MMA News
Mackenzie Dern found out about UFC title shot via social media
Harry Kettle - September 3, 2025
UFC star Mackenzie Dern found out about her UFC 321 title shot against Virna Jandiroba on Instagram. At UFC 321, Mackenzie Dern will get the opportunity of a lifetime. She will compete against Virna Jandiroba and if she wins, she will become the new UFC strawweight champion. Zhang Weili relinquished the belt in order to pursue a second world title against Valentina Shevchenko, swinging the door wide open for Mackenzie and Virna to get this shot.
Former ONE World Champions Aung La N Sang and Zebaztian Kadestam clash at ONE Fight Night 36
BJPENN.COM Staff - September 2, 2025
Aung La N Sang seeks to prove his championship days aren’t finished. The Myanmar legend faces Zebaztian Kadestam in a middleweight MMA clash between former ONE World Title holders. He faces Kadestam in middleweight MMA action at ONE Fight Night 36 on Friday, October 3, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The 40-year-old former two-division champion enters seeking momentum after recent struggles while the Swedish striker makes his middleweight debut.
Shadow Singha Mawynn predicts explosive finish: "Someone is getting a knockout in this fight"
BJPENN.COM Staff - September 2, 2025
Shadow Singha Mawynn expects fireworks when he faces Bampara Kouyate in their potential ONE World Title eliminator. The Thai striker believes his elbow work and finishing ability will prove decisive against the tall French-Malian contender. Shadow faces Kouyate in featherweight Muay Thai action at ONE Fight Night 35 on Friday, September 5, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The #3-ranked contender seeks his first title shot while the #2-ranked challenger aims to secure his own championship opportunity.
Demetrious Johnson details how he would gameplan Merab Dvalishvili hypothetical fight
Curtis Calhoun - September 2, 2025
Cory Sandhagen might take a page out of Demetrious Johnson’s playbook as he prepares to fight Merab Dvalishvili. UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili makes a strong case for the toughest puzzle to solve in Mixed Martial Arts today. As evidenced in recent wins over Sean O’Malley and Umar Nurmagomedov, Dvalishvili has a complete game with a gas tank seldom seen inside the Octagon.
Colby Covington shares prediction for Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev at UFC 322
Cole Shelton - September 2, 2025
Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington is very interested to see how the welterweight title fight plays out. Jack Della Maddalena is looking to defend his welterweight title for the first time when he takes on Islam Makhachev. The former lightweight champ is moving up to welterweight in a highly anticipated bout. Heading into the bout, Della Maddalena is a +196 underdog while the challenger is a -260 favorite on FanDuel.
Eddie Hall will lose over 60 pounds if he can "rock [Dillon Danis'] f***ing chin”
Dylan Bowker - September 2, 2025
Eddie Hall and Dillon Danis had a faceoff with one another at Misfits Boxing 22, with the former willing to go through a remarkable weight-cutting effort to secure a fight with the latter. As Danis secured his first MMA win in six years with his sub-twenty-second submission of Warren Spencer, the jiu-jitsu standout would then have an in-ring interaction with the former World’s Strongest Man, Hall. The discrepancy in weight is certainly noticeable with Eddie Hall situated at the super heavyweight level while Danis has historically competed at 175 pounds in mixed martial arts. When addressing the Danis faceoff and what he is willing to do in order to make that fight happen with the newly minted MF MMA light heavyweight champion, Hall said [via Bloody Elbow],
Robert Whittaker admits reclaiming gold is a "pipe dream", defines "biggest goal right now"
Dylan Bowker - September 2, 2025
A former UFC middleweight champion seems unsure about his path back to gold after his recent setback at UFC Abu Dhabi, but does still have competition-based motivations going forward. Robert Whittaker was the former champion in question, with the previous 185-pound titleholder expressing this thought during a recent interview with Submission Radio. The 34-year-old recently dropped a close split decision to former two-division ONE Championship titleholder Reinier de Ridder in July. At a time when the middleweight hierarchy is stacked like it hasn’t been in years, with looming high-stakes title eliminator-style bouts set up with RDR clashing with Anthony Hernandez at UFC Vancouver, as well as this weekend’s UFC Paris headliner with Nassourdine Imavov against Caio Borralho, it can become difficult to stand out as a prospective title challenger.
Alexander Volkanovski fakes a neck injury in brutal prank on lifelong fan
Curtis Calhoun - September 2, 2025
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski showed no mercy on one of his most devoted fans. Alexander Volkanovski returned to the UFC featherweight throne when he defeated Diego Lopes for the vacant belt earlier this year. As he prepares for the first title defense of his second reign, he’s having a lot of fun in and out of the gym.
