MMA News

Cole Shelton - June 4, 2025

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili plans to make a statement at UFC 316. Dvalishvili is set to rematch Sean O’Malley on Saturday night in an intriguing fight. Dvalishvili won a clear-cut decision to defeat O’Malley and become the bantamweight champ last September.

Cole Shelton - June 4, 2025

Joe Pyfer has ripped Bo Nickal after he suffered his first career loss to Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines. Nickal was a massive favorite but suffered a TKO loss. Although the loss happened a month ago, Pyfer took aim at Nickal as he claims the former All-American wrestler got fraud checked, while he didn’t in his loss to Jack Hermansson.

Cole Shelton - June 4, 2025

In the main event of UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey, the bantamweight title is up for grabs as Merab Dvalishvili defends his belt against Sean O’Malley in a rematch of their fight last September. Heading into the fight, Dvalishvili is a -310 favorite while ‘Suga’ is a +230 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap at UFC 316, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the bantamweight title fight. The pros believe Dvalishvili will be too much for O’Malley again as he will be able to take ‘Suga’ down and get a decision win to defend his belt.

BJ Penn Staff - June 4, 2025

Bryce Mitchell is reportedly headed down to the UFC bantamweight division. Mitchell has spent the entirety of his UFC career so far competing at featherweight. At one point, he was one of the hottest young contenders in the division. He even managed to crack the division’s top-15. However, things have taken a pretty nasty turn for the man known as “Thug Nasty” in the last few years.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - June 4, 2025

Alex Pereira will not be retiring despite claims from his recent foe. Pereira last stepped inside the Octagon on March 8 for the main event of UFC 313. “Poatan” was hoping for a successful title defense against Magomed Ankalaev, but it wasn’t meant to be on that night. Ankalaev took the light heavyweight gold via unanimous decision.

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

Former UFC champion Sean O’Malley has named the hardest-hitting opponent he’s faced in the promotion. This weekend, Sean O’Malley will attempt to do what a lot of ex-champions have struggled to do in the Ultimate Fighting Championship – win back their gold. He’ll try and do so against the man who took it from him last year, Merab Dvalishvili. While ‘The Machine’ is widely considered to be the favorite, everyone knows that ‘Suga’ possesses the kind of power and precision that can change a fight at any given moment.

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.

Cole Shelton - June 3, 2025

Derrick Lewis believes the UFC is scripted and will prove it to everyone at UFC Nashville. Lewis is set to return to the Octagon in the main event on July 12 against Tallison Teixeira. It’s Lewis’ first fight since May of last year when he knocked out Rodrigo Nascimento.

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

Merab Dvalisvhili has an idea of who his next title challenger will be should he defeat Sean O’Malley a second time. Dvalishvili is looking for his second successful defense of the UFC Bantamweight Championship. He scored a unanimous decision victory over O’Malley to capture the gold, and followed that up with a successful title defense over Umar Nurmagomedov. Dvalishvili is expecting a competitive fight against “Suga” in their rematch.

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.