MMA News

BJ Penn Staff - June 26, 2025

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway is better positioned than most to break down this weekend’s Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira fight. Topuria and Oliveira are set to meet for the vacant lightweight title in the main event of 317. It goes down tomorrow night in Las Vegas.

BJ Penn Staff - June 26, 2025

Tom Aspinall waited a long time to be promoted to undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. With that settled, he’s hoping to make up for lost time. Aspinall claimed the interim heavyweight title with a quick knockout of Sergei Pavlovich in late 2023. He spent nearly all of the time since chasing a fight with Jon Jones, who held the division’s undisputed title. However, Jones had no interest in the matchup, and instead beat an aging Stipe Miocic last November, and after months of pulling Aspinall along, finally announced his retirement last weekend. That meant that Aspinall was finally became the true heavyweight king.

BJ Penn Staff - June 26, 2025

Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira are set to fight for UFC gold in just over 24 hours, but there is clearly nothing but respect between then. Topuria and Oliveira will meet in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 317 card in Las Vegas. They’ll be competing for the vacant lightweight title, which Islam Makhachev left behind with plans to move up to welterweight.

BJ Penn Staff - June 26, 2025

Derek Brunson and Jon Jones shared a brief friendship while they were both competing in the UFC, but it didn’t last. Brunson has now explained why. Brunson and Jones became friends around 2011. That was back when the former had just joined the UFC middleweight division, and the latter was beginning his legendary reign as promotion’s light heavyweight champion. During that time, Brunson would visit Jones’ hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to train at the famed Jackson Wink MMA gym.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 25, 2025

Reigning ONE Heavyweight MMA World Champion “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane has revealed he’s unimpressed by two-weight king Anatoly Malykhin‘s firepower. The Senegalese standout shook off many of the Russian’s strikes last November at ONE 169. And that leaves him confident heading into their highly anticipated rematch. The giants will run it back for the ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri, on Sunday, November 16, inside Tokyo Japan’s Ariake Arena.

Cole Shelton - June 25, 2025

Alexandre Pantoja is committed to staying at flyweight. Pantoja is looking to defend his flyweight title for the fourth time. He’s set to take on Kai Kara-France in the co-main event of UFC 317. Given that Pantoja has already beaten a lot of the contenders, who he fights next is a big question.

Cole Shelton - June 25, 2025

Charles Oliveira believes he will be too much and will make Ilia Topuria fold at UFC 317. Oliveira is set to face Topuria in the main event of UFC 317 for the vacant lightweight title. It’s an intriguing matchup, and despite Oliveira being a sizeable underdog, he has plenty of confidence that he won’t just beat, but will finish Topuria to once again become the lightweight champion.

BJ Penn Staff - June 25, 2025

It is not yet known when Islam Makhachev will fight Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC welterweight title, but the pound-for-pound king knows when he wants it to happen. Russia’s Makhachev is widely considered the best fighter on earth right now. He enjoyed a long reign as the UFC lightweight champion, but recently vacated his throne to move up to welterweight. Given his status among the sport’s best fighters, he’s expected to walk right into a fight with welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena of Australia.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 25, 2025

Jon Jones has made his first major business move since retiring from pro MMA competition. During the UFC Baku post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that “Bones” decided to call it a career after a legendary run. The end of Jones’ career wasn’t without controversy, however, as fans have accused the MMA legend of avoiding a title unification bout with Tom Aspinall. Jones has had fun with the messages from angry spectators, using an image of a duck holding UFC gold as his profile pic on social media.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 25, 2025

The head coach of Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t think Umar Nurmagomedov would fare much better against his fighter in a rematch. Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov first shared the Octagon back in January. “The Machine” put the UFC Bantamweight Championship at stake against the previously unbeaten Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili ended up winning the fight via unanimous decision to retain the 135-pound gold.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 25, 2025

A former opponent of Charles Oliveira believes he knows what “do Bronx” must do to defeat Ilia Topuria. Oliveira and Topuria are set to collide for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship on Saturday. The bout will headline UFC 317 to cap off “International Fight Week” in Las Vegas. Oliveira is the underdog going into this bout.

BJ Penn Staff - June 25, 2025

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg could end up competing under the UFC banner, according to Dana White. The UFC, an MMA promotion first and foremost, has recently been pushing into the grappling sport of BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). It recently aired an Ultimate Fighter-inspired reality show intended to crown its first UFC BJJ champions. The finale goes down tonight in Las Vegas, and will be topped by a bantamweight title fight between coaches Mikey Musumeci and Rerisson Gabriel.

Cole Shelton - June 25, 2025

In the main event of UFC 317, the vacant lightweight title is up for grabs as Ilia Topuria takes on Charles Oliveira. Heading into the fight, Topuria is a sizeable -500 favorite while the Brazilian is a +340 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the lightweight title fight at UFC 317, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Topuria is too good on the feet and will be able to land big shots to likely KO Oliveira to become the lightweight champ and a two-weight champ.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 25, 2025

ONE Women’s Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion Jackie Buntan is gunning to become a two-sport queen when she returns to action later this year. The American striker takes on fierce challenger Stella Hemetsberger for the vacant ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE Fight Night 35 on Friday, September 5, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 25, 2025

ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon is eager to make a huge statement when he defends his crown later this year. The Thai superstar faces ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Masaaki Noiri at ONE 173 on Sunday, November 16, inside Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Harry Kettle - June 25, 2025

Ben Askren’s wife Amy has provided an update on his condition as the MMA community continues to pray for his recovery. As we know, Ben Askren is currently hospitalized as a result of pneumonia and complications from a staph infection. The mixed martial arts community has been voicing their support every step of the way, with his wife Amy providing a series of updates over the course of the last few weeks.

Harry Kettle - June 25, 2025

UFC legend Daniel Cormier has given Jon Jones his flowers in the wake of the latter’s mixed martial arts retirement. As we all know, Jon Jones has decided to retire from mixed martial arts. It’s a bittersweet moment for a lot of fans, especially given the excitement surrounding him potentially fighting Tom Aspinall. Alas, Jon wasn’t interested in any of that, and he’s instead decided to pursue pastures new – and also deal with some fresh legal worries.

Harry Kettle - June 24, 2025

Albuquerque Police have released new body cam footage as Jon Jones’ latest legal troubles continue to unfold. As we know, Jon Jones has decided to retire from mixed martial arts. While there’s a good chance that it’s because he simply didn’t want to defend his UFC heavyweight championship against Tom Aspinall, it turns out there could be another reason. It was recently announced that Jon was the subject of a criminal case, in which it is alleged that he fled the scene of a car accident.