MMA News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 2, 2025

A former Conor McGregor foe believes he will be making his way back to the UFC. Going into his July 19, 2014 bout, McGregor’s stock was already rising. He had been sidelined for almost a full year following an ACL injury during his meeting with Max Holloway. McGregor’s ended up scoring a first-round TKO finish over Diego Brandao.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 2, 2025

One top-ranked UFC lightweight has pinned blame on Joe Rogan for the staredown between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett. Topuria is fresh off another stellar knockout victory, capturing the UFC Lightweight Championship in the process. It didn’t take long for “El Matador” to find Charles Oliveira’s chin, scoring the first-round finish. After the bout, Pimblett was brought inside the Octagon for a faceoff with Topuria. The newly minted UFC 155-pound titleholder shoved “The Baddy” before security broke things up.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 2, 2025

A former UFC titleholder believes Ilia Topuria’s run has surpassed Conor McGregor’s. Topuria has dazzled fans with his last three performances. “El Matador” captured the UFC Featherweight Championship by knocking Alexander Volkanovski out. He followed that up by becoming the first fighter to put Max Holloway to sleep. Then, at UFC 317, Topuria scored a first-round knockout victory over Charles Oliveira to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion.

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 1, 2025

Success hasn’t made Shadow Singha Mawynn forget where he came from. If anything, it’s made those memories more vivid. The #3-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender faces Mohamed Younes Rabah at ONE Fight Night 33 on Friday, July 11, inside Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium. For the 25-year-old Thai striker, the bout represents validation of a journey that seemed impossible just years ago.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 1, 2025

Paddy Pimblett had a harsh assessment of Charles Oliveira’s knockout loss against Ilia Topuria. Oliveira and Topuria collided for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship this past Saturday. A counter elbow from Oliveira early on landed before the fight briefly went to the ground. “El Matador” didn’t appear to be in serious danger when Oliveira grabbed a hold of his leg. When the fight returned to the feet, Topuria unloaded with a right hook, followed by a left to score the knockout win.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 1, 2025

Belal Muhammad isn’t exactly sold that Kamaru Usman wants to fight him. There is history between Muhammad and “The Nigerian Nightmare.” The two were involved in a scuffle during an unaired episode of the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast. Since that incident, both men have traded barbs online and through interviews.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 1, 2025

Dustin Poirier has offered his assessment of a clash between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev. Plans are in place for Maddalena to put the UFC Welterweight Championship at stake against Makhachev at some point in the coming months. While the date hasn’t been confirmed, Dana White admitted to media members that a New York City card in November might be a good landing spot for Maddalena vs. Makhachev.

Harry Kettle - July 1, 2025

UFC flyweight contender Tracy Cortez is disappointed she didn’t get the finish against Viviane Araújo at UFC 317 last weekend. For the longest time now, Tracy Cortez has been seen as a legitimate title threat in the women’s flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. However, after falling short in an outing against Rose Namajunas, some questioned whether or not she’d ever be able to win the big one.

Harry Kettle - July 1, 2025

Terrance McKinney isn’t fully satisfied despite his quick, impressive submission win over Viacheslav Borshchev at UFC 317. As we know, Terrance McKinney is a pretty interesting prospect in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He’s had some incredible highlight reel moments since first singing for the promotion, but in equal measure, he’s also had his fair share of setbacks.

Harry Kettle - July 1, 2025

UFC bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili has provided an update on the next time he steps into the Octagon. As we know, Merab Dvalishvili is easily one of the best fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship today. He is the king of the bantamweight division and after successfully defending his belt against Sean O’Malley, many have started to call him the greatest bantamweight of all time.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 30, 2025

ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane refuses to bite any of the bait thrown his way by two-weight ONE MMA king Anatoly Malykhin. The pair clash in a ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title rematch at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri on Sunday, November 16, at Tokyo, Japan’s Ariake Arena.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 30, 2025

Suablack Tor Pran49 revealed he felt like the restraints were let loose this past Friday, June 27, as he shocked the world in his kickboxing debut. The Thai striker ended his three-fight losing streak in spectacular fashion as he dominated Sangarthit Looksaikongdin in 140-pound kickboxing action at ONE Friday Fights 114, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJ Penn Staff - June 30, 2025

New two-division UFC champion Ilia Topuria hits so hard that his fellow Georgian Merab Dvalishvili—also a UFC champ—had to stop sparring with him. Topuria was back in action at UFC 317 last Saturday. He knocked out Charles Oliveira to claim the vacant lightweight belt in the main event. His lightweight title win followed a brief reign at featherweight, where he scored two similarly stunning KOs against Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski.

BJ Penn Staff - June 30, 2025

Dricus Du Plessis just dropped some absolutely huge UFC news. Apparently, Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje are set to fight before the summer is over. Du Plessis, the UFC middleweight champion, is set to defend his title against undefeated contender Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319, which goes on August 16 in Chicago. He claims that top lightweight contenders Pimblett and Gaethje are set to meet in the card’s co-main event.

BJ Penn Staff - June 30, 2025

Gregory Rodrigues has heard the criticism of his brutal UFC 317 knockout victory, but doesn’t seem to bothered by it. Rodrigues was back in action on the event’s undercard, taking on long-time staple of the middleweight top-15, Jack Hermansson. It was a crucial fight for the Brazilian, who was beaten by Jared Cannonier in his first bout with a ranked opponent earlier this year. To say he won his rebound fight impressively would be an understatement.

Cole Shelton - June 30, 2025

Javier Mendez, the head coach of Islam Makhachev, believes his fighter is taking the hardest fight possible. Makhachev vacated his lightweight title to move up to welterweight to face Jack Della Maddalena. It’s an intriguing matchup, but after Ilia Topuria won at UFC 317, many fans want Makhachev back at 155lbs to face Topuria.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 30, 2025

Joe Rogan has one name who he thinks Ilia Topuria should be matched with following UFC 317. Topuria went one-on-one with Charles Oliveira in the main event of Saturday’s PPV card. The two collided for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship. The fight hit the mat briefly before Oliveira was stood back up. Once the action resumed on the feet, Topuria clocked Oliveira with a right hook, followed by a left for the knockout victory.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 30, 2025

Brandon Royval has spoken out after his three-round war against Joshua Van. Royval and Van competed this past Saturday at UFC 317 for a shot at the UFC Flyweight Championship. Both men fought as if the title was on the line at that moment, the fans inside T-Mobile Arena appreciated the nonstop action. A late knockdown helped Van seal the unanimous decision victory. He is now set to challenge Alexandre Pantoja for the 125-pound gold at some point.