UFC News

Cole Shelton - February 5, 2025

In the main event of UFC 312, the middleweight title is up for grabs as Dricus Du Plessis rematches Sean Strickland. Heading into the fight, Du Plessis is a -215 favorite while the challenger is a +164 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the middleweight fight. The pros expect it to be another close fight, but the slight majority believe it will be Strickland getting his hand raised at UFC 312 to become the new champ.

Cole Shelton - February 5, 2025

Dominick Cruz is out of his UFC Seattle co-main event against Rob Font. Cruz was supposed to have his retirement fight against Font in an intriguing bantamweight bout. However, on Wednesday, Cageside Press reported that Cruz suffered an injury and is out of his fight against Font. Following the report, BJPENN.com was able to confirm with sources close to the situation that Cruz did indeed suffer an injury which forced him to withdraw from the contest.

Josh Evanoff - February 5, 2025

Sean Strickland sparred with a lucky fan at the UFC 312 open workout earlier this week. ‘Tarzan’ is currently set to make his return to the cage against Dricus du Plessis on Saturday night. Back for the first time since a split-decision win over Paulo Costa last summer, Sean Strickland will again face ‘Stillknocks’. The former champion famously lost the gold to the South African last January, by a contentious split decision.

Josh Evanoff - February 5, 2025

UFC flyweight contender Brandon Royval has pulled out of his March return against Manel Kape. ‘Raw Dawg’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since an October clash with Tatsuro Taira. The Japanese contender entered the cage a staggering 16-0, while Brandon Royval was fresh off a win over former champion Brandon Moreno in February. In the main event of UFC Vegas 98, the former title challenger earned a split-decision win.

Josh Evanoff - February 5, 2025

UFC middleweight prospect Shara Bullet is opening up on his health following his loss to Michael Page. The flashy striker returned to the cage in the co-main event of UFC Saudi Arabia last Saturday night. Back for the first time since a knockout win over Armen Petrosyan in October, ‘Shara Bullet’ met Michael Page. While ‘Venom’ is normally a welterweight, he jumped at the opportunity to face Magomedov.

Cole Shelton - February 5, 2025

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is teasing a massive announcement coming on Thursday. After Jones defeated Stipe Miocic to defend his heavyweight title, many were hopeful he would face Tom Aspinall next. Unfortunately, there has yet to be an announcement, but Jones is now teasing a potential title defense or fight news.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 5, 2025

UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria doesn’t believe Movsar Evloev is deserving of a title shot. Topuria has been observing the 145-pound division and his potential contenders. While the featherweight king would rather move up to lightweight, he’s letting the UFC brass decide what they want to do with him going forward. “El Matador” is rumored to be facing Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch, but Topuria insists he hasn’t signed anything.

Cole Shelton - February 5, 2025

Kevin Lee has issued a scathing response after a video of him getting dropped in sparring went viral. A video went viral on X on Wednesday showing Lee attempting to throw a flying knee and then getting dropped. When this happened is uncertain, and how it got out is also unknown, but the clip clearly showed Lee getting dropped and stumbling from the big punch.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 5, 2025

Sean Strickland believes Bryce Mitchell is buying into propaganda, but doesn’t feel he’s a Nazi. Mitchell caught some massive heat from UFC CEO Dana White over his recent comments about Adolf Hitler. Mitchell said that Hitler “was a good guy” and claimed the dictator changed due to meth use. During a recent Power Slap press conference, White slammed Mitchell, saying he was “beyond disgusted” and called the featherweight fighter “stupid.”

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025

UFC sensation Terrance McKinney has laid out his plans for the rest of the year following his win at UFC Saudi Arabia. Terrance McKinney is one of the most interesting fighters to watch in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has the kind of “kill or be killed” mentality that is always bound to bring in some new fans. Sure, he doesn’t always get the job done, but you can bet he’s going to be involved in a pretty fun fight every single time he steps into the Octagon.

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025

UFC champion Dricus du Plessis has praised Alex Pereira as one of the greatest combat sports athletes ever ahead of UFC 312. In the last couple of years, Alex Pereira has blown MMA fans and media members away. He has been on an absolute tear, to the point where he is now known as a two-weight world champion. While he lost his middleweight crown, he’s the current king of the light heavyweight division, and he isn’t planning on surrendering that title anytime soon.

Harry Kettle - February 5, 2025

UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili backs herself to find success against Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312. On Saturday night, Zhang Weili will defend her strawweight gold against Tatiana Suarez. In the eyes of many, this is one of the toughest tests available to the champion. Suarez has spent her entire career impressing the masses, and many felt as if it was only a matter of time before she fought for a championship.

Cole Shelton - February 4, 2025

Leon Edwards is certain that he is a better fighter than Belal Muhammad. Edwards lost his welterweight title to Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304 in July in England. It was a surprising result as Edwards was a sizeable favorite, but Muhammad fought a smart fight to get the win.

Cole Shelton - February 4, 2025

Sean Strickland is expecting another war against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312. Strickland is set to rematch Du Plessis for the middleweight title in the main event of UFC 312 on Saturday in Australia. They first fought in January of 2024 when Strickland was the champ, but it was Du Plessis who won a split decision in a very close fight that could have gone either way.

Josh Evanoff - February 4, 2025

Former UFC champion Conor McGregor has found himself in hot water once again. ‘The Notorious’ is going on nearly four years out of the cage. Conor McGregor was last seen in the cage at UFC 264 in July 2021, in a trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier. That night saw the Irishman break his leg in the final seconds of the first round, in a brutal sight. While McGregor promised to make a return by the end of 2022, that failed to come to fruition.

Josh Evanoff - February 4, 2025

Chael Sonnen has revealed Colby Covington will likely face Gilbert Burns in his UFC return. The ever-controversial ‘Chaos’ is fresh off his return to the cage at UFC Tampa in December. Colby Covington famously went on hiatus following his loss to Leon Edwards in late 2023, but he stepped up on short notice to face Joaquin Buckley. ‘New Mansa’ entered his first UFC headliner red-hot, last scoring a knockout win over Stephen Thompson in October.

Josh Evanoff - February 4, 2025

Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka knows who he wants next. The ever-entertaining striker is fresh off his return to the cage at UFC 311 last month. Back for the first time since being knocked out against Alex Pereira last summer, Jiri Prochazka met former champion Jamahal Hill. ‘Sweet Dreams’ had also been finished by ‘Poatan’ in his latest appearance, but was determined to earn a rematch with the Brazilian.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - February 4, 2025

Reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis has named the one fight that had him more nervous than any other bout in his career. Du Plessis worked his way up to the top of the mountain, defeating the likes of Robert Whittaker, Sean Strickland, and Israel Adesanya. There was no easy path for “Stillknocks,” but he has emerged as a UFC champion.