MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 21, 2025

Fabricio Andrey faces Eduardo Granzotto in a bantamweight submission grappling clash at ONE Fight Night 36 on Friday, October 3, live from Bangkok, Thailand. The 25-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion carries personal motivation into this rematch after losing to Granzotto at the IBJJF World Championships earlier this year. Andrey dominated Ashley Williams in his promotional debut at ONE Fight Night 30, securing a unanimous decision victory. But the spectacle surrounding his first appearance left him mesmerized by the organization’s production value and global reach.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 21, 2025

Ronda Rousey likely won’t be returning to pro MMA competition, but she’s renewing her love for the sport. Rousey became a pioneer for women’s MMA thanks to her dominance as the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, as well as her popularity. “Rowdy” was one of combat sports’ most talked about figures during her prime. At the end of her run, Rousey grew bitter towards the sport that helped put her on the map due to mental exhaustion.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 21, 2025

Kayla Harrison isn’t as harsh on one of her past rivals as she once was. Harrison shared the Octagon with Julianna Pena for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship back in June. Harrison scored the second-round submission finish to capture UFC gold for the first time in her career. There was a war of words between the two going into fight night, as Pena even accused Harrison of juicing.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 21, 2025

Charles Oliveira isn’t happy with fighters who claim they want to step up on short notice, but don’t end up signing the contract. Oliveira was scheduled to meet Rafael Fiziev in the main event of UFC Rio on Oct. 11. Fiziev is off the card due to an injury, and the search for a replacement opponent is underway. Several fighters have thrown their name in the hat to serve as a potential replacement opponent, but Oliveira claims no one actually wants to fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 21, 2025

A near 40-fight veteran who has made his mark in Bellator and Rizin is looking for a UFC run before he wraps up his career. Juan Archuleta has mixed it up with the likes of Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, Patchy Mix, Sergio Pettis, and Kai Asakura. While Archuleta has been in the trenches as a pro MMA fighter since 2013, “The Spaniard” has never competed under the UFC banner.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 21, 2025

Israel Adesanya won’t be hanging up his gloves imminently. Adesanya has earned his share of accomplishments throughout his fighting career. The former Glory Kickboxing star made a seamless transition to MMA, and he captured the UFC Middleweight Championship twice. While Adesanya enjoyed his time ruling the roost at 185 pounds, he now finds himself in unfamiliar territory with three straight losses.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 21, 2025

A longtime member of the UFC roster believes Justin Gaethje has earned the right to challenge Ilia Topuria. Topuria is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion. Fight fans have been waiting to see who will be “El Matador’s” first contender at 155 pounds after he starched Charles Oliveira in their late June clash.

Dylan Bowker - September 20, 2025

Puna Soriano is looking to extend his winning streak to three straight in the coming weeks. The last person to beat him in the octagon will be wholeheartedly supporting him in that pursuit. Punahele Soriano takes on Nikolay Veretennikov at UFC 320 on October 4th. Dustin Stoltzfus is the fighter in question who last bested Soriano. He addressed Soriano’s looming fight when he appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts. Stoltzfus did this ahead of his own recent clash with Kelvin Gastelum at Noche UFC on September 13th. One of the statement victories of Stoltzfus’ career was his win over Puna Soriano. Stoltzfus finished Soriano with a rear-naked choke. That occurred in the final minute of the second stanza during their UFC Fight Night: Dariush vs. Tsarukyan contest. That bout transpired on December 2nd, 2023. When offering up his thoughts on the Soriano vs. Veretennikov matchup early next month, Stoltzfus said,

Dylan Bowker - September 19, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan is staying busy as a competitive martial artist and emphatically stopped a former UFC titleholder earlier today. This took place under the Absolute Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu banner. Tsarukyan finished Benson Henderson in a submission grappling contest. That clash transpired at ACBJJ 18 in Moscow, Russia, when the number two-ranked lightweight contender finished the former WEC champ at 155 pounds with an arm triangle choke in the early goings of the matchup. The 28-year-old victor is 13 years Henderson’s junior, in what many saw as a clash of past and present lightweight standouts in MMA.

