MMA News

Harry Kettle - May 7, 2025

UFC legend Georges St-Pierre has weighed in on the amusing 100 men vs 1 gorilla debate that has been sweeping social media. When you’re talking about the greatest of all time, Georges St-Pierre needs to be in the conversation. His body of work in the sport of mixed martial arts speaks for itself, and he is constantly recognised as a fighter who best represents what it means to be a true martial artist. Of course, he’s no longer actively competing, but his impact on the sport is still felt across the globe.

Harry Kettle - May 7, 2025

UFC champion Dricus du Plessis has responded to some recent trash talk and threats from contender Khamzat Chimaev. As we know, Dricus du Plessis is the king of the middleweight division. The 31-year-old won the belt by defeating Sean Strickland and since then, he’s successfully defended it against both Strickland and Israel Adesanya. Now, the expectation is that he will take on Khamzat Chimaev in his next outing, although there’s been no confirmation as to when this fight is going to happen.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 6, 2025

Reigning ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo took a clear stride forward versus Dante Leon at ONE Fight Night 31, dispatching the Canadian combatant across 10 dominant minutes. The 22-year-old held onto his gold by unanimous decision in the co-main event this past Friday, May 2, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium, settling the score in their trilogy at 2-1.

BJPENN.COM Staff - May 6, 2025

Former two-weight ONE MMA World Champion Reinier de Ridder rose to the top of ONE Championship, becoming a formidable force. He’s been terrorizing the world of MMA long before his UFC tenure began, and that only highlights the depth of ONE’s MMA realm. “The Dutch Knight” carved out his third consecutive stoppage win in the UFC this past Saturday, 3 May, dispatching surging UFC star Bo Nickal in round two.

Cole Shelton - May 6, 2025

Reinier de Ridder is confident he would be able to hand Khamzat Chimaev his first career loss after handing Bo Nickal his first defeat. De Ridder pulled off an upset win on Saturday as he scored a TKO win over Nickal at UFC Des Moines. It was a stunning result that should get the de Ridder a top-10, if not a top-five, opponent next.

BJ Penn Staff - May 6, 2025

Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. The same can be said of his close friend and training partner Islam Makhachev. According to long-time UFC commentator Joe Rogan, there’s a reason for that. Rogan got to talking about Khabib and Islam during a recent episode of his popular podcast.

Cole Shelton - May 6, 2025

Belal Muhammad believes his pace and pressure will be too much for Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315. Muhammad is looking to defend his welterweight title for the first time when he takes on Della Maddalena on Saturday in Montreal. Entering the fight, Muhammad is a sizeable favorite, and he has confidence he will be able to not only beat Della Maddalena, but will finish the Aussie.

BJ Penn Staff - May 6, 2025

Petr Yan will be taking a huge step down in competition for his next UFC fight — unless his fellow contender Cory Sandhagen agrees to a matchup. Yan is the former UFC bantamweight champion, and is ranked No. 2 in the weight class at present. He is currently riding back-to-back decision wins over Song Yadong and Deiveson Figueiredo. Ordinarily, that might be enough to warrant a title shot. There’s just one problem. Yan has already lost to champion Merab Dvalishvili, as well as No. 1 contender Sean O’Malley, who will challenge for the belt at UFC 316 in June.

Cole Shelton - May 6, 2025

Jack Della Maddalena plans to come out aggressively against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. Della Maddalena is challenging Muhammad for the welterweight title in the main event of the pay-per-view card in Montreal. Entering the fight, Della Maddalena is a betting underdog, but he has full confidence in his skill that he won’t just win, but will finish Muhammad.

BJ Penn Staff - May 6, 2025

UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal got his first taste of defeat in MMA last Saturday, suffering a devastating TKO loss to Reinier De Ridder. He is not shying away from the experience. Nickal met De Ridder in the co-main event of the UFC’s debut in Des Moines, Iowa. It was the wrestling standout’s chance to improve to 8-0 as a pro and vault into the middleweight rankings, but it was not meant to be. Instead, Nickal was dominated by De Ridder in round one, and finished by a knee to the body in round two.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 6, 2025

Kamaru Usman and Belal Muhammad aren’t even close to squashing their beef. Usman and Muhammad have been at odds since “Remember the Name” captured the UFC Welterweight Championship in 2024. The two agreed to air out their grievances on an unreleased episode of the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast, but things boiled over between the two.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 6, 2025

One former UFC champion claims he was infected prior to his defeat this past weekend. The UFC was back on the road for a Fight Night card in Des Moines. The event saw Bo Nickal suffer the first loss of his pro MMA career against Reinier de Ridder. There was also the main event flyweight clash between Cory Sandhagen and Deiveson Figueiredo. While “Figgy” had some moments in the fight, they were few and far between.

Harry Kettle - May 6, 2025

MMA analyst Josh Thomson has a pretty interesting point of view regarding UFC’s potential stance on Bo Nickal. Last weekend, Bo Nickal suffered his first defeat in professional mixed martial arts. He went head to head with Reinier de Ridder and, in more ways than one, he simply couldn’t keep up with the Dutchman. RDR was all over him from beginning to end, finishing off the American wrestling star with a nasty knee to the body.

Harry Kettle - May 6, 2025

Mateusz Gamrot has slammed Benoit Saint-Denis for reportedly turning him down as a new opponent for UFC 315. While he may have had a few setbacks, Mateusz Gamrot is still one of the most intriguing lightweight contenders in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The Polish sensation is capable of mixing it up with anyone in the top 15, and although he isn’t seen by many as a legitimate title threat, he certainly has the potential to get to that level based on the evidence presented thus far.

Harry Kettle - May 6, 2025

Karate Combat champion Sam Alvey has called for a showdown with Eddie Hall following his recent win over Tyrone Spong. Since leaving the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Sam Alvey has enjoyed the kind of resurgence that very few people would’ve seen coming. He’s always had a great personality, and you could make the argument that it’s one of the reasons why the UFC kept him around for so long. Now, though, he’s starting to put in the work necessary to raise his profile in the pit.

Cole Shelton - May 6, 2025

The UFC was in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, May 3, for UFC Des Moines. In the main event, bantamweight contenders threw down as Cory Sandhagen took on Deiveson Figueiredo in a pivotal bout. Entering the fight, Sandhagen was coming off a decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov, which snapped his three-fight winning streak. Figueiredo, meanwhile, was coming off a decision loss to Petr Yan, which was his first loss at bantamweight after going 3-0.

Cole Shelton - May 5, 2025

Cory Sandhagen believes he deserves the next title shot, but is open to taking another fight. Sandhagen scored a second-round stoppage win over Deiveson Figueiredo on Saturday at UFC Des Moines. It got him back in the win column, and after the victory, he called for a title shot.

Cole Shelton - May 5, 2025

Belal Muhammad is surprised Ian Machado Garry is serving as the backup fighter for UFC 315. Muhammad is set to defend his welterweight title for the first time against Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday in Montreal in the main event of UFC 315. After Garry beat Carlos Prates, he revealed he’d be the backup fighter, which caught the champ by surprise.