MMA News

Maycee Barber gets her hands wrapped backstage ahead of her scheduled fight vs. Erin Blanchfield
UFC

Maycee Barber set for UFC 323 return in first fight since stunning last-minute withdrawal

Curtis Calhoun - September 10, 2025

UFC women’s flyweight contender Maycee Barber will return to the Octagon just months after a significant health scare canceled her fight with Erin Blanchfield. Maycee Barber will return to the Octagon just months after her scheduled main event bout against Erin Blanchfield was canceled just minutes before she was supposed to walk to the cage.

Dominick Cruz commentates cageside at UFC 318, opposite Henry Cejudo punching Cruz at UFC 249
UFC

Dominick Cruz goes on X-rated rant against referee Keith Peterson five years after controversial stoppage

Curtis Calhoun - September 10, 2025

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz still holds a major grudge against referee Keith Peterson. Dominick Cruz announced his retirement from MMA earlier this year after his planned final fight at UFC Seattle was scratched due to an injury suffered in camp. Despite the abrupt end to his fighting career, Cruz is a likely future UFC Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest bantamweight in the promotion’s history.

Terence Crawford speaks at a pre-fight press conference, opposite Ilia Topuria in the cage at UFC 317
Ilia Topuria

Terence Crawford issues hilarious response to UFC star Ilia Topuria's knockout threats

Curtis Calhoun - September 10, 2025

One of the top pound-for-pound boxers in the world, Terence Crawford, was asked to respond to UFC star Ilia Topuria’s KO promise. Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez are just days away from squaring off in one of the biggest fights in boxing history this Saturday in Las Vegas. In a significant move up in weight, Crawford will challenge for Alvarez’s super middleweight titles in an attempt to add to his legacy.

Rob Font
UFC

Rob Font "is levels above [David Martinez] in terms of skill", says ranked UFC bantamweight

Dylan Bowker - September 10, 2025

Rob Font will look to extend his winning streak to three straight this weekend at Noche UFC and a training partner of his has weighed in on the contest. A picture of Aiemann Zahabi with Rob Font honing their skills inside the gym came up on social media a couple months ago with the two ranked bantamweights getting in key work ahead of big fights that each are lined up for. While Font had his Raul Rosas Jr. fight fall out, David Martinez has since stepped in there for this Noche UFC card to battle the talented 135 pounder.

Khabib Nurmagomedov during UFC press conference
Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov has an 'asterisk' on legendary UFC career, says Joe Rogan

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 10, 2025

Joe Rogan believes that Khabib Nurmagomedov should’ve had one loss on his pro MMA record. There is no doubting the accomplishments Nurmagomedov made throughout his prizefighting career. He dominated the likes of Conor McGregor, Justin Gaethje, and Dustin Poirier. He also captured UFC gold along the way, and retired with an undefeated record of 29-0.

Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford
Canelo Alvarez

UFC commentator reveals approach to calling Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 10, 2025

Jon Anik doesn’t feel the change from calling UFC fights to boxing will be drastic. Anik has been the UFC’s play-by-play man for several years. He has called some of the biggest fights in MMA, but he’ll be in for quite the task when serving as a commentator for Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford on Saturday. It’s a big moment for Anik, as Alvarez vs. “Bud” is the biggest boxing match in recent memory.

Jean Silva UFC celebration
Paulo Costa

Noche UFC headliner Jean Silva names middleweight contender who he can't stand

Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 10, 2025

Jean Silva isn’t fond of one popular UFC middleweight. While Silva is focused on his upcoming featherweight tilt against Diego Lopes for Noche UFC, he hasn’t been shy in expressing his disdain for a 185-pounder. The name in question is Paulo Costa.

Jean Silva and Diego Lopes
Jean Silva

Noche UFC main eventers nearly got into a hotel brawl, claims Jean Silva

Harry Kettle - September 10, 2025

According to Jean Silva, his team and Diego Lopes’ team nearly collided in a brawl at the Noche UFC fighter hotel this week. On Saturday night, Jean Silva and Diego Lopes will square off in the main event of Noche UFC. While the winner isn’t guaranteed to get a UFC featherweight championship shot in their next bout, they’ll certainly take a bit step towards that goal if they can secure a big finish this weekend.

Dominick Cruz
Demetrious Johnson

Dominick Cruz reveals gift he received from Dana White for short notice Demetrious Johnson fight

Harry Kettle - September 10, 2025

Dominick Cruz has revealed that he received a gift from Dana White in order to agree to a short notice fight against Demetrious Johnson. Back in 2011, Dominick Cruz was easily one of the best fighters in all of mixed martial arts. He was the king of the bantamweight division, and he hadn’t yet gone through a handful of his major injuries. In that year, he took on the rising star that was Demetrious Johnson in a short notice showdown for the belt.

Alyse Anderson
ONE Championship

Roster shake up: ONE Championship releases five fighters

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 9, 2025

Alyse Anderson joins four other fighters in losing their roster spots due to various reasons. The martial arts organization terminated contracts for multiple veterans who failed to meet competitive standards. ONE Championship released Anderson, Reece McLaren, Ahmed Mujtaba, Alexis Nicolas, and Cody Jerome according to social media reports. Each fighter’s official profile now displays a “Released” tag on the promotion’s website, confirming their departure from the roster.

