MMA News

Harry Kettle - July 22, 2025

UFC legend Max Holloway has questioned Ilia Topuria for carrying around the BMF title belt as talks of a rematch continue. Last Saturday night, Max Holloway successfully retained the BMF championship by defeating Dustin Poirier at UFC 318. As we know, though, ‘Blessed’ lost his last fight before this, falling to a KO defeat at the hands of Ilia Topuria. While the BMF title wasn’t on the line in that fight, some felt as if it should’ve been.

Harry Kettle - July 22, 2025

UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has given his thoughts on Alex Pereira potentially moving up to his division. As we know, Tom Aspinall is the new king of the heavyweight division following the retirement of Jon Jones. What we don’t know, though, is who he’s going to face in his next fight. There are a handful of potential contenders in the mix but one that stands out as being pretty intriguing is none other than Alex Pereira.

Harry Kettle - July 22, 2025

UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell believes he has what it takes to defeat Merab Dvalishvili after his move down to bantamweight. This weekend, Bryce Mitchell makes his way down to 135 pounds at UFC Abu Dhabi. He will face off against Said Nurmagomedov, in what is bound to be a tough first assignment for him. With that being said, ‘Thug Nasty’ seems pretty confident that he’ll be able to make magic happen in his new home at bantamweight.

Cole Shelton - July 22, 2025

The 200th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live to preview UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday. We’re first joined by 13th-ranked UFC bantamweight Marcus McGhee (1:09). We close things out by chatting with UFC bantamweight (14:04).

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.