MMA News

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.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 30, 2025

Ben Askren is fighting through a serious health issue, but there is some good news for the retired 22-fight veteran. Severe pneumonia has forced Askren to stay in a hospital bed the past several weeks. Askren’s wife Amy later revealed that the former Bellator and ONE Championship titleholder was put on the transplant list. After weeks of uncertainty, Amy has shared on social media that Askren has undergone surgery for a double lung transplant.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 29, 2025

Charles Oliveira is in high spirits despite suffering a knockout defeat at the hands of Ilia Topuria. Oliveira was hoping to become a two-time UFC Lightweight Champion this past Saturday. He was fighting “El Matador” for the vacant 155-pound gold. Early on, “do Bronx” grabbed a hold of Topuria’s leg, but there was nothing doing there. Once the bout returned to the feet, Topuria landed a right hook that knocked Oliveira unconscious while he was still standing. A left hook for good measure sealed the deal.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 29, 2025

Paddy Pimblett takes his feud with Ilia Topuria personally. Pimblett was in attendance to witness Topuria secure UFC gold in a second weight class. “El Matador” defeated Charles Oliveira to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion. The title was vacated by Islam Makhachev, who is moving up in weight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 29, 2025

UFC CEO Dana White is denying recent claims made by retired MMA legend Jon Jones. White announced Jones’ retirement during the UFC Baku post-fight press conference. As a result, “Bones” vacated the heavyweight gold, and Tom Aspinall now has undisputed status. White has admitted that a title unification bout between Jones and Aspinall had been agreed to, but “Bones” changed his mind.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 29, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan believes Ilia Topuria is already avoiding him. Topuria just scored his third knockout victory in a row against another future UFC Hall of Famer. He went one-on-one with Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship. “El Matador” capped off UFC 317 in Las Vegas with a first-round knockout victory.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 29, 2025

Dana White doesn’t sound like he’ll be giving into Justin Gaethje’s demand for a title shot. Gaethje was in attendance for UFC 317 inside T-Mobile Arena to witness Ilia Topuria knock Chares Oliveira out to capture the lightweight title. Topuria’s prediction came true as he finished the fight in the opening frame. During Topuria’s post-fight interview, he had a staredown with Paddy Pimblett. “El Matador” shoved “The Baddy.”

Chris Taylor - June 28, 2025

The Octagon returned to T-Mobile Arena for tonight’s UFC 317 event, and four fighters wound up taking home performance bonuses. The highly anticipated main event between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira for the promotion’s vacant lightweight title proved to be a coming out party for Ilia Topuria. The former featherweight champion took no time getting to work against Charles Oliveira. After busting open ‘Do Bronx’ with some early combinations, ‘El Matador’ promptly put Oliveira to sleep with a beautiful 1-2 combination. Topuria followed up with some hammer fists that were definitely not needed, but it was one of the most impressive performances in recent memory. Following the win, Ilia called out his longtime rival Paddy Pimblett.

Chris Taylor - June 28, 2025

Tonight’s UFC 317 event was headlined by a fight between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira for the promotion’s vacant lightweight title. Topuria (17-0 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since knocking out Max Holloway at UFC 308 this past October (see that here). Shortly following that first career featherweight title defense, ‘El Matador’ announced that he would be vacating the 145lbs strap in order to move up to the promotion‘s lightweight division.