MMA News

Cole Shelton - June 26, 2025

Jon Jones’ former teammate and rival, Rashad Evans, thinks ‘Bones’ retiring was a good decision. Jones announced his retirement from the sport as the heavyweight champ, which meant he wouldn’t fight Tom Aspinall. Although that was a fight many fans wanted to see, Evans doesn’t think it’s a big deal for Jon Jones’ legacy that he won’t fight the Brit.

Cole Shelton - June 26, 2025

Brandon Royval believes he doesn’t get the respect he deserves. Royval is set to take on Joshua Van at UFC 317 on Saturday in a potential No. 1 contender bout. Heading into the fight, Royval is once again the underdog, despite Van being ranked below him and taking it on short notice.

Cole Shelton - June 26, 2025

Renato Moicano believes the pressure is on him to not just beat Beneil Dariush but finish him at UFC 317. Moicano was supposed to face Dariush back in January. But, on weigh-in day, after Arman Tsarukyan pulled out, Moicano stepped up on a day’s notice to face Islam Makhachev for the belt. The Brazilian ended up losing by first-round submission and was rebooked to face Dariush at UFC 317 on Saturday.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 26, 2025

Kai Kara-France believes he has realistic expectations for his title fight against Alexandre Pantoja. Kara-France and Pantoja will collide in the UFC 317 co-headliner on Saturday. Pantoja’s UFC Flyweight Championship will be at stake. While Kara-France has competed for interim gold, this will be his first undisputed UFC title fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 26, 2025

One fighter scheduled for the UFC 317 card can’t help but feel disappointed after Islam Makhachev’s move to the welterweight division. Once Saturday’s main event between Charles Oliveira and Ilia Topuria begins, Makhachev will officially vacate the lightweight gold. Oliveira vs. Topuria is being contested to determine a new 155-pound titleholder. Makhachev will challenge UFC Welterweight Champion Jack Della Maddalena at a date to be announced.

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.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 26, 2025

ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Yuya Wakamatsu is scouting for viable contenders to his gold – both in and outside of ONE Championship. “Little Piranha” appeared at this week’s press conference in Tokyo for ONE 173, all but confirming him featuring at the event on Sunday, November 16, inside Tokyo, Japan’s Ariake Arena.

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

If you thought Kevin Holland would be getting a ranked opponent after taking out Vicente Luque earlier this month, think again. Holland met Luque, a staple of the welterweight top-15, at UFC 316. He won the fight with a second-round anaconda choke—a finish so slick it earned him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

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

Brian Johnson, better known as the Liver King, is in custody after flying to Austin, Texas, to fight UFC commentator Joe Rogan. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. Johnson rose to fame a few years ago, when he began promoting a bizarre raw-meat diet, which he claimed was a driving force behind is undeniably hulk-ish physique. However, it was later discovered that he had been abusing a smorgasbord of performance-enhancing drugs—all while promoting an all-natural lifestyle. The ordeal was so scandalous that Netflix actually made a documentary about it.

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.