MMA News

BJ Penn Staff - June 6, 2025

There was some major drama at the UFC 316 weigh-ins. Most of it surrounded a flyweight fight between Wang Cong and Ariane da Silva. UFC 316 goes down this Saturday inside the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey. China’s Wang will take on Brazil’s da Silva on the event’s undercard. The pair were set to meet at flyweight, meaning they both needed to hit 126 pounds at Friday morning’s weigh-ins. However, da Silva came in way overweight, tipping the scales at 132 pounds, a substantial six pounds over the limit.

BJ Penn Staff - June 6, 2025

United States President Donald Trump has had a hectic couple of days, but will be making an appearance at Saturday’s UFC 316 card all the same. Trump has spent much of the last 48 hours trading trash talk with Elon Musk, who until recently was one of his key allies. The pair’s feud—which got ugly fast—has dominated the news cycle all over the world.

BJ Penn Staff - June 6, 2025

Kayla Harrison is on weight for her first UFC title fight. Harrison, a former Olympic gold medalist in judo is set to challenge Julianna Peña for bantamweight gold in the main event of Saturday night’s UFC 316 card in Newark, New Jersey. On Friday morning, she stepped onto the scale to weigh in, and for the first time in career, hit the 135-pound limit for bantamweight title fights.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 6, 2025

Amanda Nunes has made a prediction for the big women’s bantamweight title fight at UFC 316 this Saturday. Julianna Pena will look to silence the doubters once again, as she will put her gold at stake against Kayla Harrison. The challenger is a massive betting favorite going into the title bout. Pena has been in this spot before, as she submitted Nunes in a shocking upset in late 2021. While Pena lost the rematch against “The Lioness” in a one-sided affair, “The Venezuelan Vixen” has proven to be a live underdog.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 6, 2025

The UFC 316 weigh-ins have concluded, and fans are happy to know that the marquee matches remain intact. On Friday, all competitors scheduled for the UFC 316 card in Newark tipped the scales. That includes the UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili, who was actually one pound under the championship limit at 134 pounds. His rematch with Sean O’Malley is official, as the “Suga” show also made weight, clocking in at 135 pounds.

Harry Kettle - June 6, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili and Patchy Mix, who are training partners, have revealed they’d be open to the possibility of fighting each other. This weekend, Merab Dvalishvili will defend his UFC bantamweight championship against Sean O’Malley. In addition to that, former Bellator star Patchy Mix will finally make his UFC debut when he battles Mario Bautista on the same UFC 316 card. As you can imagine, given the star power of both men, there’s already been talk of them potentially colliding at some point in the future.

Harry Kettle - June 6, 2025

UFC star Sean O’Malley’s coach has made an interesting prediction for his student’s rematch against Merab Dvalishvili. Tomorrow night, Sean O’Malley will attempt to reclaim his UFC bantamweight championship when he challenges Merab Dvalishvili for the strap at UFC 316. The fight will take place in the main event, and it serves as the second meeting between the pair after Dvalishvili first defeated ‘Suga’ for the belt last year at Noche UFC.

Harry Kettle - June 6, 2025

Kron Gracie is one of three UFC featherweights that have been removed from the roster during a recent round of cuts. As we know, it isn’t exactly uncommon for the Ultimate Fighting Championship to release fighters. It happens pretty frequently and although it isn’t the most enjoyable part of being a fan, sometimes, it’s warranted. Case in point: Kron Gracie is reportedly no longer part of the promotion.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 5, 2025

Freddie Haggerty and Johan Ghazali have been on a collision course for well over a year now. And while their paths have yet to cross in ONE Championship, a showdown feels inevitable. Ghazali has his hands full this Friday, 6 June. He meets Diego Paez in flyweight Muay Thai at ONE Fight Night 32 at Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium. But Haggerty senses a showdown between him and the 18-year-old can’t be too far away.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 5, 2025

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has never wanted to own just another combat sports company. He’s wanted it to stand out from the rest. That’s part of what has made ONE Championship the global giant it is today. Earlier this week, Sityodtong was a guest on The Tim Ferriss Show – the leading business podcast in the world. He broke down why he believed ONE Championship differs from the rest. And part of that is the company’s ability to identify the best martial artists across multiple disciplines.

Cole Shelton - June 5, 2025

Vicente Luque is looking to prove he still can get into wars. Luque is set to return to the Octagon in the main card opener of UFC 316 against Kevin Holland. It’s an intriguing fight, and in the lead-up, Holland has claimed Luque can’t take damage like he used to.

Cole Shelton - June 5, 2025

In the co-main event of UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday, the women’s bantamweight title is up for grabs as Julianna Pena defends her belt against Kayla Harrison. Heading into the fight, Pena is a massive +450 underdog while the challenger is a -720 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap at UFC 316, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the women’s bantamweight title fight. The pros expect Harrison to become the new champ, but many fighters think it will be a much closer fight than the odds suggest.

Cole Shelton - June 5, 2025

Kevin Holland is excited to fight Vicente Luque at UFC 316 as he’s expecting a very fan-friendly fight. Holland is set to fight for the third time in 2025 when he takes on Luque in an intriguing welterweight fight. Holland is coming off a decision win over Gunnar Nelson to get back in the win column. Heading into this fight against Luque, Holland is expecting a striking battle and one that has a good chance to win Fight of the Night.

BJ Penn Staff - June 5, 2025

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has responded to a bit of trash talk from a fairly surprising source: featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez. Mexico’s Rodriguez is one of the top contenders in the UFC featherweight division at the moment. However, he was decisively beaten by Australian champion Alexander Volkanovski just a few years ago, and is widely seen as less deserving of a title shot than Russia’s Movsar Evloev, who has never lost a fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 5, 2025

One longtime UFC welterweight believes Kamaru Usman vs. Joaquin Buckley will be no cakewalk for either fighter. Buckley and Usman will headline UFC Atlanta on June 14. It’s a pivotal clash in the welterweight division. Usman is the No. 5-ranked UFC welterweight, while Buckley holds the No. 7 spot.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 5, 2025

Ilia Topuria believes all lightweight contenders are in for a rude awakening following UFC 317. Topuria is scheduled to collide with Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317. The bout will be contested for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship. Current titleholder Islam Makhachev will officially relinquish the gold as soon as Topuria vs. Oliveira begins.

BJ Penn Staff - June 5, 2025

Vasiliy Lomachenko is done with professional boxing. The 37-year-old Ukrainian announced his decision to retire on social media this week.

BJ Penn Staff - June 5, 2025

Jon Jones and Anderson Silva are without a doubt two of the greatest fighters in UFC history. Jones is the current UFC heavyweight champion, but spent most of his career reigning over the light heavyweight division. Silva, meanwhile, was the long-time champion one division down at middleweight. Unfortunately, the two greats never ended up fighting each other, as Silva’s prime occurred a bit before Jones reached the pinnacle.