MMA News

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.

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 commentator Jon Anik has given his thoughts on the star power potential of bantamweight contender Kayla Harrison. This weekend, Kayla Harrison will attempt to claim UFC gold for the first time in her career. She will challenge Julianna Pena for the FUC women’s bantamweight championship, and while many consider her to be the favorite, that’s certainly no guarantee of success – not by a long shot.

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.”

BJPENN.COM Staff - June 2, 2025

Fifth-ranked flyweight Muay Thai star Johan Estupinan has had a whirlwind run through his division. He’s defeated promising prospects and rising stars. He’ll now face a grizzled veteran who he plans to make an example of. “Panda Kick” meets Japanese striking ace Taiki Naito at ONE Fight Night 32. The duo collide in a flyweight Muay Thai outing this Friday, 6 June, at Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJ Penn Staff - June 2, 2025

Former UFC lightweight contender Kevin Lee is taking serious legal action against one of the recent MMA promotions he signed with. Lee (20-8) entered the MMA limelight in 2014, when he signed with the UFC. He was defeated by Al Iaquinta in his first fight in the Octagon, but then went 9-1 in 10 fights to set up an interim lightweight title fight with Tony Ferguson. Lee got off to a strong start in his fight with Ferguson, but ultimately fell apart, becoming part of the lightweight legend’s famous 12-fight win-streak.

BJ Penn Staff - June 2, 2025

If you’ve been comparing UFC heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall to Michael Chandler… think again. England’s Aspinall claimed the UFC interim heavyweight title with a quick knockout of Russia’s Sergei Pavlovich in 2023. He has since defended that interim title once with an even faster KO of Curtis Blaydes, which further proved he’s one of the best fighters alive.