MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 17, 2025

Anatoly Malykhin views his Japan rematch as an opportunity to honor his childhood idol’s dominance. The Russian superstar believes capturing heavyweight gold in Japan will complete his transformation into the country’s next heavyweight legend. Malykhin faces “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane for the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Championship at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on Sunday, November 16, inside Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The 37-year-old seeks to reclaim the title he lost via split decision in his first career defeat last November.

Dylan Bowker - September 17, 2025

Conor McGregor has pulled out of the Irish presidential race, and his estranged former training partner, Artem Lobov has weighed in on that. Lobov prepares to return to competition after over four years on the sidelines, with his return adversary being someone with ties to Lobov’s friendlier days with McGregor. ‘The Russian Hammer’ will test skill with Zubaira Tukhugov in a long-awaited bout with ties to the days of Conor McGregor feuding with Khabib Nurmagomedov with each representing those factions, respectively. This bout will occur at PFL Champions Series 2 on October 3rd and taking part in a PFL media call where he touched on McGregor dropping out of the race for Irish president, Lobov said [via MMA Fighting],

Dylan Bowker - September 17, 2025

Roman Kopylov and Gregory Rodrigues will throw down in an intriguing middleweight matchup that has been set for UFC 322. On November 15th, inside the World’s Most Famous Arena, the two combatants look to advance their placement within the promotion’s 185-pound hierarchy. While he is looking to rebound from a UFC 318 loss to Paulo Costa, Kopylov still finds himself in the rankings as he is the number fifteen-ranked middleweight contender. The former Fight Nights Global middleweight champion is 2-2 in his last four, with a loss to Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez bookending consecutive wins before his recent Costa setback. Kopylov secured victories during that stretch over Cesar Almeida as well as Chris Curtis.

Curtis Calhoun - September 17, 2025

UFC flyweight Alessandro Costa suffered more than a loss in his fight at Noche UFC last Saturday. Flyweights Alessandro Costa and Alden Coria treated fight fans to one of the best bouts of the night at Noche UFC last Saturday in San Antonio. It was a back-and-forth battle for as long as the fight lasted, before Coria finished Costa with punches just 47 seconds into Round 3.

Curtis Calhoun - September 17, 2025

Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis will no longer take place in Georgia due to strong opposition from the state’s athletic commission to sanction the fight. Jake Paul and longtime boxing champion Gervonta Davis are scheduled to square off on November 14th at a location that was to be announced. As of this writing, it’s uncertain if the fight will be a professional bout or an exhibition, due to the significant weight difference between the two boxers.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 17, 2025

Terence Crawford vs. Ilia Topuria doesn’t seem like a matchup UFC CEO Dana White would want to book, or is it? Crawford dazzled boxing fans with his stellar performance against Canelo Alvarez this past Saturday. While the undisputed super middleweight title fight wasn’t necessarily a wipeout, it was clear that “Bud” got the better of a fellow legend in Alvarez. Crawford further cemented his legacy with a unanimous decision victory, improving his perfect pro boxing record to 42-0.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 17, 2025

Will Conor McGregor finally meet a fighter he never got a chance to share the Octagon with? McGregor has been adamant about wanting to secure a spot on the UFC’s planned card at the White House. While many wondered if the “Notorious” one’s push for office in Ireland would hinder that plan, McGregor recently announced he’s no longer in the running. He is now free to focus on his training if that’s what he wishes to do.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 17, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili has a preferred method of victory for his UFC 320 fight against Cory Sandhagen. Dvalishvili and Sandhagen are scheduled to collide in the co-main event of UFC 320. The event will be headlined by a light heavyweight title rematch between champion Magomed Ankalaev and Alex Pereira. The action will be held inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Harry Kettle - September 17, 2025

UFC champion Kayla Harrison still expects her superfight with Amanda Nunes to happen – but she won’t wait around forever. As we know, Kayla Harrison is the current UFC women’s bantamweight champion after she was able to knock off Julianna Pena in their title fight. Now, however, she has her sights on an even bigger goal, which is to defeat the greatest of all time Amanda Nunes.

Harry Kettle - September 17, 2025

MMA coach Ray Longo is of the belief that Kelvin Gastelum may well have a serious eating disorder after he once again missed weight. For many years now, Kelvin Gastelum has been an ever-present member of the UFC roster. He has fought across multiple weight classes and he has been able to defeat a plethora of big names. However, one thing that’s always haunted him has been his issues with cutting weight.

Harry Kettle - September 17, 2025

UFC boss Dana White has provided a fresh update on a possible comeback for former two-weight world champion Conor McGregor. For the longest time now, fans have been wondering if and when they’re going to see Conor McGregor get back into the Octagon. It’s been more than four years since he last competed, when he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier. In that time, he’s been pretty close to a comeback on several occasions, including when he was actually booked to fight Michael Chandler.

Harry Kettle - September 17, 2025

Movsar Evloev has sent a message to the rest of the big names currently residing in the UFC’s featherweight division. Right now, the featherweight division is looking pretty stacked in the UFC. Alexander Volkanovski is the current champion but beyond that, there are plenty of contenders who are hoping to make a push for a title shot. That includes Movsar Evloev who, while not the flashiest fighter in the world, certainly has one of the best records out of any of the potential contenders.

Dylan Bowker - September 16, 2025

Jorge Masvidal recently took a shot at Conor McGregor after the latter’s abandoned political aspirations came to light. McGregor, for the last little while, had professed his desire to run for president of Ireland. He had received support from Elon Musk as well as tacit acknowledgments from Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson. Alas, ‘The Notorious’ would announce on social media that he would no longer be running for political office. With the election to come next month, McGregor did not receive the required nominations to run. Taking to his personal social media to take his name out of the running for the Irish presidency, McGregor stated,

Dylan Bowker - September 16, 2025

Josh Emmett battles Youssef Zalal at UFC 320: Ankalaev vs. Pereira 2 on October 4th, and a former UFC fighter has broken down that featherweight fight. Khalid Taha was the combatant in question who broke down the looming contest. Taha did so ahead of his own clash with Edgar Delgado Jimenez that went down at Oktagon 75 on September 13th. Taha appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts and when asked for his thoughts on that UFC 320 fight with Josh Emmett taking on Youssef Zalal, Taha said,

Curtis Calhoun - September 16, 2025

UFC CEO Dana White clarified his stance towards Jake Paul, but also didn’t hold back on Paul’s recent legal escapades. UFC CEO Dana White and controversial boxer/influencer Jake Paul will likely never be friends. Their feud spans four years, dating back to when Paul knocked out White’s former fighter, Ben Askren, inside the boxing ring.

Curtis Calhoun - September 16, 2025

Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley seems open to booking a recently rumored fight with one of the division’s rising contenders. Sean O’Malley is in a peculiar spot in the UFC bantamweight title picture. After back-to-back losses to UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili, O’Malley is arguably on the outside looking in when it comes to discussing who is next in line for a title shot.

Curtis Calhoun - September 16, 2025

Shakur Stevenson believes Terence Crawford would finish UFC champion Ilia Topuria inside the Octagon. Talks of a potential crossover fight between newly minted super middleweight boxing champion Terence Crawford and UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria have skyrocketed in recent days. Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision in their superfight last weekend to add to his stellar resume.

Curtis Calhoun - September 16, 2025

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier doesn’t believe Ilia Topuria will get his desired fight with Terence Crawford for one controversial reason. Superstar fighters Terence Crawford and Ilia Topuria have added a new high-profile feud to the combat sports world in recent days. After Crawford’s dominant win over Canelo Alvarez last weekend, tensions are escalating between him and the brash UFC star Topuria.