MMA News

Curtis Calhoun - January 2, 2026

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov has a no-nonsense approach to coaching fighters under his legendary tutelage. Khabib Nurmagomedov stunned the world when he announced his retirement from MMA fighting in 2020, following a win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Nurmagomedov’s decision came after his father’s tragic death and a promise to his mother to hang up the gloves.

Curtis Calhoun - January 2, 2026

Former UFC featherweight title challenger Brian Ortega shared his first public reaction to his ex-girlfriend Tracy Cortez’s new relationship. UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and women’s flyweight star Tracy Cortez made news earlier this week when they made their new relationship public. Pereira and Cortez were seen celebrating New Year’s Eve together, prompting a lot of reaction from fight fans.

Cole Shelton - January 2, 2026

UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes Tom Aspinall may never fight again. Aspinall is dealing with an eye injury from his fight against Ciryl Gane, as he was poked in the eye by the Frenchman. It was a gruesome poke, and now Aspinall is dealing with some repercussions and needs surgery. Rogan believes eyes can cause some issues and believes there is a chance the heavyweight champ doesn’t fight again.

BJPENN.COM Staff - January 1, 2026

Patience carved Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu’s path to greatness, but 2025 proved that approach works. The 36-year-old Mongolian superstar transformed from respected contender to ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion through steady performances that erased every remaining question. His year opened with purpose at ONE Fight Night 27 in January when he submitted Aaron Canarte in round one. The featherweight MMA finish underlined his evolution in controlling pace and capitalizing without unnecessary risk.

Curtis Calhoun - January 1, 2026

Dominick Cruz believes Alexandre Pantoja should’ve been given the chance to continue fighting after an early injury. Longtime UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja’s title reign came to an abrupt halt after suffering an injury just seconds into his fight with Joshua Van at UFC 323. As Pantoja attempted to brace himself after a brief exchange, he suffered a freak arm injury, and the fight was immediately waved off by referee Herb Dean.

Dylan Bowker - December 31, 2025

Conor McGregor became widely known in mixed martial arts for his champ-champ tag as a concurrent UFC titleholder over two divisions, but his first time accomplishing this feat took place over ten years ago on this day. This took place prior to the Irishman’s rise to prominence under the bright lights that shine over the octagon and transpired under the Cage Warriors banner. Prior to when he stepped into the cage on December 31st, 2012, ‘The Notorious’ had already captured Cage Warriors gold at featherweight and was vying for the vacant CW 155-pound strap on New Year’s Eve 13 years ago. The main event clash, which headlined Cage Warriors 51, would not get out of the opening stanza and ended at the 3:40 mark.

Curtis Calhoun - December 31, 2025

Future UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson believes the UFC brass hurt its credibility with their recent Diego Lopes announcement. UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will face Diego Lopes in a relatively immediate rematch in the UFC 325 main event next month in Sydney. Volkanovski defeated Lopes by unanimous decision to win the then-vacant featherweight belt at UFC 314 earlier this year.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 31, 2025

Justin Gaethje isn’t shy in admitting he’s a bit scared at the thought of fighting Ilia Topuria. Gaethje could very well be sharing the Octagon with Topuria at some point in 2026. He’ll need to put a halt to Paddy Pimblett’s momentum first. Gaethje and Pimblett are scheduled to clash for the interim UFC Lightweight Championship on Jan. 24. The interim title fight will headline UFC 324, which will be the top MMA promotion’s first event under the Paramount deal.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 31, 2025

Joe Rogan has shared his pick for the next breakout UFC star in the 185-pound weight class. The middleweight division is currently ruled by Khamzat Chimaev, who doesn’t plan on sticking around the 185-pound mark for long. Chimaev has insisted that he plans to make a move to the light heavyweight division in the near future. So, he might be done with the weight class long before the next crop of young talent begin to emerge as contenders.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2025