Cole Shelton - September 19, 2025

Tom Aspinall knows his next fight will come from the winner of Alexander Volkov vs. Jailton Almeida at UFC 321 if he also wins on that card. Aspinall is set to defend his heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 321 against Ciryl Gane. Heading into the bout, Aspinall is a sizable -460 favorite while the Frenchman is a +320 underdog on FanDuel. Also on the UFC 321 card is a No. 1 contender bout at heavyweight featuring Volkov taking on Almeida.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 19, 2025

Ilia Topuria has been calling for a showdown with boxing great Terence Crawford, but one UFC fighter doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Topuria has certainly seen his stock soar thanks to stellar performances against Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira. “El Matador” is a former UFC featherweight titleholder, who vacated the gold to eventually capture the lightweight championship. Many believe Topuria has taken a page out of Conor McGregor’s playbook, and his callout of “Bud” Crawford is an example of that.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 19, 2025

It’s easy for fans to pile on when fighters are down on their luck, and one UFC analyst has seen enough. Carlos Prates, Caio Borralho, Jean Silva, and Mauricio Ruffy were all riding hot streaks and representing The Fighting Nerds while doing so. The fighters gained a ton of buzz for their exciting fighting styles and personalities. While fans were singing the praises of all four men, they quickly turned on the quartet after they all dropped their most recent outings.

Harry Kettle - September 19, 2025

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili’s coach John Wood has issued a warning to his future opponents. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili is the reigning king of the bantamweights – and he’s well and truly earned that title. He’s already successfully defended the belt twice and in his next outing, he’ll put the strap on the line against top contender Cory Sandhagen.

Harry Kettle - September 19, 2025

Rampage Jackson’s son Raja Jackson has been arrested following his pro wrestling assault incident recently. As we know, Raja Jackson was involved in a serious incident at a pro wrestling event where he attacked a performer in the ring. While it seemed as if the two were working an angle, it quickly became obvious that the situation had escalated quite severely. The victim, Syko Stu, was knocked out cold, with the whole thing being streamed live.

Harry Kettle - September 19, 2025

Bogdan Guskov has told a wild story about Jon Jones’ preparation for his first fight against Alexander Gustafsson. One thing we know to be true is that Jon Jones is a bit of a wildcard – and that’s us putting it lightly. He has a tendency to do some crazy things from time to time, whether it be in or outside of the cage. Despite that, he’s still widely considered by many to be one of the greatest fighters of all time.

Harry Kettle - September 19, 2025

In a resurfaced tweet, world champion Magomed Ankalaev looks back at what he considers to be the easiest fight of his UFC career. As we know, Magomed Ankalaev is the current UFC light heavyweight champion. In just a matter of weeks, he’ll attempt to successfully defend that crown when he goes head to head with Alex Pereira for the second time – the same man from whom he won the belt. In the eyes of many, he’s the favorite to win and walk away with the title around his waist.

Dylan Bowker - September 18, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan leans more toward Paddy Pimblett than Justin Gaethje as far as who will get the next shot at the UFC lightweight championship. After halting Charles Oliveira with strikes at UFC 317, newly minted UFC 155-pound titleholder Ilia Topuria is still awaiting his first title defense. While many do think Tsarukyan is potentially next up for the title, there is a chance that the promotion pursues other options outside of the number two-ranked contender. Justin Gaethje is the number five-ranked lightweight, has often come through for the promotion in tight spots, but he has also secured multiple prior title shots. While Pimblett is ranked number seven at lightweight, he has the longest-running narrative with Topuria as the two have had an outside of the octagon rivalry for years now.

Dylan Bowker - September 18, 2025

The initially scheduled penultimate fight of the night at UFC Perth has now been scrapped from the event. Ibo Aslan and Junior Tafa will no longer be throwing down in a light heavyweight contest on September 27th, as announced by the promotion. An emergent injury caused the bout to fall out, although the Ultimate Fighting Championship did not specify which of the combatants fell to said injury.