Jon Jones breaks silence after misdemeanor charges dropped that 'disrupted' UFC retirement
Curtis Calhoun - September 2, 2025
Former UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones scored a big legal victory on Tuesday stemming from a February hit-and-run incident. Jones, who announced his fighting retirement in June, was accused of fleeing the scene of a car accident near his home in Albuquerque. He was set to appear in court on Tuesday, before misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident were dropped.
Israel Adesanya predicts UFC Paris main event featuring rival who KO'd him
Curtis Calhoun - September 2, 2025
Israel Adesanya is keeping a keen eye on the UFC Paris headliner between middleweights Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov. UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev’s first title defense could come against the winner of this Saturday’s main event between Caio Borralho and Nassourdine Imavov.
Colby Covington leaves influencer puking in $30k sparring challenge
Curtis Calhoun - September 2, 2025
Colby Covington taught influencer Chrogman a brutal lesson during their $30k spar at the UFC Performance Institute. Former UFC title challenger Colby Covington remains one of the most polarizing figures in combat sports today. While opinions vary on Covington’s persona in and out of the cage, few can deny his willingness to show up in a fight setting.
Raul Rosas Jr. details injury that pulled him from Noche UFC, shares lofty goal
Cole Shelton - September 2, 2025
Raul Rosas Jr. has opened up on why he had to pull out of Noche UFC. Rosas Jr. was supposed to take on the UFC’s ninth-ranked bantamweight in Rob Font on September 13 in a big fight at 135lbs. However, just days after the fight was announced, Rosas Jr. had to pull out as he revealed he had a rib injury.
Dricus du Plessis' biggest mistake against Khamzat Chimaev revealed by rising UFC contender
Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 2, 2025
Dricus du Plessis couldn’t get much going against Khamzat Chimaev, and one surging contender thinks he knows why. Entering UFC 319, du Plessis was looking for his third successful UFC Middleweight Championship defense. It was apparent early on that Chimaev’s takedowns and control would be the story of the night. “Borz” had a methodical game plan that allowed him to preserve energy all the way until the final horn.
UFC 322 betting odds are 'disrespectful' to Jack Della Maddalena ahead of Islam Makhachev fight
Fernando Quiles Jr. - September 2, 2025
Is Jack Della Maddalena being disrespected ahead of UFC 322? Maddalena is scheduled to put the UFC Welterweight Championship at stake when he meets Islam Makhachev on Nov. 15. Makhachev has a chance to win UFC gold in a second weight class. He relinquished the lightweight title in a bid for 170-pound hardware.
Tom Aspinall's father leaves door open for possible boxing match
Harry Kettle - September 2, 2025
Tom Aspinall’s father believes his son could go down the route of trying to secure a big boxing match in the future. As we know, Tom Aspinall is the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. He has been an absolute force of nature since arriving on the mixed martial arts scene, and in his next outing, he’ll attempt to successfully defend the belt against Ciryl Gane. Beyond that, though, if he wins, it’s not clear as to how many other clear contenders there are in the division.
Ilia Topuria may opt to wrestle Justin Gaethje, says Ali Abdelaziz
Harry Kettle - September 2, 2025
Ali Abdelaziz believes that Ilia Topuria may decide to wrestle Justin Gaethje if they were to fight one another. Right now, Ilia Topuria is the biggest star in the world of mixed martial arts – and that doesn’t feel like a very controversial thing to say. He has done some incredible things throughout the course of his time in the sport and as we look ahead to the future, it certainly feels like he’s on his way to becoming something special.
Din Thomas still isn't sure about Khamzat Chimaev as UFC champion
Harry Kettle - September 2, 2025
MMA analyst Din Thomas has doubled down on his thoughts regarding Khamzat Chimaev being an active UFC champion. As we know, Khamzat Chimaev is the UFC middleweight champion. He earned that title by defeating and dominating Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in impressive fashion. Now, though, the focus shifts to the future, with many wondering who ‘Borz’ will face off against next.
Just Scrap Radio Ep. 203 with Modestas Bukauskas and Martin Buday
Cole Shelton - September 2, 2025
The 203rd episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live to preview UFC Paris. We’re first joined by UFC light heavyweight Modestas Bukauskas (1:15). We close things out chatting with former UFC heavyweight Martin Buday (17:24).