MMA News

Curtis Calhoun - October 15, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev made some wild accusations against Sean Strickland stemming from their past training sessions. Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland isn’t known to have many allies in Mixed Martial Arts due to his controversial behavior in and out of the cage. Strickland is currently serving a suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission stemming from a post-fight brawl at a Tuff-N-Uff event in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Curtis Calhoun - October 15, 2025

UFC heavyweight star Valter Walker didn’t have to wait long for his next Octagon assignment after his fight was scratched from UFC Rio last weekend. Valter Walker was hours away from fighting Mohammed Usman on the UFC Rio undercard last Saturday, before Usman withdrew on hours’ notice due to an injury. Walker was furious with Usman’s withdrawal, as he scolded his opponent as he appeared at the official weigh-ins.

Curtis Calhoun - October 15, 2025

UFC welterweight contender Sean Brady defended fighting the unbeaten Michael Morales in a risky fight for his title pursuit. Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales was recently announced as a big addition to UFC 322 next month at Madison Square Garden. Brady and Morales, two of the hottest welterweight contenders, will collide with a potential title shot on the line.

Dylan Bowker - October 15, 2025

Melissa Croden has established herself as one of the more exciting Canadian combatants in the world, and her debut with the UFC will see her positioned as the partisan favorite. At UFC Vancouver, ‘Scare’ Croden will clash with someone who recently had a five fight winning streak snapped in May. Despite being submitted by Luana Santos, Tainara Lisboa has secured some strong victories prior over the likes of Jessica Rose Clark and Ravena Oliveira. When touching on Lisboa’s skill set and general resume heading into this UFC Vancouver fight with her, Croden said [via MMA Canada],

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 15, 2025

One well-known UFC analyst and coach isn’t convinced that Petr Yan can find an answer against Merab Dvalishvili. It was announced by Dana White that Dvalishvili is scheduled to put his bantamweight title on the line against Yan at UFC 323 on Dec. 6. If Dvalishvili can emerge victorious, he’ll set a new record for the most UFC title defenses in a single year. He’s already thwarted challenges from Umar Nurmagomedov, Sean O’Malley, and Cory Sandhagen this year.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 15, 2025

Dana White has warmed up to a reigning UFC champion, who is on the verge of history. White and UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili didn’t always see eye-to-eye. The UFC boss was initially peeved when “The Machine” refused to fight his close friend and longtime training partner Aljamain Sterling. Eventually, Dvalishvili’s willingness to fight often changed White’s tune.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 15, 2025

If Khamzat Chimaev gets to share the Octagon with Alex Pereira, he might just tempt fate. It’s hard for MMA fans to imagine that if Chimaev were to meet “Poatan” he won’t attempt takedowns right away. Pereira is viewed as one of the UFC’s most dangerous strikers today. He dusted Magomed Ankalaev in just over a minute to reclaim the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in early October.

Harry Kettle - October 15, 2025

UFC boss Dana White didn’t go into much detail when asked about Conor McGregor’s 18-month suspension recently. It was recently revealed that Conor McGregor had been suspended for 18 months due to him violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy. The ban was backdated to September 20th, 2024 which means it will expire on March 20th, 2026. As you can see by the dates, that means the Irishman would still technically be eligible to compete in next summer’s planned UFC White House card.

Harry Kettle - October 15, 2025

UFC boss Dana White has teased the idea of Ilia Topuria headlining the first big UFC Paramount card next year. As we know, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will want to make a big splash when they begin their partnership with Paramount in 2026. As such, there’s been a lot of speculation regarding who could take part in the first major event on the network – and one of the names that keeps popping up is none other than UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 14, 2025

Tokyo transforms into martial arts central command when ONE Championship delivers one of its most ambitious events. Seven world title fights headline a 16-bout spectacle spanning multiple combat disciplines. ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri takes over Ariake Arena on Sunday, November 16. The historic card showcases MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling with champions defending crowns while new kings will emerge throughout the evening.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 14, 2025

Weight class adjustments fuel Tengnueng Fairtex’s confidence heading into his most dangerous assignment. The Thai veteran believes dropping pounds unlocked the speed and power necessary to overcome youth and aggression. Tengnueng faces Tun Min Aung in a 165-pound Muay Thai main event at ONE Friday Fights 129 on Friday, October 17, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The 33-year-old Fairtex Training Center product seeks redemption after his knockout loss to Maksim Bakhtin at ONE Friday Fights 121 forced him to reconsider his fighting weight.

Cole Shelton - October 14, 2025

Kyle Nelson will be returning to lightweight at UFC Vancouver and is confident he will have success. Nelson has been campaigning to fight on any card in Canada, but he wasn’t on any of the Toronto, Montreal, or Edmonton cards recently. But he will get the chance to fight back home in Canada on Saturday at UFC Vancouver when he takes on Matt Frevola.

Cole Shelton - October 14, 2025

UFC analyst Din Thomas doesn’t believe Ronda Rousey should be cleared to fight if she does return to MMA. Rousey has been sharing training videos and has claimed she loves MMA again. With Rousey back training and loving MMA, rumors have swirled that she could return to the UFC, perhaps even on the White House card.

Curtis Calhoun - October 14, 2025

Future UFC Hall of Famer Dominick Cruz will become the latest MMA legend to enter the podcasting world. Dominick Cruz is one of several prominent UFC stars to announce their retirements thus far in 2025. Ahead of his scheduled retirement fight at UFC Seattle in February, Cruz suffered another major injury, withdrawing from the event and retiring without rescheduling the fight booked against Rob Font.

Curtis Calhoun - October 14, 2025

UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar doesn’t plan on collaborating with Bare Knuckle FC ever again. Former UFC champion Frankie Edgar was plotting a return to combat sports via bare-knuckle boxing. After retiring from MMA in 2022, Edgar entered the UFC Hall of Fame last year as one of the greatest fighters in the promotion’s history.

Curtis Calhoun - October 14, 2025

Paulie Malignaggi didn’t hold back in expressing his opinion on Mixed Martial Arts fans. Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts are undoubtedly two of the most popular combat sports in the world today. While boxing has more of a history encapsulated with it than MMA, the UFC’s monstrous rise has garnered a larger audience than most boxing events.

Cole Shelton - October 14, 2025

The 206th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live to preview UFC Vancouver. We’re first joined by UFC lightweight Kyle Nelson (0:46). We close things out chatting with UFC bantamweight Davey Grant (14:39).

Harry Kettle - October 14, 2025

UFC legend Daniel Cormier has given his thoughts on the recent retirement of Jose Aldo at UFC Rio. Earlier this year following his controversial loss to Aiemann Zahabi, Jose Aldo announced his retirement from mixed martial arts for the second time. While that happened back in May, the Brazilian legend was given a proper farewell this weekend at UFC Rio when he walked to the cage one last time before putting his gloves in the middle of the Octagon.