MMA News

Chris Taylor - October 11, 2025

We have you covered for all of tonight’s UFC Rio results, including the men’s bantamweight co-main event between Deiveson Figueiredo and Montel Jackson. Figueiredo (25-5-1 MMA) will enter the bout with hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid. ‘Daico’ most previously competed at May’s UFC Iowa event, where he suffered a TKO injury loss to recent title challenger Cory Sandhagen. That defeat was preceded by a decision loss to former bantamweight champion Petr Yan.

Chris Taylor - October 11, 2025

We have you covered for all of tonight’s UFC Rio results, including the main card welterweight bout between Vicente Luque and Joel Alvarez. Luque (23-12-1 MMA) most recently competed at June’s UFC 316 event, where he suffered a second-round submission loss to Kevin Holland. Prior to that defeat, ‘The Silent Assassin’ was coming off a 52-second submission victory over Themba Gorimbo.

Chris Taylor - October 11, 2025

The Octagon returns to Brazil for tonight’s UFC Rio event, a 12-bout fight card headlined by Charles Oliveira vs. Mateusz Gamrot. Oliveira (35-11 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since suffering a brutal knockout loss to Ilia Topuria back at June’s UFC 317 event. Prior to that setback, ‘Do Bronx’ was coming off a dominant decision victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 309 in November of last year.

Dylan Bowker - October 10, 2025

Mike Perry has recently reasserted his King of Violence status in his BKFC return, but a particular UFC card for 2026 would pique his interest in an MMA return. Perry defeated Jeremy Stephens in the headliner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship’s inaugural foray into New Jersey at BKFC 82. ‘Platinum’ dropped Stephens multiple times in the bout en route to halting him in the fifth round, with Perry maintaining his spotless ledger in bare-knuckle fighting in the process. The biggest star in bare-knuckle boxing does seem intrigued about donning the small gloves again for an opportunity on a massively hyped card for June 2026. Interestingly enough, his recent BKFC opponent, Jeremy Stephens, did a one-off bout with the UFC prior to his BKFC fight with Perry. This gives some precedent to the idea that some sort of deal could possibly be facilitated for Perry’s services between BKFC and UFC.

Dylan Bowker - October 10, 2025

Kyle Nelson foresees an electric fight and an emphatic ending to his UFC Vancouver fight with Matt Frevola. This was expressed in a recent interview for MMA Canada. Nelson had an online post a few months ago about how the Canadians went undefeated last time the UFC came to Vancouver, and that he has the desire to keep that trend going on October 18th. There are quite a few Canadian combatants on this card, with names like Jasmine Jasudavicius, Aiemann Zahabi, Charles Jourdain, and Mike Malott featured. When touching on the spread of Canadian combatants who bolster this looming British Columbia-based UFC Fight Night offering, Nelson said,

Curtis Calhoun - October 10, 2025

UFC bantamweight prospect Malcolm Wellmaker adds to an intriguing card at Madison Square Garden next month. UFC 322 is quickly approaching as welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena looks to hand Islam Makhachev a stunning defeat in the main event. Makhachev opted to vacate the UFC lightweight belt to make the full-time move to welterweight and challenge Maddalena, who won the belt by defeating Belal Muhammad earlier this year.

Curtis Calhoun - October 10, 2025

Controversial combat sports star Dillon Danis revealed new details surrounding his infamous post-fight brawl with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Co. following UFC 229. Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov shared arguably the biggest rivalry in UFC history, culminating in a heated grudge match at UFC 229. Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in Round 4 to retain the UFC lightweight title and hand his longtime adversary a devastating defeat.

Curtis Calhoun - October 10, 2025

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall revealed how he believes a matchup with prime Daniel Cormier would’ve played out inside the Octagon. Tom Aspinall is weeks away from making his first undisputed UFC heavyweight title defense at UFC 321. Aspinall and former interim titleholder Ciryl Gane headline an intriguing card in Abu Dhabi, featuring the long-awaited return of Aspinall.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 10, 2025

A former UFC titleholder hopes to challenge Merab Dvalishvili despite suffering some setbacks. Dvalishvili has had a memorable run as the UFC Bantamweight Champion. After defeating Sean O’Malley back in Sept. 2024 to capture the gold, “The Machine” thwarted Umar Nurmagomedov for his first successful title defense. He then submitted O’Malley in their rematch, and recently defeated Cory Sandhagen via unanimous decision.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 10, 2025

Khalil Rountree is dismissive of one narrative following his UFC 320 defeat. Rountree entered T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with hopes of moving back into the light heavyweight title race. He appeared to be on his way to achieving that goal with a strong opening round against Jiri Prochazka. While Prochazka had a better showing in round two, Rountree remained ahead until disaster struck in the third round.

Harry Kettle - October 10, 2025

MMA analyst Laura Sanko has given her thoughts on Alex Pereira fighting Carlos Ulberg before a heavyweight switch. Right now, the sky is the limit for Alex Pereira. He defeated Magomed Ankalaev to recapture the UFC light heavyweight championship at UFC 320 and ever since then, many have been questioning what’s next for him – whether it be Carlos Ulberg, Jiri Prochazka or perhaps a move to heavyweight.

Harry Kettle - October 10, 2025

UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili sparred for five full rounds on the day of UFC 320, according to Khalil Rountree Jr. Last weekend, Merab Dvalishvili defeated Cory Sandhagen and successfully defended the UFC bantamweight championship for the third time. Once again, he proved that his insane cardio is on a different level, and he even managed to show off some of his new striking abilities by dropping Sandhagen in the second round.

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.