UFC contender Arman Tsarukyan has explained why he doesn’t believe he will wind up battling Islam Makhachev in a grappling match. As we know, Arman Tsarukyan is pretty eager to land himself a UFC lightweight championship opportunity. He was snubbed for a crack at the interim belt at UFC 324, with Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett getting the call instead. Alas, he’s opted to keep himself busy in the form of some wrestling matches as he attempts to finally get hold of UFC gold at some point in 2026.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2025

MMA and boxing legend Holly Holm has praised the growth of women’s boxing as she prepares to return to action this weekend. On Saturday night, boxing great and former UFC champion Holly Holm will challenge champion Stephanie Han for her WBA lightweight title in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The 44-year-old has always been more than willing to push herself to the limit in whatever she does, and she will be hoping to pull off yet another huge win to add to her already amazing resume.

Harry Kettle - December 31, 2025

Henry Cejudo has explained why he believes Petr Yan deserves to be called Fighter of the Year in the UFC. This year, Petr Yan was able to go 2-0 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He first defeated Marcus McGhee back in July, before going on to beat Merab Dvalishvili and reclaim the UFC bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 323 – which is something very few people thought he could do.

Dylan Bowker - December 30, 2025

Tom Aspinall has drawn criticisms from some in combat sports circles for the last couple of months, and a notable heavyweight champ in mixed martial arts has weighed in with his thoughts on eye poke gate. As Fleury continues to build his legacy as a heavyweight champion in mixed martial arts with a first-round stoppage of former Oktagon MMA heavyweight champ and UFC vet Martin Buday, he stands tall heading into 2026 after the dust just settled on Oktagon 81. Fleury has also previously found himself calling out other champions in the sport with a previous call out of KSW titleholder Phil De Fries transpiring earlier this year. De Fries is also notably part of that Tom Aspinall team. With some fans and fighters alike saying some less-than-kind things about the Tom Aspinall UFC 321 eye poke controversy, with some positing that he took the easy way out in his fight with Ciryl Gane after the no-contest verdict was dealt out in their bout.

Curtis Calhoun - December 30, 2025

Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes will face a tall task in his upcoming return, reportedly set in Miami. The UFC light heavyweight division is in a peculiar spot as Alex Pereira is weighing a potential move up to heavyweight. Pereira got his revenge against Magomed Ankalaev earlier this year at UFC 320, knocking him out in the first round to reclaim the light heavyweight title.

Curtis Calhoun - December 30, 2025

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo rediscovered his thirst for competition just weeks after hanging up the MMA gloves. Henry Cejudo announced his retirement from UFC fighting after a unanimous decision defeat to Payton Talbott at UFC 323 earlier this month. After a four-fight losing streak inside the cage, Cejudo opted to hang up the gloves and put an end to the second chapter of his UFC career.

Cole Shelton - December 30, 2025

Islam Makhachev believes Umar Nurmagomedov should only be fighting one person after UFC 324. Nurmagomedov is set to face Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 324 on January 24 in an intriguing fight at bantamweight. Although many believe the winner will get a title shot, especially if it’s Nurmagomedov. However, Makhachev thinks Nurmagomedov will need another fight and believes that should be a rematch against Merab Dvalishvili.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 30, 2025

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov takes issue with the direction of MMA promotions in America. Hardcore fans of the sport have groaned over recent UFC roster decisions. Recently, Rinat Fakhretdinov’s exit from the promotion caused quite a stir within the community. Fakhretdinov had competed under the UFC banner since 2022. He went 6-0-1 as a member of the UFC roster and he is coming off a 54-second TKO finish over Andreas Gustafsson.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 30, 2025

Francis Ngannou’s decision to leave UFC had a profound impact on the heavyweight division. Ngannou made his exit in early 2023. He was in the midst of a UFC Heavyweight Championship reign. Ultimately, “The Predator” scored two lucrative boxing matches against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Ngannou also signed a deal with PFL.