MMA News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 22, 2025

Islam Makhachev has caught wind of one well-known UFC analyst’s ducking accusations, and he’s responded. Makhachev is set to vacate the UFC Lightweight Championship on June 28. Once the UFC 317 main event between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira begins, Makhachev will relinquish the 155-pound gold. The soon-to-be former lightweight champion made the decision in order to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC Welterweight Championship.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 22, 2025

Merab Dvalishvili has received some surprising comments from Sean O’Malley’s head coach. It’s no secret that there’s some gamesmanship between Dvalishvili and O’Malley’s team. With that said, there is also mutual respect between both sides. Dvalishvili defeated O’Malley to become the UFC Bantamweight Champion back in Sept. 2024. O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch recently remarked that the lights inside the Las Vegas Sphere caused his fighter to miss a good portion of his strikes.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 22, 2025

Jack Della Maddalena has shared some key differences between Islam Makhachev and Belal Muhammad. Maddalena captured the UFC Welterweight Championship by defeating Belal Muhammad in the UFC 315 headliner. The win for “JDM” opened the door for Makhachev to move up in weight to challenge for the 170-pound gold. That’s why Makhachev will be vacating the UFC Lightweight Championship.

Harry Kettle - May 22, 2025

UFC champion Magomed Ankalaev’s manager has given his thoughts on a potential rematch against Alex Pereira. As we know, Magomed Ankalaev is the current UFC light heavyweight champion. He earned that title by defeating and dethroning Alex Pereira, who is a two-weight world champion in his own right. It was a fairly comprehensive win from the new champ but with that being said, a lot of fans and pundits are still interested in seeing them run it back.

Harry Kettle - May 22, 2025

UFC star Ian Machado Garry has explained why he’s so excited to see how the new era evolves in the welterweight division. As we know, Ian Machado Garry is one of the top contenders in the welterweight division. However, he has a lot of competition when it comes to determining who gets the next title shot. Islam Makhachev is moving up from 155 pounds, Sean Brady is in the mix, Belal Muhammad will want a rematch, and Shavkat Rakhmonov is waiting around the next corner.

Harry Kettle - May 22, 2025

UFC heavyweight Jailton Almeida has explained his ongoing frustration with the current state of the division. As we know, Tom Aspinall is the current interim UFC heavyweight champion. The undisputed champion is Jon Jones, and while you’d think that we’d be heading for a unification fight between the two of them, it has yet to come to fruition. Instead, we’ve been forced to wait for Jon to make a decision on whether or not the bout is actually going to happen.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 21, 2025

Japanese kickboxing ace Kaito has a chip on his shoulder ahead of his ONE Championship debut. The 27-year-old meets Mohammad Siasarani in a featherweight kickboxing showdown at ONE Friday Fights 109 on May 23, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 21, 2025

Reaching ONE Championship was a life goal for #4-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender Nakrob Fairtex. But simply being here isn’t enough. The Thai star meets Jaosuayai Mor Krungthepthonburi in a flyweight Muay Thai tilt at ONE Fight Night 32 on Friday, June 6, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJ Penn Staff - May 21, 2025

Islam Makhachev has a new hobby, but his mentor and fellow UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t approve. Khabib and Islam are considered two of the best fighters in MMA history, largely on the strength as their reigns as UFC lightweight champion. Khabib held the belt first, but retired after a submission win over Justin Gaethje in 2020. Several years later, Islam claimed the vacant belt with a submission win over Charles Oliveira, and went on to be just as impressive — if not more impressive — than Khabib.

BJ Penn Staff - May 21, 2025

Charles Oliveira has made his first public prediction for his UFC 317 title fight with Ilia Topuria. With long-time lightweight champ Islam Makhachev making a (potentially nightmarish) move up to welterweight, Oliveira and Topuria are set to fight for the vacant belt in the June 28 card’s main event.

Cole Shelton - May 21, 2025

Tim Welch, the head coach of Sean O’Malley, has a unique reason for his fighter’s loss to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306. O’Malley lost his bantamweight title at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas back in September to Dvalishvili. O’Malley struggled to keep the fight standing as Dvalishvili cruised to a win.

BJ Penn Staff - May 21, 2025

UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones claims he isn’t retired. However, it doesn’t sound like we’ll see him in action any time soon either. Jones is best known for a legendary run in the UFC light heavyweight division, where he cemented himself as one of the best fighters ever over the course of multiple title reigns. However, he ultimately vacated the division’s belt to move up to heavyweight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 21, 2025

One fighter has been removed from an upcoming UFC Fight Night card. UFC Vegas 107 is scheduled to take place on May 31. The event will be headlined by a pivotal women’s flyweight matchup between Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber. UFC Apex will play host to UFC Vegas 107, but the card is now down one less fighter.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 21, 2025

One former opponent of UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey is contemplating her fighting future. UFC Des Moines took place on May 3 and it featured a slew of action, which was capped off by Cory Sandhagen defeating former UFC Flyweight Champion Deiveson Figueiredo. The featured preliminary fight on that card was a clash between former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate and Yana Santos.

Harry Kettle - May 21, 2025

UFC star Reinier de Ridder believes Dricus du Plessis is more than capable of finishing Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 319. As we know, Dricus du Plessis has been one of the big surprise packages in mixed martial arts over the last few years. He entered the UFC with one goal: capture the UFC middleweight championship. He managed to achieve that dream and since then, he’s been able to successfully defend the strap against Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland. So far, so good for the South African sensation.

Harry Kettle - May 21, 2025

Iowa wrestling have trolled Bo Nickal in the wake of his one-sided defeat at the hands of Reinier de Ridder recently. As we know, Reinier de Ridder defeated Bo Nickal in their recent UFC Des Moines showdown. While many knew it was going to be the toughest test of Bo’s career up to this point in mixed martial arts, few could’ve expected how one-sided it would be. The wrestling sensation was controlled and dominated in pretty much every department, with de Ridder proving that he is an elite middleweight contender.

Harry Kettle - May 21, 2025

UFC star Joaquin Buckley has hit out at Sean Brady for reportedly turning down a main event fight against Kamaru Usman. As we know, Joaquin Buckley is a top contender in the welterweight division right now. He has been on an absolute tear, mowing through some top quality names like Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque and Colby Covington. At UFC Atlanta, however, he will face arguably his toughest test to date as he prepares to throw down with former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 21, 2025

Jaosuayai Mor Krungthepthonburi’s career as a fighter, for the most part, is a lonesome journey. Once you step in the ring and that bell sounds, it comes down to you. Recently, the flyweight Muay Thai star has felt an overwhelming amount of support. At ONE Fight Night 32, he makes his main roster debut versus #4-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender Nakrob Fairtex on Friday, June 6, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.