MMA News

Curtis Calhoun - July 16, 2026 at 1:37 PM PDT // 0 Comments

UFC superstar Conor McGregor believes his short-lived return at UFC 329 should be moved to a no-contest after his leg injury. Conor McGregor’s highly anticipated return to the Octagon lasted mere seconds against Max Holloway last weekend at UFC 329.

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 16, 2026 at 1:00 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Luke Lessei returns to the main event spotlight on Friday, July 17, when he meets Mohamed Younes Rabah in a featherweight Muay Thai clash at ONE Fight Night 45 in Bangkok, Thailand. The bout streams live on Prime Video from Lumpinee Stadium in U.S. primetime. The 30-year-old Iowa native enters off a loss to Nico Carrillo, who has since captured the ONE Interim Featherweight Muay Thai World Championship. Lessei carries eight professional victories and a finishing rate above 75 percent into the assignment.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 16, 2026 at 11:42 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Justin Gaethje isn’t interested in the idea of a second showdown with Paddy Pimblett. Gaethje won the interim UFC lightweight gold when he defeated “The Baddy” via unanimous decision to cap off UFC’s debut on Paramount+. “The Highlight” went on to capture interim gold when he stopped Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250. Just one month later, Pimblett got back on the winning track by choking out Benoit Saint Denis is under one minute.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 16, 2026 at 11:13 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Michael Bisping isn’t so sure that Ilia Topuria would want a fight with Paddy Pimblett at this point. There is no shortage of animosity between Topuria and Pimblett. The two have been trading barbs throughout the years and even had an encounter in the lobby of a fighter hotel back in 2022. While many fans have been eager to see the rivalry play out inside the Octagon, Bisping feels the dynamic has changed a bit.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 16, 2026 at 8:05 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Colby Covington isn’t done hurling personal digs at his former training partner Dustin Poirier. Poirier found himself in the headlines after being arrested for public intoxication. Bodycam footage revealed that Poirier threatened to fight a police officer after he was removed from a flight for insulting staff members. Following the ordeal, Poirier appeared on “Diary of a CEO” to reveal that he went through some personal struggles thinking about his father, who is dealing with his own issues.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 16, 2026 at 7:21 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Dricus du Plessis had a tough time accepting the reality that he’d no longer be recognized as the UFC Middleweight Champion. “Stillknocks” had two successful title defenses before stepping inside the Octagon with Khamzat Chimaev in the UFC 319 main event back in Aug. 2025. While Chimaev was the betting favorite going into fight night in Chicago, many expected du Plessis to make “Borz” earn his keep. Ultimately, du Plessis was controlled for nearly 22 minutes on his way to a clear unanimous decision loss.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 16, 2026 at 6:49 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Kamaru Usman has reflected on his time sparring with Dricus du Plessis, who happens to be his next opponent. Usman and du Plessis are scheduled to clash at UFC Oklahoma on Saturday, but the two once traded leather inside the gym. “The Nigerian Nightmare” doesn’t remember every detail of his sparring sessions with “Stillknocks,” but he does recall the former UFC Middleweight Champion relying on his power.

Cole Shelton - July 15, 2026 at 5:18 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Adrian Yanez knew he had a chance to send a statement to the bantamweight division at UFC 329. Yanez was fighting former champion Cody Garbrandt on a massive card, as he knew there were plenty of eyeballs on him, given he was fighting on a Conor McGregor card. Although Yanez entered the bout as the huge favorite, he knew Garbrandt posed a lot of problems, and admitted he was surprised by how fast Garbrandt was.

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 15, 2026 at 4:00 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Jonathan Di Bella defends the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title against Zhang Peimian on Friday, July 17, at The Inner Circle 22. The rematch streams live for members from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Their first meeting at ONE 162 in October 2022 remains one of the most dramatic World Title fights in ONE Championship history, and Di Bella expects the sequel to deliver the same kind of drama.

Curtis Calhoun - July 15, 2026 at 3:35 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw expressed a somber tone when reacting to his former rival Cody Garbrandt’s latest loss. Cody Garbrandt’s UFC struggles continued last Saturday at the hands of Adrian Yanez at UFC 329. Just minutes into their fight, Yanez finished Garbrandt with a flurry of punches to earn arguably the biggest victory of his young career.

Curtis Calhoun - July 15, 2026 at 3:20 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Conor McGregor received support from longtime teammate Dillon Danis after his disastrous UFC 329 comeback. Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon after a five-year absence ended disastrously at UFC 329 last Saturday in Las Vegas.

