MMA News

BJ Penn Staff - June 23, 2025

Ilia Topuria is busy with his final preparations for UFC 317, but found time in his busy schedule to sneak in a jab at Conor McGregor. Topuria recently vacated the UFC featherweight belt to move up to lightweight and chase a second title. He’ll get his shot at two-division gold in the main event of UFC 317 Saturday, when he takes on Charles Oliveira for the vacant belt.

Cole Shelton - June 23, 2025

Jailton Almeida believes he could be fighting for the heavyweight title next time out. Jon Jones announced his retirement from MMA, which meant Tom Aspinall has been promoted to the heavyweight champion. However, Aspinall’s first title defense hasn’t been announced, and Almeida believes he deserves it.

BJ Penn Staff - June 23, 2025

Dana White will have some competition when UFC 317 goes down in Las Vegas this Saturday. On the same night, Jake Paul is set to meet Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in the boxing ring. During a recent appearance at Fanatics Fest, White was asked by MMA Fighting what he thought about competing with a Paul fight. It’s safe to say he’s not especially concerned.

BJ Penn Staff - June 23, 2025

Khalil Rountree picked up one of the biggest wins of his career in the main event of last Saturday’s UFC Baku card. Apparently, he did so with a serious injury. Rountree, a former light heavyweight title challenger, was back in action against former champion Jamahal Hill. He ended up dominating his fellow American over five rounds.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 23, 2025

Shortly after a cryptic social media post from Jon Jones, his legal team has issued a statement on a recent criminal charge. Not long after UFC CEO Dana White announced that Jones retired from pro MMA competition, a report from The Albuquerque Journal surfaced. In the report, it was noted that Jones was facing a criminal misdemeanor charge after allegedly leaving the scene of a traffic accident back in February in New Mexico. “Bones” told fans to not believe everything they read, and he said even the media gets things wrong.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 23, 2025

One well-known MMA analyst and coach thinks Arman Tsarukyan remains in the UFC’s doghouse. Some fans were surprised to hear the news that Tsarukyan will serve as the backup fighter for the UFC 317 main event. Tsarukyan lost his shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship after suffering a back injury hours before the weigh-ins for his planned rematch with Islam Makhachev back in January. Tsarukyan then declined a rematch with Mateusz Gamrot and expressed frustration with UFC matchmakers.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 23, 2025

Khabib Nurmagomedov has reacted to Jon Jones’ retirement with a message for the future UFC Hall of Famer. During the UFC Baku post-fight press conference, Dana White announced that Jon Jones has retired from pro MMA competition. While many were hoping that “Bones” would face Tom Aspinall in a heavyweight title unification bout, it wasn’t meant to be. Aspinall is now the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Harry Kettle - June 23, 2025

UFC lightweight Rafael Fiziev has called out Dan Hooker in the wake of his UFC Baku triumph over Ignacio Bahamondes. Last weekend, Rafael Fiziev finally got back in the win column after three straight defeats. He was able to get past Ignacio Bahamondes and in doing so, he vaulted himself right back into contention in the UFC’s lightweight division. There’s still a long way to go before he can be viewed as a legitimate title challenger, but this is certainly a positive start.

Harry Kettle - June 23, 2025

UFC veteran Kevin Lee has revealed that he had his jaw wired shut following his defeat to Gadzhi Rabadanov last week. As we know, Kevin Lee has done a lot of impressive things in mixed martial arts. Unfortunately, he was never quite able to fulfill the potential that many believed he had. Instead, he’s faltered more often than not, picking up a string of losses in the latter stages of his career. Now, following the aforementioned KO loss to Rabadanov, nobody really knows what the next step will be for him.

Harry Kettle - June 23, 2025

Former Bellator star Aaron Pico appears to be in amazing shape ahead of his UFC debut against Movsar Evloev. For the longest time now, fight fans have been wanting to see Aaron Pico make the move over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Next month, it’ll finally happen. He will be stepping into the lion’s den as he prepares to go head to head with Movsar Evloev, and if he wins, there’s a very real possibility that a title opportunity will be on the horizon for him at featherweight.

Harry Kettle - June 23, 2025

UFC veteran Jon Jones has issued a vague statement on social media after recent legal issues were revealed. As we know, Jon Jones has opted to retire from mixed martial arts. He’s also vacated the UFC heavyweight championship, with Tom Aspinall now being promoted to the undisputed champion slot. As we look ahead to the next phase of his life, it’s not clear as to whether or not the 38-year-old will opt to return at some point in the future.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 23, 2025

ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua Pacio has been a mainstay at the top of the 125-pound ranks. But he’s now considering a move up to flyweight in the coming years. “The Passion” has long been considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in ONE Championship. But as time goes by for any competitor, weight cutting becomes increasingly challenging.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 22, 2025

Dana White has two big events lined up on the same night, but he dropped some news that’ll make both boxing and MMA fans happy. White is promoting the massive boxing title fight between undisputed super middleweight champion and pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford. The bout is scheduled to take place on Sept. 13. On that same night, Noche UFC will be held inside Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 22, 2025

Ilia Topuria may need to pump the brakes on chasing Islam Makhachev at welterweight, at least for now. Topuria has some immediate business to handle, as he will be fighting for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship on Saturday. He’ll face former 155-pound titleholder Charles Oliveira in the UFC 317 main event. Meanwhile, Makhachev has secured a shot at Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC Welterweight Championship at a date to be announced.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 22, 2025

UFC fans have reacted to Jon Jones’ latest run-in with the law following “Bones'” retirement. Fans were left with some disappointing news when UFC CEO Dana White revealed that Jones has decided to retire from pro MMA competition. The reveal didn’t come as a surprise to most fans and experts, and Jones appeared to be leaning more towards hanging up his gloves. With Jones out of the picture, Aspinall is now the recognized undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 22, 2025

UFC CEO Dana White found himself in-between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford during a heated moment. Things got testy between Alvarez and Crawford during the second pre-fight press conference for their Sept. 13 boxing title fight. During the faceoff between undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez and the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer Crawford, there was some shoving. Alvarez pushed Crawford away, as “Bud” kept moving forward.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 22, 2025

Khalil Rountree has responded to one UFC champion’s remark about his recent fight. Rountree shared top billing on the UFC Baku card with Jamahal Hill this past Saturday. Rountree’s calf kicks paid dividends throughout the fight. He was able to manage distance and his opponent couldn’t get much going on the feet. Rountree took home a unanimous decision victory, but one UFC titleholder is not impressed.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 22, 2025

An old rival of Jon Jones has spoken out on “Bones'” decision to retire. During the UFC Baku post-fight press conference, Dana White revealed that Jones has retired from pro MMA competition. He also announced that Tom Aspinall has been promoted to the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion. While the heavyweight division is now able to move forward, many fans can’t help but feel empty-handed with the way this all ended.