
Tom Aspinall thinks UFC has a plan for the next heavyweight title contender. Aspinall is set to put the UFC Heavyweight Championship at stake against Ciryl Gane on Saturday. Aspinall’s first fight as the undisputed heavyweight titleholder will headline UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi. It’ll be Gane’s third undisputed UFC title fight. While he held the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship, Gane has yet to earn undisputed status.
UFC 321 fighter says Alex Pereira won't make heavyweight move permanent
Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 23, 2025
One key fighter on the UFC 321 card doesn’t believe Alex Pereira would stick around at heavyweight for more than a super fight. Pereira has publicly expressed interest in a clash with Jon Jones on the UFC White House card. “Poatan” has even said he’d rather fight “Bones” than the winner of the heavyweight title bout between Tom Aspinall and Ciryl Gane. In the past, Jones has been receptive to the idea of fighting Pereira.
Dana White tells Umar Nurmagomedov what he must do at UFC 321 to earn another title fight
Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 23, 2025
Dana White has let Umar Nurmagomedov know what he should do to maximize his chances of getting a title rematch. Nurmagomedov will be featured on the UFC 321 card, as he will take on Mario Bautista. It’s a crucial bout in the bantamweight division, and one where the winner could earn a bantamweight title opportunity.
Paddy Pimblett claims Ilia Topuria is "stalling" over a potential title fight
Harry Kettle - October 23, 2025
UFC star Paddy Pimblett believes that Ilia Topuria is stalling over a potential lightweight title showdown between them. For the longest time, Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria have been embroiled in a rivalry. The two have disliked each other for as long as we can remember, and they even got into a physical altercation prior to them fighting on the same UFC London card a few years back.
Jailton Almeida doesn't believe Alex Pereira moving to heavyweight will impact his quest for a UFC title
Harry Kettle - October 23, 2025
UFC heavyweight Jailton Almeida doesn’t believe that Alex Pereira’s possible move to the division will impact his title push. With nine wins in his 10 UFC fights, it’s safe to assume that Jailton Almeida is on the verge of a world title shot. This weekend, he will attempt to secure that championship opportunity when he goes head to head with Alexander Volkov in one of the featured bouts of UFC 321.
UFC 321: ‘Aspinall vs. Gane’ Fight Card and Start Times
Harry Kettle - October 23, 2025
This weekend, the Ultimate Fighting Championship once again heads back to Abu Dhabi for UFC 321: Aspinall vs Gane. Event: UFC 321: Aspinall vs Gane Date: Saturday, 25th October 2025 Location: Etihad Arena (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) Broadcast: ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass (2pm EST main card)
Shadow vs. Rabah rematch, plus two more explosive matchups added to ONE Fight Night 38
BJPENN.COM Staff - October 23, 2025
ONE Championship bolstered its December lineup with three compelling additions spanning Muay Thai and MMA disciplines. The card features unfinished business, rising prospects, and championship implications across multiple weight classes. Shadow faces Mohamed Younes Rabah in featherweight Muay Thai at ONE Fight Night 38 on Friday, December 5, in Bangkok, Thailand. The #3-ranked contender seeks closure after their July no-contest at ONE Fight Night 33. There, an accidental eye poke halted his dominant performance.
Ludovit Klein's "heart of a lion" will shine at UFC 321, per Oktagon MMA training partner
Dylan Bowker - October 22, 2025
Ludovit Klein has a massive matchup looming in the coming days at UFC 321, and a surging Oktagon MMA star who trains with Klein has given his thoughts on that bout. The referenced mixed martial artist is Tamerlan Dulatov who is coming off a victory against Henrique Melo at Oktagon 78 on October 18th. Dulatov appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts to touch on how he has got in some work with Ludovit Klein previously and did so ahead of Klein’s fight with Mateusz Gamrot in the UFC. When touching upon that experience working with Klein, Dulatov said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
Tom Aspinall favors Ciryl Gane over Lesnar and Werdum in hypothetical fights
Dylan Bowker - October 22, 2025
Tom Aspinall definitely rates Ciryl Gane highly as a fighter ahead of their clash this weekend, and that came across during a recent media appearance he did, where he favoured ‘Bon Gamin’ over multiple former UFC champs. The reigning UFC heavyweight champion took part in a segment for TNT Sports as part of their ‘Winner Stays On’ segment with Aspinall picking victors in fantasy fights. The name Brock Lesnar was mentioned early on, with the UK-based divisional kingpin picking Lesnar to defeat Andrei Arlovski and Don Frye before the former UFC heavyweight champion was described as someone who would lose to Gane. After Lesnar was taken out of the game, Aspinall also favoured Gane to beat another former titleholder in the UFC’s heavyweight ranks.