MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - August 28, 2025

Allycia Hellen Rodrigues sees championship destiny in her training partner’s immediate future. The ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion believes Stella Hemetsberger possesses every quality needed to capture strawweight gold against elite opposition. Hemetsberger challenges Jackie Buntan for the vacant ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE Fight Night 35 on Prime Video on Friday, September 5, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. The 26-year-old Austrian enters with a perfect 3-0 ONE Championship record highlighted by devastating finishing ability.

BJPENN.COM Staff - August 28, 2025

Denice Zamboanga suffered a crushing blow to her championship plans when medical issues forced her withdrawal from ONE 173. She must postpone her first title defense against Ayaka Miura due to health concerns beyond her control. Zamboanga was scheduled to defend her ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Title against Miura at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on November 16 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. The 28-year-old Filipina announced her withdrawal via social media Thursday evening.

Dylan Bowker - August 28, 2025

Bryan Battle did not hit the 185-pound mark in his initial attempt earlier this month, but did hit that weight limit, preparing to compete for another promotion before August closes out. His ill-fated UFC 319 weigh in attempt from August 16th saw not only his fight with Nursulton Ruziboev scrapped but Battle received his walking papers from the MMA powerhouse. This puglistic pink slip came after missing weight for a second time and in a second division no less. That weight miss also came in consecutive fight bookings but Battle did not have to wait long for his next assignment. The prior weight miss for the Missouri native came last December as Battle failed to hit the welterweight limit of 170 pounds against Randy Brown in a fight that Battle eventually won.

Cole Shelton - August 28, 2025

The UFC has started to fill out the UFC Rio de Janeiro Fight Night card in Brazil. The Octagon is returning to Rio on October 11, with the main event seeing Charles Oliveira taking on Rafael Fiziev in a pivotal lightweight bout. Now, the promotion has added plenty of new and exciting fights to the event, including the return of Valter Walker vs Mohammed Usman at heavyweight.

Cole Shelton - August 28, 2025

Darren Till and Luke Rockhold went at it during the Misfits press conference on Thursday. Till and Rockhold are set to box on Saturday on Misfits in a highly anticipated bout. Heading into the fight, Till and Rockhold have both taken shots at one another on social media and in interviews.

Dylan Bowker - August 28, 2025

Raul Rosas Jr. will no longer be preparing for the penultimate fight of the night spot at this year’s Noche UFC after being forced to withdraw from the card. In news first reported by Wristlock MMA, the man who utters ‘Chiwiwis’ will now no longer be competing on September 13th. The UFC Fight Night 259 bout for Rosas Jr. was planned to be against Rob Font but the former will no longer be in the co-main event spot. Sources told Mike Heck of MMA Fighting that the promotion is actively looking for a repalcement opponent for Font inside Frost Bank Arena in San Antonio but no one has been confirmed, as of this writing.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 28, 2025

Aljamain Sterling emerged victorious at UFC Shanghai, but some damage was done. Sterling had a one-sided showing against Brian Ortega in their five-round featherweight clash. It was a clean sweep for “Funkmaster,” who secured 50-45 scores from all three judges. It was a big win for Sterling, who now finds himself in the top five featherweight rankings.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 28, 2025

Could Conor McGregor and Mike Perry finally be on a collision course? It’s no secret that McGregor has invested his time in promoting BKFC. The “Notorious” one has had his share of interactions with Perry, who had been thought of to be the face of the promotion at one point. Perry and BKFC ended up being at odds when McGregor claimed “Platinum” was ousted for starting his own organization.

Harry Kettle - August 28, 2025

Rampage Jackson has said his son Raja has been struggling since his mother was murdered following his recent assault incident. As we know, Rampage Jackson’s son Raja was recently involved in a pretty serious incident at a pro wrestling show. He assaulted a man live on stream, to the point where many were concerned about the lasting impact that his attack would have on the victim in question.

