MMA News

Cole Shelton - May 13, 2025

UFC CEO Dana White has plenty of confidence that Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall will happen. White announced the UFC 317 and UFC 319 main events, and neither is Jones defending his heavyweight title. Many fans were hoping Jones vs Aspinall would headline the International Fight Week on June 29 in Las Vegas, but that won’t happen as White announced the main event would be Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira.

Cole Shelton - May 13, 2025

UFC CEO Dana White has officially announced Ilia Topuria will take on Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. International Fight Week is always one of the biggest events of the year, but the promotion had yet to announce the headliner. A key reason why was that Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champion, wanted to see how the main event played out, as if Jack Della Maddalena beat Belal Muhammad, he would be moving up to welterweight.

BJ Penn Staff - May 13, 2025

Dricus Du Plessis is finally set to defend the UFC middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev. The two fighters will meet in the main event of UFC 319, which is slated for August 16, according to the promotion’s CEO Dana White.

Cole Shelton - May 13, 2025

UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis believes Bo Nickal gave up and was broken mentally against Reinier de Ridder. Nickal suffered his first career loss to de Ridder by TKO, as he was hurt by knees to the body. Although de Ridder landed several heavy shots, Du Plessis believes Nickal should have been able to survive those, but instead just took the easy way out.

BJ Penn Staff - May 13, 2025

UFC legend Vitor Belfort has some big dreams for his life after fighting. Brazil’s Belfort debuted with the UFC way back in 1997. He enjoyed several prominent runs with the promotion. His final run came to an end after a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida in 2018. Highlights of his resume include a light heavyweight title win in 2004, multiple title challenges, and victories over stars like Luke Rockhold, Dan Henderson, and Michael Bisping.

Cole Shelton - May 13, 2025

Jack Della Maddalena doesn’t expect Islam Makhachev to be a welterweight for long. Della Maddalena became the UFC’s welterweight champion on Saturday with a hard-fought decision win over Belal Muhammad. After the fight, Makhachev confirmed he would be moving up to welterweight to try and get the second belt and become a champ-champ.

BJ Penn Staff - May 13, 2025

Islam Makhachev has ambitions to reign over two UFC weight classes at once. His long-time friend and training partner Daniel Cormier is urging him to be cautious as he pursues this goal. Makhachev is already the UFC lightweight champion. He won the division’s coveted belt with a submission win over Charles Oliveira in 2022, and has since defended it four times. His first two defenses came against featherweight legend Alexander Volkanovski. Since then, he has defended the belt with finishes of Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 13, 2025

Jon Jones has something to say to those who think he’s ducking Tom Aspinall. Many fans have grown tired of the delay in crowning an undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion. Jones has held the gold since March 2023, while Aspinall has been the interim champion since Nov. 2023. Both Jones and Aspinall have successfully defended their titles once, yet a matchup between the two has yet to be made official.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 13, 2025

Islam Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez thinks Islam Makhachev will prove that Jack Della Maddalena simply isn’t on his level. Makhachev is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, and he might get to try his hand at double-champ status. Jack Della Maddalena defeated Makhachev’s training partner Belal Muhammad to capture the UFC Welterweight Championship this past Saturday. This now leaves the door open for Maddalena vs. Makhachev.

Harry Kettle - May 13, 2025

UFC legend Kamaru Usman has claimed that he feels indifferent towards Belal Muhammad’s title loss at UFC 315. One thing we know to be true about Kamaru Usman is that he was a great welterweight champion. He enjoyed some incredible wins throughout the course of his title reign and now, he’s attempting to climb back to the top of the mountain. While his primary focus right now is on his main event clash with Joaquin Buckley next month, the former champ was also keeping an eye on the main event at UFC 315 between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena.

Harry Kettle - May 13, 2025

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has revealed that he declined an offer to coach on the Russian equivalent of The Ultimate Fighter against Jon Jones. As we know, Daniel Cormier is one of the all-time greats within the world of mixed martial arts. He achieved some incredible things throughout the course of his career, including winning world titles in two different weight classes. However, when it comes to rivalries, perhaps his most notable foe was none other than Jon Jones – the man who many consider to be the GOAT.

