MMA News

Harry Kettle - October 10, 2025

UFC veteran TJ Dillashaw has given his thoughts on a possible rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili is one of the most exciting intriguing in all of mixed martial arts right now. He’s also one of the most successful, having just defended his UFC bantamweight championship for the third time. He defeated Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320, cementing his position as one of the best to ever do it at 135 pounds.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 10, 2025

Pop culture bleeds into combat sports when fighters discover characters that mirror their souls. Nabil Anane found his reflection in Monkey D. Luffy, the rubber-bodied pirate whose boundless ambition matches the young champion’s hunger for glory. Anane defends his ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title against Jonathan Haggerty at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on Sunday, November 16, inside Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The 21-year-old Algerian-Thai champion faces his toughest test against the former two-sport king in Japan, the birthplace of his anime hero.

Dylan Bowker - October 9, 2025

Yana Santos has had a rough string of luck with opponents in the UFC missing their contracted weight limits. There was even an instance where an adversary missed the mark on the scales, but the pressure was reportedly put on Santos from the promotion to keep the fight intact. This was expressed by the fighter herself, as Santos recently mentioned this anecdote to MMA Fighting. Delving into her experiences with feeling like she previously needed to acquiesce to the promotion’s demands despite her opponent being the one to not fulfill her end of the agreement in this regard, Santos said [via MMA Fighting],

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 9, 2025

Retirement rarely sticks when legends discover the fire still burns. Liam Harrison proved that truth when he stepped back into competition after laying his gloves down at ONE 168, and now he’s ready for another comeback. Harrison faces Shinji Suzuki in bantamweight kickboxing at ONE Fight Night 38 on Friday, December 5, live from Bangkok, Thailand in U.S. primetime. The 40-year-old British legend makes his kickboxing debut in ONE Championship against the 39-year-old Japanese striker seeking consistency after alternating wins and losses.

Curtis Calhoun - October 9, 2025

UFC heavyweight Mohammed Usman has withdrawn from UFC Rio on hours’ notice. UFC Rio is a solid UFC Fight Night card with a clash between lightweights Charles Oliveira and Mateusz Gamrot headlining the event. This will mark Oliveira’s return to the Octagon for the first time since a knockout loss to Ilia Topuria for the then-vacant belt at UFC 317.

Curtis Calhoun - October 9, 2025

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier believes Alex Pereira could cement himself as the greatest of all time with a heavyweight win over Jon Jones. Alex Pereira got his revenge over Magomed Ankalaev last Saturday at UFC 320 to reclaim the light heavyweight title. He knocked out Ankalaev in under two minutes to reclaim the belt, just months after Ankalaev outpointed him in their first fight at UFC 313.

Cole Shelton - October 9, 2025

Mateusz Gamrot is eager to test his ground skills against Charles Oliveira. Gamrot stepped up on short notice to fight Oliveira in the main event of UFC Rio on Saturday. It’s an intriguing matchup, and heading into the bout, Gamrot said he isn’t afraid of Oliveira’s ground game and plans to test it out.

Curtis Calhoun - October 9, 2025

Former UFC flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev will face a surging prospect for the Brave CF 125lb championship. Muhammad Mokaev will meet surging flyweight star Gerard Burns in the Brave CF 100 main event on November 7th. Mokaev and Burns will fight for the men’s flyweight championship in a massive showdown to mark the promotion’s 100th event.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 9, 2025

A headliner on the UFC Qatar card says he’s heard that Justin Gaethje turned down a fight against him. Gaethje has made it clear that he wants his next fight to be contested for the UFC Lightweight Championship. The current titleholder is Ilia Topuria. While UFC CEO Dana White hasn’t been too receptive to Gaethje’s demands, he might just cave given how much of a fan favorite “The Highlight” is.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 9, 2025

BKFC 82 did not feature the combat sports return of Frankie Edgar as initially advertised. The former UFC Lightweight Champion was scheduled to face Jimmie Rivera inside Prudential Center in Newark. “The Answer” was removed from the card late, and many rumors swirled over the situation.

Harry Kettle - October 9, 2025

UFC legend Charles Oliveira has given his thoughts on a potential showdown between Alex Pereira and Jon Jones. While it’s far from confirmed, Alex Pereira has made it crystal clear that he wants to battle Jon Jones at the White House next year. While it would likely be a lucrative fight for the promotion, Dana White has made it known that he isn’t so sure he can trust ‘Bones’ after everything he’s put him through over the years, and especially in the last few months.

Harry Kettle - October 9, 2025

UFC star Dan Hooker has called out Arman Tsarukyan over his family’s wealth ahead of their UFC Qatar showdown. Next month, Dan Hooker and Arman Tsarukyan will clash in a blockbuster lightweight encounter. While there’s no guarantee, it certainly feels like the winner will earn the right to challenge Ilia Topuria for the UFC lightweight championship. In equal measure, this fight perhaps serves as the final chance for ‘Hangman’ to get a crack at the gold.

Harry Kettle - October 9, 2025

Israel Adesanya believes Carlos Ulberg should receive the next UFC light heavyweight championship shot against Alex Pereira. In the wake of his knockout win over Dominick Reyes, there was a lot of talk about Carlos Ulberg receiving the next title shot at 205 pounds. Of course, we had to wait and see how the UFC 320 main event played out, and we now know that Alex Pereira is once again the king of the division after finishing Magomed Ankalaev in the first round of their rematch.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 9, 2025

Technical precision defeats reckless aggression when fighters understand the difference between chaos and control. Stephen Irvine built his game around exploiting opponents who mistake fury for effectiveness. Irvine faces Rambong Sor Therapat in the 130-pound Muay Thai main event at ONE Friday Fights 128 on Friday, October 10, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The 25-year-old Scottish striker chases a $100,000 contract while hoping to extend his four-fight winning streak against the pressure-fighting Thai veteran.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 8, 2025

Championship gold gets tested when ONE Championship closes 2025 with back-to-back title fights. Fabricio Andrade risks everything against a submission specialist who has tormented every opponent standing between him and glory. Andrade defends his ONE Bantamweight MMA World Title against Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu at ONE Fight Night 38 on Friday, December 5, in Bangkok, Thailand in U.S. primetime. The 30-year-old Brazilian puts his crown on the line against the surging #4-ranked Mongolian contender in the main event.

Dylan Bowker - October 8, 2025

Aiemann Zahabi is having the biggest run of his career and hopes to vault toward title shot proximity by beating a former title challenger. The Tristar product has the chance to do just that when he battles Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera at UFC Vancouver on October 18th. A lot is falling into place for Zahabi, who spoke with MMA Canada and touched on how he called for this Vera bout after his massive Jose Aldo win in May at UFC 315. When addressing how important it was to him to get that desired next fight locked in, considering the expressed callout of Vera, Zahabi said [via MMA Canada],

Curtis Calhoun - October 8, 2025

Jake Paul and many boxing stars are mourning the tragic death of Arturo Gatti Jr. The boxing world is collectively mourning after the news broke that Arturo Gatti Jr., the 17-year-old son of the legendary boxing legend, passed away on Wednesday. The WBA confirmed the news of Gatti’s passing in a recent statement.

Curtis Calhoun - October 8, 2025

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier says Magomed Ankalaev was encouraged not to fight at UFC 320 after suffering a rib injury weeks before the event. Magomed Ankalaev’s UFC light heavyweight title reign came to a screeching halt at the hands of Alex Pereira last weekend at UFC 320. Pereira knocked out Ankalaev in their rematch to reclaim the light heavyweight throne, handing Ankalaev his first defeat since his promotional debut in 2018.