Harry Kettle - August 28, 2025

MMA analyst Josh Thomson believes that Anthony Johnson would’ve defeated Alex Pereira in a hypothetical UFC fantasy fight. It’s been almost three years since Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson passed away. The former mixed martial arts star was seen as a trailblazer in many ways in the sport, with his phenomenal power being seen as his greatest weapon. He fought and beat some of the very best throughout the course of his career, and he’ll forever be remembered as one of the greats.

Harry Kettle - August 28, 2025

Islam Makhachev’s manager has explained why he doesn’t believe Islam will end up fighting Khamzat Chimaev in a proposed superfight. As we know, Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev are two of the most impressive fighters in all of mixed martial arts. They have both done some incredible things throughout the course of their careers, and some believe it makes sense for them to square off with one another at some point in the future.

BJPENN.COM Staff - August 27, 2025

Asadula Imangazaliev seeks the biggest victory of his undefeated career when he faces veteran opposition in his highest-profile opportunity. The Russian knockout artist battles Panpayak Jitmuangnon with a potential $100,000 contract with ONE Championship hanging in the balance. Imangazaliev faces Panpayak in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 122 on August 29 inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. The 22-year-old enters with a perfect 9-0 record highlighted by four finishes in five ONE Championship appearances.

Dylan Bowker - August 27, 2025

Some rumors were floating around about Charles Oliveira potentially retiring in his next fight at UFC Rio but his coach has dispelled these rumors and given ‘Do Bronx’ fans something to be excited about. During an exclusive interview with Sherdog, Diego Lima touched on Oliveira’s next fight set to transpire in his home country and when touching on what the fighting future of his charge looks like, Lima said [via Sherdog],

Dylan Bowker - August 27, 2025

A former UFC bantamweight title challenger has booked their return bout with the goal of returning to the win column after a four-fight drought. Mayra Bueno Silva is set to clash with surging star Jacqueline Cavalcanti at a UFC Fight Night card set to transpire in Las Vegas on November 8th. The news of this bout booking was confirmed by MMA Fighting after confirmation from multiple sources following an initial report by Ag. Fight. The promotion has yet to formally announce the card overall, which means there is no set main event for the Fight Night offering at this juncture. This will be a quicker turnaround of fortunes for Silva, who was booked to fight Joselyne Edwards earlier this month prior to withdrawing from the contest.

Cole Shelton - August 27, 2025

Syko Stu, the wrestler that Raja Jackson attacked, is awake and communicating after being transported to the hospital. Jackson attended a wrestling event, which was streamed on Kick. During the event, he got into an altercation with Stu, which led to him going into the ring. Once Jackson got into the ring, he slammed Stu before punching him over 20 times, and knocking him out. Despite Stu being out cold, Jackson continued to rain down punches before being pulled off him.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 27, 2025

One fighter who emerged victorious at UFC Shanghai says he never faked a glove touch. The main event of UFC Shanghai featured a light heavyweight tilt between Johnny Walker and Zhang Mingyang. There was significant buzz for Mingyang going into the fight, and many thought this would be a statement-making win for the hone country hero. Walker had other plans, and he secured a second-round TKO finish.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - August 27, 2025

If one former UFC titleholder had his way, then Ilia Topuria’s first lightweight title defense would be against Paddy Pimblett. Topuria and Pimblett had a staredown inside the Octagon at the conclusion of UFC 317 back in June. Topuria had just knocked out Charles Oliveira to secure the UFC Lightweight Championship. Dana White was none too pleased with “The Baddy” being allowed inside the cage once Topuria’s fight was over.

Harry Kettle - August 27, 2025

Darren Till has revealed a few potential opponents that he could’ve faced before being booked to take on Luke Rockhold. This weekend, Darren Till returns to the boxing ring as part of the Misfits Boxing 22 card in Manchester, England. He’ll lock horns with fellow former UFC star Luke Rockhold, with both men hoping to make a real statement. Of course, it’s a strange matchup in the eyes of some, but it’s one that makes sense when you consider the trash talk between both men over the years.