Harry Kettle - May 13, 2025

UFC president Dana White praised The Korean Zombie’s new regional promotion and even joked that they may have better referees. As we know, Dana White has never particularly trusted the judging or refereeing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While they may be the world leader in mixed martial arts, many poor judges and referees have been part of the UFC family at one point or another. Of course, due to the commissions, the promotion doesn’t really have much of a say in who gets the nod at these big events.

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 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 - April 30, 2025

Gillian Robertson is set for the biggest fight of her career as he’ll take on Marina Rodriguez at UFC Des Moines on Saturday. Roberton is riding a three-fight winning streak and is now ranked 12th at strawweight. Although she is getting a big fight agaisnt someone ranked above her, she is disappointed she isn’t fighitng a week later at UFC 315 in Montreal, Canada.

Cole Shelton - April 23, 2025

Dan Ige is hoping to face Patricio Pitbull next time out after he returned to the win column at UFC 314. Ige scored a third-round TKO win over Sean Woodson to snap his two-fight losing skid. On the same card, Pitbull made his debut, and he suffered a decision loss to Yair Rodriguez. Although Pitbull isn’t ranked and is 0-1 in the UFC, Ige feels like it’s a big name for him to fight next, and it would be an exciting fight for the fans.

Cole Shelton - April 9, 2025

Jim Miller is eager to share the Octagon with Chase Hooper. Miller wasn’t sure what would be next after his last win over Damon Jackson. But, after Hooper mentioned Miller as a possible opponent and he got the offer from the UFC which he jumped at.

Cole Shelton - April 9, 2025

In the co-main event of UFC 314, a pivotal five-round lightweight bout takes place as Michael Chandler takes on Paddy Pimblett. Heading into the fight, Chandler is a +124 underdog, while the Brit is a -160 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the lightweight bout. The pros slightly lean towards Pimblett getting the biggest win of his career, but many are expecting it to be a very close fight.

Cole Shelton - April 8, 2025

In the main event of UFC 314 on Saturday in Miami, the vacant featherweight title is up for grabs as Alexander Volkanovski takes on Diego Lopes. Heading into the fight, Volkanovski is a -125 favorite, while the Brazilian is a -105 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the featherweight title fight. The pros lean toward Volkanovski getting the win and reclaiming his featherweight title.

Cole Shelton - April 2, 2025

Davey Grant is expecting a fun fight against Daniel Santos at UFC Vegas 105 on Saturday. Grant returned to the win column in December and was hoping to return in the first quarter of 2025. Although he just missed it, he’s glad he is getting back into the Octagon.

Cole Shelton - March 27, 2025

Steve Erceg wants to prove the doubters wrong that he is a top-ranked flyweight at UFC Mexico City. Erceg is coming off back-to-back losses to Kai Kara-France by KO and Alexandre Pantoja by decision. Despite losing two straight fights, he’s set to headline UFC Mexico City against Brandon Moreno on Saturday.

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2025

In the main event of UFC London, former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards will take on Sean Brady. Heading into the fight, Edwards is a +130 underdog while the American is a -166 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the welterweight main event. The pros are torn but the majority believe Brady will silence the crowd and beat the former champ.

Cole Shelton - March 14, 2025

Kurt Holobaugh is eager to fight Alexander Hernandez at UFC Vegas 104 on Saturday. After getting back into the win column last time out, Holobaugh wasn’t sure what would be next for him. But, he was excited when he got the offer to face Hernandez.

Cole Shelton - March 7, 2025

Alex Morono is looking to prove the doubters wrong that he still is a top contender at UFC 313. Morono is coming off a split decision loss to Daniel Rodriguez, which was his second-straight loss. The losses were disappointing, especially given that Morono feels like those are fights that he should have won.