MMA News

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2025

In the main event of UFC 315, the welterweight title is up for grabs as Belal Muhammad takes on Jack Della Maddalena. Heading into the fight, Muhammad is a -188 favorite while the challenger is a +146 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the welterweight title fight. The pros are unanimous in thinking Muhammad’s pace and wrestling will be too much as he will defend his belt, most likely by decision.

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2025

Manon Fiorot not only plans to take Valentina Shevchenko’s belt, but she also plans to take her superfight. Fiorot is set to take on Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 315 for the women’s flyweight title. Despite being the challenger, Fiorot is the betting favorite, which is a surprise to some. Although she is the challenger, Fiorot isn’t surprised she is the favorite as he knows she’s been dominating opponents when Shevchenko hasn’t.

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2025

Jack Della Maddalena thinks UFC 315 could be the final time that Belal Muhammad fights in the UFC. Della Maddalena is set to challenge Muhammad for the welterweight title on Saturday in Montreal. It’s an intriguing matchup, and Della Maddalena has shown confidence that he won’t just win but will finish Muhammad. Not only does Della Maddalena believe he will finish Muhammad, but he thinks the champ may opt to retire after the loss, knowing he won’t get the belt back.

BJ Penn Staff - May 7, 2025

Alex Pereira claims his relationship with the UFC is actually in good place — contrary to a social media post that sent the MMA community into a frenzy this morning. On Tuesday morning, Pereira posted on X, lashing out at the UFC and threatening to retire after receiving some “disheartening” news.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 7, 2025

Belal Muhammad insists he has zero concern about Kamaru Usman. Muhammad and Usman haven’t been cordial with one another over the past year. Usman blames the dissension on Muhammad’s trash talk after winning the UFC Welterweight Championship from Leon Edwards in 2024. There is also the now infamous unaired “Pound 4 Pound” podcast episode featuring Muhammad, where things apparently got quite testy between the two.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 7, 2025

Jose Aldo was never known for being a trash talker, but he doesn’t shy away from throwing out a zinger or two. Aldo is already a UFC Hall of Famer, but he still competes inside the Octagon. While Aldo hasn’t tasted UFC gold in quite some time, he still believes in his ability to put on a show. While wins over Marlon “Chito” Vera, Pedro Munhoz, Rob Font, and Jonathan Martinez proved Aldo still has some juice left in the tank, losses against Merab Dvalishvili and Mario Bautista frustrated the UFC legend.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 7, 2025

A one-time UFC champion has come to the defense of Bo Nickal. Fans witnessed the first pro MMA loss in the young career of Nickal this past Saturday. Nickal took on the experienced de Ridder in the UFC Des Moines co-headliner. Things certainly didn’t go the way Nickal planned. The once unbeaten prospect couldn’t handle the pressure of the former two-division ONE Championship titleholder, and he crumpled after receiving a knee to the body in the second stanza.

BJ Penn Staff - May 7, 2025

UPDATE: Alex Pereira now claims he was “hacked,” and that his relationship with the UFC is “great.” Get caught up on this crazy ordeal HERE. If you thought Alex Pereira and the UFC were on good terms, think again.

BJ Penn Staff - May 7, 2025

UFC fans have been waiting to see Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev fight for months. From the sounds of it, the wait is almost over. South Africa’s Du Plessis is the reigning UFC middleweight champion. He won the belt with a close decision win over Sean Strickland last year, and has since defended it twice. First, he submitted former champ Israel Adesanya. Then, he defeated Strickland with a far more decisive decision win in a rematch.

Harry Kettle - May 7, 2025

UFC champion Julianna Pena has accused Kayla Harrison of using steroids as the countdown to their UFC 316 fight continues. As we know, Julianna Pena is a pretty controversial figure when it comes to MMA fans. While she’s a two-time bantamweight world champion in the UFC, she has a tendency to rattle people with some of the comments she makes. It’s often because she’s trying to get under the skin of her opponents, and that’s certainly the case with her upcoming UFC 316 clash with Kayla Harrison.

Harry Kettle - May 7, 2025

UFC contender Reinier de Ridder has not been moved further up the middleweight rankings despite his win over Bo Nickal. Last Saturday night, Reinier de Ridder really arrived in the UFC’s middleweight division. While he’d already picked up a couple of wins prior to his triumph over Bo Nickal, this was the time for him to really test himself against one of the most hyped fighters in the entire sport. He passed the test with flying colours, dominating Nickal from pillar to post before finishing him with a nasty knee to the stomach.

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.

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

Modestas Bukauskas is expecting a wild and explosive fight against Ion Cutelaba at UFC 315. After Bukauskas and Cutelaba both won at UFC Seattle, he called for the fight as he thought it would be exciting and would make sense. The UFC agreed and made the fight quickly as the two will fight not even three months later.

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.

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.