MMA News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 4, 2025

One all-time bantamweight great isn’t upset about G.O.A.T. talks surrounding Merab Dvalishvili. While Dvalishvili has only had one successful title defense thus far, his work against elite competition prior to fighting for the UFC bantamweight gold has left some convinced that “The Machine” is the greatest bantamweight ever. The list of names Dvalishvili defeated before receiving his first crack at UFC gold included Jose Aldo, Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, and Marlon Moraes.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 4, 2025

Ian Machado Garry thinks one former UFC titleholder should hang up his gloves. It isn’t often that fans and experts call for an ex-titleholder’s retirement after just two straight losses, but that’s exactly what’s happening with Leon Edwards. “Rocky” lost the UFC Welterweight Championship to Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision. He followed that up with a submission loss to Sean Brady.

Harry Kettle - June 4, 2025

BKFC veteran Mike Perry has questioned whether or not Robbie Lawler is afraid to fight him in the bare-knuckle promotion. As we know, Mike Perry is pretty much the king of bare-knuckle boxing – and it’s all thanks to his run with BKFC. He has pretty much been the face of the promotion ever since he first stepped foot in the ring, and he’s had some pretty interesting fights along the way too. Of course, he’s the kind of guy who is always looking ahead to the next thing, and it’s clear to see that he has some big plans for himself.

Harry Kettle - June 4, 2025

UFC star Maycee Barber has provided an update following her recent health scare at the UFC Apex last weekend. As we know, Maycee Barber was scheduled to face Erin Blanchfield last weekend in a really important flyweight encounter. There was a chance that the winner could go on to face Valentina Shevchenko for the championship, highlighting just how much was on the line for both women. Unfortunately, the fight never happened, as a result of Maycee suffering an undisclosed health issue just minutes before they were scheduled to walk out.

Harry Kettle - June 4, 2025

Patricio Pitbull will reportedly square off against Dan Ige at UFC 318, which is set to go down on July 19 in New Orleans. For the longest time, fight fans were wondering what would happen if we got the chance to see Patricio Pitbull step into the Octagon and compete for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Recently, we received an answer as he made the jump to battle it out with Yair Rodriguez. Unfortunately for his fans, he wasn’t quite able to get the job done in what proved to be a tough first outing.

Cole Shelton - June 3, 2025

Mario Bautista is glad to be the one to welcome former Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix to the UFC. Bautista was supposed to fight Marlon Vera at UFC 316, but the former title challenger had an injury and was forced out of the bout. After ‘Chito’ was injured, Bautista made it known he would remain on the card and didn’t care who he would fight.

Cole Shelton - June 3, 2025

Paige VanZant will no longer be competing for the Power Slap title. VanZant was supposed to rematch Mikael Michelle Brown for the first-ever women’s title on June 27 during International Fight Week, but that will no longer happen.

BJ Penn Staff - June 3, 2025

Ever wonder how much money Sean Strickland has made during his time in the UFC? Well, he’ll be more than happy to tell you. Strickland recently spent some time with influencer Adin Ross, and gave fans plenty of the wild sound bites we’ve come to expect from him.

BJ Penn Staff - June 3, 2025

Kayla Harrison is in incredible shape ahead of her first bid at UFC gold — not that it’s any surprise. Harrison is a former Olympic gold medalist in judo, and entered the MMA limelight as a multiple-time PFL champion at lightweight. After parting ways with the PFL, she signed with the UFC last year, with plans to compete at bantamweight. She won her first two fights with the promotion, first stopping former champ Holly Holm, and later beating Ketlen Vieira by decision. Those wins put her in position for a title shot against Julianna Peña — though many fans feel she deserved the opportunity right out of the gate.

BJ Penn Staff - June 3, 2025

Derrick Lewis is coming clean. Apparently, “The Black Beast” intentionally broke the rules in one of his past UFC fights—and possibly others. Lewis is one of the most experienced fighters in the UFC heavyweight division, and holds the distinction of having the most knockout wins in UFC history. That includes a second-round TKO over South Africa’s Ruan Potts.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 3, 2025

If you don’t think Julianna Pena has a chance at UFC 316, one top commentator strongly disagrees. Pena will be putting the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship at stake against Kayla Harrison in the co-main event of UFC 316. The title fight will be held inside Prudential Center in Newark on Saturday. Pena is a sizable underdog going into the bout, which is a familiar spot for “The Venezuelan Vixen.” She was a massive underdog before scoring a submission finish over soon-to-be UFC Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 3, 2025

Tom Aspinall believes Jon Jones is hanging up his gloves. The heavyweight division hasn’t seen movement in quite some time, but that appears to be changing in the near future. Jones is the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion, while Aspinall holds interim gold. Both men have held their titles since 2023 and each have one successful defense.

BJ Penn Staff - June 3, 2025

UFC middleweight contender Sean Strickland is at it again. The Las Vegas resident, who formerly held the middleweight belt, is known for his controversial opinions, and is often accused of racism by his naysayers. One of his latest comments is sure to generate another wave of controversy.

Harry Kettle - June 3, 2025

UFC light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev has made an interesting statement about Alex Pereira’s future. For Alex Pereira, it certainly feels like he doesn’t have anything left to prove in mixed martial arts. He has entered the sport and gone straight to the top, winning belts in two different weight classes. However, in the wake of losing the light heavyweight strap to Ankalaev, some have wondered how much longer he’ll compete in the sport for. There are obviously still interesting fights out there for him to take, but that doesn’t mean he necessarily will.

Harry Kettle - June 3, 2025

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili has given his thoughts on the current state of the division. For the longest time now, Merab Dvalishvili has been the man to beat at 135 pounds. He has ruled over the bantamweight division and even when he was just a top contender, it seemed like nobody wanted to fight him. So, he decided to tear through the rest of the competition, making it crystal clear that he is the one who should rightfully be sat at the top of the mountain.

Harry Kettle - June 3, 2025

UFC legend Demetrious Johnson has given his thoughts on how someone – perhaps Charles Oliveira – could defeat Ilia Topuria. As we know, Ilia Topuria is easily one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts right now. The former UFC featherweight champion has made the move up to lightweight in search of a second world title, and he’ll face Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 for the right to earn that belt. As you can imagine, there’s a great deal of intrigue behind this contest.

Cole Shelton - June 3, 2025

The 196th episode of Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com with host Cole Shelton is live to preview UFC 316. We’re first joined by 10th-ranked UFC bantamweight Mario Bautista (0:53). We close things out by chatting with boxer Tristan Hamm (12:31) to get an update on his career.

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 2, 2025

Former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion John Lineker has become everything he has wanted and more in combat sports. And he puts that down to the options on hand in ONE Championship. The Brazilian gained notoriety in the all-encompassing sport for his ridiculous knockout power. That quickly transformed him into his moniker — “Hands of Stone.”