MMA News

BJ Penn Staff - May 26, 2025

Jon Anik broke some huge fight news on his podcast this week. According to the long-time UFC play-by-play commentator former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad will take on Shavkat Rakhmonov this October. Anik revealed the fight during an episode of his Anik & Florian podcast, alongside his brother Jason and former UFC title challenger Kenny Florian.

BJ Penn Staff - May 26, 2025

Things are getting very interesting ahead of the UFC 316 rematch between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. Dvalishvili first met O’Malley in the main event of Noche UFC at the Sphere in Las Vegas last September. On that night, Dvalishvili won a unanimous decision to claim the promotion’s bantamweight title. The pair are now set to run it back at UFC 316, which is set for June 7.

BJ Penn Staff - May 26, 2025

UFC champion Tom Aspinall is teasing some huge news, and it doesn’t sound like we’ll have to wait long for it. England’s Aspinall is the current UFC interim heavyweight champion. He won the belt with an impressive knockout of Sergei Spivac in late 2023, and defended it for the first time with a quick stop of Curtis Blaydes last summer.

Cole Shelton - May 26, 2025

UFC heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov is frustrated with Jon Jones for holding up the division. Jones won the vacant UFC heavyweight title in March of 2023 when he beat Ciryl Gane by submission. He ended up defending his belt in November of 2024 when he TKO’d Stipe Miocic. Since then, however, he has been on the sidelines with no fight being booked, leaving interim champ Tom Aspinall waiting.

BJ Penn Staff - May 26, 2025

Chael Sonnen believes Conor McGregor is aging unnaturally quickly thanks to excessive substance abuse. In fact, he believes McGregor now looks 10 years older than UFC CEO Dana White — which would make him 65 years old. “They did a side-by-side, it was Conor and Dana,” Sonnen said on Instagram (via MMA Mania). “I swear to goodness, Conor looked 10 years older than Dana White, and you could see it in the eyes. You could see the booze in the eyelids and the cocaine in the eyeballs, saying ‘I wanna fight.’ And then you’ve got a promoter who’s the only one with the legal right on the face of the earth to make it so that you can fight, and that promoter is standing there saying, ‘We’re not even close, I’m not even taking his calls right now.’”

Harry Kettle - May 26, 2025

UFC star Cory Sandhagen has given his thoughts on Sean O’Malley’s career, as well as a possible fight between them in the future. As we know, Sean O’Malley is easily one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts. That’s certainly the case for the UFC’s bantamweight division, where he is a former champion. At Noche UFC last year, however, he lost the belt to Merab Dvalishvili. At UFC 316 next month, he’ll have the chance to earn it back in an immediate rematch.

Harry Kettle - May 26, 2025

UFC light heavyweight Khalil Rountree Jr has reflected on his loss to Alex Pereira ahead of his return to the cage. As we know, Khalil Rountree Jr is set to return to action next month to battle Jamahal Hill. While it’s not necessarily a number one contender fight, a big win for either man could vault them right back into contention at 205 pounds. Hill has already held the gold in the past, whereas Khalil fought valiantly in his own title shot when he went toe to toe with the great Alex Pereira at UFC 307.

Harry Kettle - May 26, 2025

UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently joked about past UFC heavyweights using PEDs, using Alistair Overeem as an example. Over the course of the last few decades, Joe Rogan has been seen as the consistent voice of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While other commentators and figures have been and gone, Joe has stood the test of time alongside Dana White.

Harry Kettle - May 26, 2025

UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad claims he went against the game plan in his UFC 315 defeat to Jack Della Maddalena. In the main event of UFC 315, Belal Muhammad attempted to successfully defend the UFC welterweight championship against Jack Della Maddalena. In what proved to be a far more entertaining fight than anyone had anticipated, it was the Australian who was able to get the upper hand. In the end, he was the one to also get his hand raised in victory, leaving Montreal with the belt.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 25, 2025

Paddy Pimblett is well aware of one massive title fight that has yet to be booked, but he’s made a prediction for the bout that might surprise you. Fans have been clamoring for the UFC heavyweight division to move forward. Jon Jones has been the titleholder since March 2023, while Tom Aspinall has held interim gold since Nov. 2023. They each have one successful title defense, but the UFC has yet to make an undisputed title fight official despite Dana White’s optimism.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 25, 2025

You can count another prominent UFC analyst who is unsure what to make of Ilia Topuria’s decision to split from his longtime coaches. The news came as a surprise to many within the MMA industry. Jorge and Agustin Climent had been in Topuria’s corner since his days as an amateur. They helped prepare him for his eventual UFC Featherweight Championship victory. A little over a month before his UFC Lightweight Championship fight against Charles Oliveira, word broke that “El Matador” had split from the Climent brothers.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 25, 2025

Kayla Harrison’s manager believes Julianna Pena is in for a rough night at UFC 316. Harrison is scheduled to challenge Pena for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship in the co-main event of UFC 316 on June 7. It’ll be Harrison’s first crack at UFC gold. Pena will look for her first successful title defense in her second reign.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 25, 2025

As Tom Aspinall continues to wait for his next fight, one former UFC fan favorite is advising him to dodge a pitfall. Aspinall has yet to receive a title unification bout despite the fact that he’s been the interim UFC Heavyweight Champion since Nov. 2023. He’s even successfully defended the gold. While Dana White has insisted that reigning titleholder Jon Jones and Aspinall will fight, there appears to be no signs of any movement towards making the bout happen.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 25, 2025

One former UFC flyweight thinks he knows who has what it takes to dethrone Alexandre Pantoja. Pantoja has been the reigning UFC titleholder at 125 pounds since July 2023 when he defeated Brandon Moreno via split decision. He has had three successful title defenses. The Brazilian bruiser will look to thwart the challenge of Kai Kara-France at UFC 317 on June 28.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 25, 2025

One highly ranked UFC heavyweight has expressed frustration over the Jon Jones dilemma. Top fighters in the heavyweight division continue to wait for what’s next in the title picture. While UFC CEO Dana White remains confident that current champion Jones and interim titleholder Tom Aspinall will fight, the wait continues. Jones captured the gold back in March 2023, yet has as many title defenses as the interim champion, which is one apiece.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 23, 2025

The recent news of Ilia Topuria parting ways with his coaches has left one UFC Hall of Famer a bit puzzled. Topuria is set for a massive fight in the main event of UFC 317 on June 28. The former UFC Featherweight Champion will attempt to capture gold at 155 pounds. “El Matador” will do battle with Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship in Las Vegas.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 23, 2025

One renowned MMA coach believes the UFC missed out on a more exciting vacant lightweight title fight. Islam Makhachev will no longer be the UFC Lightweight Champion once the UFC 317 main event between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira begins. Many fans and experts are looking forward to seeing Topuria and Oliveira share the Octagon. Still, there are some who feel a better option than “do Bronx” was on the table.

BJ Penn Staff - May 23, 2025

We’ve got some new information about an infamous podcast brawl between former UFC champions Belal Muhammad and Kamaru Usman. That’s thanks to former two-division champ Henry Cejudo. Cejudo, who previously held the UFC bantamweight and flyweight belts, hosts the Pound 4 Pound podcast with Usman. He was in the room when things got physical between Usman and Muhammad, and during a recent appearance on the JAXXON podcast, shed some light on what went down.