MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 21, 2025

Shamil Gasanov believes his village upbringing forged the mentality needed to capture MMA gold. The Russian is ready to prove a wrestler from remote Dagestan can achieve worldwide greatness. The third-ranked featherweight rematches Garry Tonon at ONE Fight Night 34 on Friday, August 1, inside Lumpinee Stadium at Bangkok, Thailand. The bout comes after Gasanov defeated Martin Nguyen, marking his fourth consecutive victory since Tonon submitted him.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2025

Khamzat Chimaev has fired back at Paulo Costa. After Costa pulled off an upset win over Roman Kopylov, he called out Chimaev and claimed ‘Borz’ was DMing his wife. He says he will be chasing down Chimaev until he gets to fight him, but after his callout, ‘Borz’ took to social media to claim Costa’s wife was the one messaging him.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2025

The UFC was in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday for a solid UFC 318 card. The main event saw Max Holloway defending his BMF belt in the trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier, which also served as ‘The Diamond’s’ final fight. Ultimately, it was Holloway who won a decision in a back-and-forth, thrilling fight to defend his BMF belt and become the first person to defend his BMF belt. Following UFC 318, here is what I think should be next for the stars of the event.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2025

Reinier de Ridder is expecting to make a statement in the main event of UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday. de Ridder is set to headline the card against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in a pivotal fight at middleweight. Although the winner of Nassourdibe Imavov vs Caio Borralho appears to be next in line, de Ridder believes that if he has a spectacular finish, as he predicts, he could leapfrog them.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2025

Max Holloway is open to rematching Charles Oliveira in his next fight if he doesn’t get a title shot. Holloway moved up to lightweight for good on Saturday at UFC 318, and he scored a decision win over Dustin Poirier to defend his BMF belt. After the win, he called out Ilia Topuria, but if he doesn’t get the title shot, he says the Oliveira rematch makes sense.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2025

An old rival of Max Holloway believes “Blessed” is a solid choice for the next UFC lightweight title contender. Holloway recently fought Dustin Poirier in “The Diamond’s” final pro MMA fight. It was a vintage performance from Holloway, who outstruck the man who had beaten him twice.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2025

UFC CEO Dana White thinks Max Holloway has set himself up for plenty of options after defeating Dustin Poirier. Holloway scored the unanimous decision victory in “The Diamond’s” retirement fight at UFC 318. “Blessed” is hoping to take over the lightweight division now that he finally secured a victory over Poirier in their trilogy bout. He also gets to keep his top five position in the official UFC 155-pound rankings.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2025

Jon Jones is aware of UFC CEO Dana White’s recent comments shutting down the idea of “Bones” fighting in the White House. Jones announced his retirement from pro MMA competition, which led to Tom Aspinall being crowned the undisputed UFC heavyweight titleholder. It was then revealed that “Bones” has found himself in legal trouble again. He is facing a criminal charge stemming from a traffic incident in New Mexico back in February.

Harry Kettle - July 21, 2025

MMA veteran Patricio Pitbull has called for a fight against Aaron Pico in the wake of his victory at UFC 318. As we know, Patricio Pitbull picked up the first win of his Ultimate Fighting Championship run on Saturday night with a win over Dan Ige. While it may not have been the flashiest performance in the world, he certainly did enough to get his hand raised – and even though he’s now in his late 30s, he seems pretty set on trying to make a run for the title.

Harry Kettle - July 21, 2025

UFC middleweight Paulo Costa has praised his coaches in the wake of his win over Roman Kopylov at UFC 318 last weekend. On Saturday night, Paulo Costa defeated Roman Kopylov to get himself back in the win column. It’s been a long time coming for a man who, as we know, has experienced his fair share of ups and downs in mixed martial arts. Alas, it seems as if he’s finally getting back on track, with his eyes firmly set on a showdown with Khamzat Chimaev.

Harry Kettle - July 21, 2025

UFC legend Dustin Poirier has questioned the judges following his defeat to Max Holloway in his retirement fight. Dustin Poirier has officially retired from mixed martial arts. He rode off into the sunset on Saturday night following his loss to Max Holloway, failing in his attempt to claim the BMF title. Alas, while he may have lost, he still won the hearts of MMA fans around the world – as you’d expect from someone like ‘The Diamond’.

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 20, 2025

World Title opportunities don’t come around often in ONE Championship’s stacked divisions. Two elite strikers will battle for the next crack at featherweight gold in September. Second-ranked contender Bampara Kouyate faces #3-ranked Shadow Singha Mawynn in featherweight Muay Thai action at ONE Fight Night 35 on Friday, September 5, inside Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium. The winner could secure the next shot at reigning champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai.

Harry Kettle - July 20, 2025

Former UFC fighter Jon Jones has sent a series of strange messages to Daniel Cormier as their rivalry heats up once again. For whatever reason, Jon Jones really enjoys winding people up on social media. He also enjoys teasing the mixed martial arts fanbase, whether it be about taking on Tom Aspinall (finally) or breaking his short-lived retirement. Whatever the case may be, ‘Bones’ spends more time typing than he does competing these days.

Harry Kettle - July 20, 2025

UFC legend Dustin Poirier doesn’t regret going for the guillotine choke when he had Max Holloway hurt at UFC 318. Last night, Dustin Poirier failed in his attempt to defeat Max Holloway for the third time. The two warriors battled it out in an epic clash in the main event of UFC 318, with ‘The Diamond’ just coming up short against ‘Blessed’. It was a pretty strong effort from Dustin and he even came close to finishing the fight in the second round, but it just wasn’t enough.

Harry Kettle - July 20, 2025

UFC star Max Holloway sent a message of positivity to Dustin Poirier in the wake of their UFC 318 main event last night. On Saturday, Max Holloway finally picked up a win over Dustin Poirier. While ‘The Diamond’ won their first two meetings, it was Holloway who managed to secure the victory and prevent Dustin from retiring on a victory. Alas, it didn’t spoil the mood all too much, with the hometown hero still getting a tremendous send-off in front of the passionate fans in New Orleans.

Harry Kettle - July 20, 2025

UFC boss Dana White appears to have rejected the idea of Jon Jones competing on next year’s White House event. As we know, Jon Jones is currently retired from mixed martial arts. However, he now seems to be going back on that, suggesting that he’s going to make a push to compete on the UFC White House card next year. As you can imagine, this is pretty frustrating for a lot of fans given that Jon spent so long dodging a fight against Tom Aspinall.

Chris Taylor - July 19, 2025

Tonight’s UFC 318 event was headlined by a BMF title fight between fan favorites Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway. Poirier (30-10 MMA), a former UFC interim lightweight champion, was competing for the final time this evening in his home state. ‘The Diamond’ had most previously appeared in the cage 13 months ago at UFC 302, where he suffered a submission loss to Islam Makhachev. The 36-year-old had faced Holloway on two previous occasions in the past, winning both of those fights, the first by submission and the second by unanimous decision.

Chris Taylor - July 19, 2025

We have you covered for all of tonight’s UFC 318 results, including the main event trilogy fight between Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway. Poirier (30-10 MMA), a former UFC interim lightweight champion, will be competing for the final time this evening in his home state. ‘The Diamond’ was most previously seen in action 13 months ago at UFC 302, where he suffered a submission loss to Islam Makhachev. The 36-year-old has faced Holloway twice in the past, winning both of those fights, the first by submission and the second by unanimous decision.