MMA News

BJ Penn Staff - May 15, 2025

Former UFC contender Darren Till is set to return to the boxing ring this Friday, and he’s promising a violent spectacle once he steps through the ropes. Till, 32, is set to meet fellow UFC veteran Darren Stewart, 34, in the main event of the Misfits Boxing 21 card in Derby, England.

BJ Penn Staff - May 15, 2025

A fight between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev is among the biggest the UFC can make right now. Unfortunately, it won’t be happening. At least, not yet. By late 2024, the undefeated Spaniard Topuria was the UFC featherweight champion, while Russia’s Makhachev was the lightweight champ. A lot has changed since then.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 15, 2025

As he draws closer to the age of 39, Gilbert Burns believes a movielike comeback story could be his destiny. Burns’ back is against the wall going into UFC Vegas 106. “Durinho” will meet surging undefeated welterweight Michael Morales on Saturday. Burns has lost three fights in a row, but all were against elite competition. In his current skid, Burns has lost to current UFC Welterweight Champion Jack Della Maddalena, former titleholder Belal Muhammad, and No. 2-ranked welterweight Sean Brady.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 15, 2025

Jack Della Maddalena’s team believes Ian Machado Garry needs to focus more on fighting than his brand. Maddalena is the new UFC Welterweight Champion after defeating Belal Muhammad in Montreal on May 10. In the week leading up to UFC 315, backup fighter Ian Machado Garry stole some shine from the title fight by having his son offer Maddalena chocolate. Many feel Garry was playing mind games knowing that Maddalena was in the midst of a weight cut.

BJ Penn Staff - May 15, 2025

Former UFC flyweight title challenger Jessica Eye is set to make her bare knuckle debut at BKFC 76 on June 21. Her opponent on the card, which will go down in Fort Worth, Texas, will be fellow UFC veteran Mariya Agapova. BKFC officials announced the matchup to MMA Fighting on May. 14.

BJ Penn Staff - May 15, 2025

Marlon “Chito” Vera will not be fighting Mario Bautista at UFC 316. Instead, Bautista be fighting former Bellator champion Patchy Mix at the June 7 card in Newark, New Jersey. That’s according to X user @MagicM_MMABets, who has a good track record for breaking fight news.

Cole Shelton - May 15, 2025

Thiago Moises has plenty of confidence in his skills ahead of his UFC Vegas 106 fight against Jared Gordon. After Moises beat Trey Ogden in January, he wanted to fight again as he and his wife are expecting a girl at the beginning of June. So, Moises is thankful the UFC granted his wish as he will return on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 106.

Harry Kettle - May 15, 2025

Gilbert Burns agrees with Islam Makhachev’s decision to vacate the UFC lightweight title in order to move up to welterweight. As we know, Islam Makhachev is vacating the UFC lightweight championship. He’s doing so as a result of his decision to pursue the welterweight belt, which is currently held by Jack Della Maddalena. If Belal Muhammad had been able to defeat JDM in their UFC 315 title fight, Islam likely would’ve remained at 155 pounds to defend the strap against Ilia Topuria.

Harry Kettle - May 15, 2025

UFC veteran Paul Craig believes that he’s fighting to stay in a job when he returns to battle it out with Rodolfo Bellato on Saturday. While he may not always pick up the win, Paul Craig is one of the more entertaining fighters on the UFC roster. From his fight style to his personality outside of the cage, you just never really know what you’re going to get. Alas, the Scottish sensation has been on a poor run of form lately, leading many to wonder whether or not he’s on the verge of getting cut.

Harry Kettle - May 15, 2025

MMA legend Cris Cyborg believes that UFC contender Kayla Harrison ran away from a potential superfight against her. As we know, Cris Cyborg is easily one of the greatest female fighters of this or any other generation. Her impact on mixed martial arts has been incredible and even at this advanced stage in her career, it still feels like she’s got a lot left in the tank. Alas, while we were able to see Cris get the opportunity to face Amanda Nunes, we haven’t seen her take on other dream opponents such as Ronda Rousey and Kayla Harrison.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 14, 2025

Flyweight Muay Thai fighter Johan Ghazali has evolved into one of the division’s must-watch talents. And he wants to stay there for as long as possible. In order to do that, he switched teams and now sits under the learning tree of ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon. “Jojo” looks to return to winning ways against Diego Paez in a flyweight Muay Thai tussle at ONE Fight Night 32 on Friday, June 6, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 14, 2025

Two-sport ONE World Champion Prajanchai PK Saenchai is one of the most experienced and accomplished fighters in Muay Thai history. So it’s only natural he’s become a hub of encouragement for his younger counterparts. At 30 years old, he has almost 400 professional fights to his name. Staggeringly, he’s won 344 of those outings. That wealth of experience has allowed him to soar to the mountaintop of ONE Championship’s strawweight Muay Thai and kickboxing realms.

BJ Penn Staff - May 14, 2025

Gilbert Burns surprised a lot of people in his 2022 UFC loss to Khamzat Chimaev. Ahead of the fight, many people expected him to struggle with the undefeated Russian contender, but in the end, he pushed his opponent to the limit in a Fight of the Night-winning war. In a recent interview with Home of Fight, Burns reflected on his razor-close loss to Chimaev. He explained that, initially, his valiant performance actually benefitted him in a lot of ways, as his notoriety and finances improved.

BJ Penn Staff - May 14, 2025

Former UFC champ Holly Holm is headed back to the boxing ring, with a little help from Jake Paul. Holm is one of the most accomplished female fighters in UFC history, having famously knocked out Ronda Rousey in a stunning upset in 2015. However, she was shockingly released by the promotion earlier this year.

BJ Penn Staff - May 14, 2025

Yesterday, the UFC finally announced a middleweight title fight between champion Dricus Du Plessis and challenger Khamzat Chimaev. It’s one of the biggest fights on the calendar right now, and it will be a real shame if either man is injured, but the promotion has a plan in place just in case that happens. The Du Plessis vs. Chimaev fight is slated for UFC 319 on August 16. According to French publication RMC Sport Combat, the promotion has called upon top middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov to serve as the backup to the fight. That means the Frenchman will fly to Chicago and weigh in for the card, so he is able to swoop in and fight one of the two men should the other be ruled out.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 14, 2025

Gilbert Burns never considered turning down a fight with Michael Morales. Burns is a well-respected veteran in MMA, and he’s competed against elite competition under the UFC banner. While “Durinho” is on a three-fight skid, his losses have been against current UFC Welterweight Champion Jack Della Maddalena, former titleholder Belal Muhammad, and the No. 1-ranked Sean Brady.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 14, 2025

A former UFC champion believes that Islam Makhachev has taken the title of lightweight GOAT from Khabib Nurmagomedov. Makhachev is ready to move on from 155 pounds. UFC CEO Dana White recently announced that Makhachev will be vacating the UFC Lightweight Championship to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight gold. Makhachev ends his run at 155 pounds with the most successful UFC lightweight title defenses.

Harry Kettle - May 14, 2025

UFC star Charles Oliveira has promised a big performance when he goes head to head with Ilia Topuria at UFC 317. As announced earlier this week, Charles Oliveira will challenge for the UFC lightweight championship once again. He will do so in the main event of UFC 317 against Ilia Topuria, who has officially made the move up to the lightweight division. While everyone knows that ‘Do Bronx’ has a chance, Topuria is widely considered to be the favorite to walk away with the belt in this encounter.