Shadow
Shadow

Shadow replaces injured Tawanchai against Liu Mengyang at ONE Friday Fights 126

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 9, 2025

Shadow Singha Mawynn accepts a quick turnaround opportunity to face Liu Mengyang in featherweight kickboxing action. The Thai striker steps in after Tawanchai PK Saenchai withdrew from the originally scheduled bout due to injury. Shadow faces Liu Mengyang at ONE Friday Fights 126 on Friday, September 26, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The 25-year-old Thai contender makes his ONE Championship kickboxing debut following his spectacular knockout victory last weekend.

Jake Paul and Gervonta Davis
Jake Paul

Matt Brown "here for the circus" of Jake Paul vs. Tank Davis: "He sold me" on "the bulls**t"

Dylan Bowker - September 9, 2025

Jake Paul and Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis are set to box one another on Netflix later this year and while some are negative about the fight, one of the most exciting welterweights in UFC history seems game for the looming contest. Paul vs. Davis transpires on November 14th, with many curious about how a bout like this will be handled, considering the near-hundred-pound weight disparity between the two. While Davis has collected gold as a lightweight, Paul normally fights at cruiserweight and heavyweight, with some wondering if this will be an official bout in an agreed-upon weight category or an exhibition contest that won’t go on the professional records of either.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson answers a question during a Q+A at the Toronto International Film Festival
UFC

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson explains shocking weight loss just weeks after filming 'The Smashing Machine'

Curtis Calhoun - September 9, 2025

WWE legend Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson addressed one of the biggest questions online ahead of the U.S. premiere of ‘The Smashing Machine’. ‘The Smashing Machine’, a biopic on MMA legend Mark Kerr’s life and career, is set to star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and will premiere in the United States next month. Johnson, an avid MMA fan, went through a significant physical transformation as he trained in the gym to mimic Kerr’s appearance.

Jon Jones press conference
Jon Jones

Jon Jones plans to show Dana White 'how serious' he is about fighting at White House event

Cole Shelton - September 9, 2025

Jon Jones plans to do whatever is necessary to prove to Dana White he is serious about fighting at the White House event. Jones retired from MMA earlier this year. But, he has since claimed he’s no longer retired and is looking to fight again. He has made it clear he wants to be on the White House card. But, White has said it won’t happen.

Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire enters the Octagon for his fight at UFC 318, opposite Freire and Losene Keita speaking backstage at the UFC Paris weigh-in
Patricio "Pitbull" Freire

VIDEO | UFC Paris star Losene Keita pleads with Patricio 'Pitbull' to fight at catchweight after botched weight cut

Curtis Calhoun - September 9, 2025

UFC featherweight debutant Losene Keita failed to persuade Patricio ‘Pitbull’ to fight at a catchweight after missing weight ahead of UFC Paris. UFC Paris was supposed to feature the highly anticipated debut of featherweight Losene Keita on the main card against Bellator legend Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire. But hours before the event, Keita vs. Freire was canceled after Keita missed weight by a significant margin at Friday’s weigh-in.

Diego Lopes
Jean Silva

Diego Lopes turns down Jean Silva's bet ahead of Noche UFC

Cole Shelton - September 9, 2025

Diego Lopes says he won’t be accepting Jean Siva’s bet ahead of Noche UFC. Lopes is set to headline the event on Saturday against Silva in a pivotal fight at featherweight. Heading into the fight, Lopes is a +200 underdog while the Brazilian is a -265 favorite on FanDuel. In the lead-up to the scrap. Silva bet Lopes his entire purse that he wouldn’t be able to take him down, but the Mexican-Brazilian has no desire to accept it.

Noche UFC
Kelvin Gastelum

Noche UFC Fighter "couldn't really say no" to creating "fireworks" with UFC Hall of Famer

Dylan Bowker - September 9, 2025

Noche UFC features a main card middleweight matchup between Dustin Stoltzfus and Kelvin Gastelum, with the name value of the latter representing a bout offer that the former couldn’t refuse. Stoltzfus is fighting someone here who is a middleweight stalwart and a UFC Hall of Famer, with his interim middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 236 being inducted. When touching on the excitement of  getting to fight an established opponent here in terms of serving his goals of climbing the 185-pound divisional hierarchy, Dustin Stoltzfus said,

Carlos Prates celebrates after knocking out Geoff Neal at UFC 319
UFC

Carlos Prates shares shocking timeline for UFC retirement amid welterweight title run

Curtis Calhoun - September 9, 2025

UFC welterweight star Carlos Prates is fighting for a good time and not a long time. Carlos Prates earned a ‘Knockout of the Year’ frontrunner when he finished Geoff Neal on the UFC 319 main card last month in Chicago. After dropping the first loss of his UFC tenure to Ian Machado Garry in April, Prates bounced back with a massive win and is back in the welterweight division’s title mix.