Curtis Calhoun - July 15, 2026 at 2:12 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Former two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira is ramping up his ongoing feud with referee Herb Dean after a UFC Baku fighter’s release. The UFC opted to part ways with middleweight contender Michel Pereira after his recent loss to Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov at UFC Baku. Michel’s release came after a controversial bout in which Magomedov appeared to pull his hair multiple times and poked him in the eye, all without any point deductions.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2026

Conor McGregor is taking the blame for being too aggressive in his return fight at UFC 329. McGregor has insisted that he felt calm going into his first bout in five years, which is actually something his opponent Max Holloway agrees with. The “Notorious” one didn’t get to showcase what he had been working on, however, as he went for a leaping kick and ended up landing the wrong way on his right knee. McGregor couldn’t move around effectively, and the fight was stopped due to the injury just over one minute in.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2026

Conor McGregor is targeting a trilogy bout with Max Holloway to make up for his unforeseen injury. McGregor had planned on making the walk for his first fight in five years, which is exactly what he did at UFC 329. What the “Notorious” one wasn’t expecting was for his rematch with Holloway to be stopped before the action ever truly got going. That’s because McGregor suffered a right knee injury when he awkwardly landed off a jumping kick attempt.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2026

Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman reached their contracted weights on Friday morning, and have now made their UFC Oklahoma main event official. Du Plessis and Usman are set for a collision course inside the Paycom Center on Saturday. Prior to fight night, “Stillknocks” tipped the scales at 185.5 pounds, while “The Nigerian Nightmare” clocked in at 186 pounds. The ceremonial weigh-in event is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. ET.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 17, 2026

Jared Cannonier believes he understands how the UFC’s business model works, but he thinks fighters at certain tiers should be given increases. Cannonier has been a member of the UFC roster since 2015. While he hasn’t captured the top prize in the middleweight division, the 42-year-old has consistently hovered around the top 10 and even top five rankings throughout his run. With 20 fights under the UFC banner, Cannonier still feels he hasn’t been compensated close to his actual worth.

Curtis Calhoun - July 16, 2026

Jon Jones’ former rival Ciryl Gane earned his respect in how he handled himself in the moments immediately after their UFC 285 fight. Former two-division UFC champion Jon Jones won the heavyweight title by handing Ciryl Gane a humiliating defeat at UFC 285. Just seconds into their fight, Jones tapped Gane with a nasty guillotine choke to become the UFC’s latest ‘champ-champ’.

Curtis Calhoun - July 16, 2026

Former two-division UFC champion Jon Jones struck a somber tone in his reaction to Conor McGregor’s disastrous comeback. Conor McGregor’s latest comeback attempt ended in disaster after he suffered a right leg injury just seconds into his return at UFC 329. Former BMF titleholder Max Holloway ended up winning the fight by TKO after McGregor was unable to continue competing following the injury.

Curtis Calhoun - July 16, 2026

Former UFC champion TJ Dillashaw believes Conor McGregor needs to tap back into the brash mindset that made him a superstar. Conor McGregor’s UFC 329 return ended disastrously after suffering a right leg injury just seconds into his fight with Max Holloway. McGregor, who returned to the cage for the first time since UFC 264, blew out his right knee after opening up the action with a failed spinning wheel kick.

Cole Shelton - July 16, 2026

Dricus Du Plessis is looking to remind everyone just how good he is at UFC Oklahoma City. Du Plessis is set to headline UFC Oklahoma City on Saturday in a middleweight bout against former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. It’s an intriguing fight, and ahead of the bout, Du Plessis is looking to get back on track after losing his belt to Khamzat Chimaev last time out.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 16, 2026

Justin Gaethje isn’t interested in the idea of a second showdown with Paddy Pimblett. Gaethje won the interim UFC lightweight gold when he defeated “The Baddy” via unanimous decision to cap off UFC’s debut on Paramount+. “The Highlight” went on to capture interim gold when he stopped Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250. Just one month later, Pimblett got back on the winning track by choking out Benoit Saint Denis is under one minute.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 16, 2026

Michael Bisping isn’t so sure that Ilia Topuria would want a fight with Paddy Pimblett at this point. There is no shortage of animosity between Topuria and Pimblett. The two have been trading barbs throughout the years and even had an encounter in the lobby of a fighter hotel back in 2022. While many fans have been eager to see the rivalry play out inside the Octagon, Bisping feels the dynamic has changed a bit.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 16, 2026

Israel Adesanya isn’t buying the story that Conor McGregor was injured solely off a failed jumping kick attempt. McGregor had high hopes going into his highly anticipated return at UFC 329. The Irish megastar was set to do battle with Max Holloway, and while the fight began, it quickly ended in anticlimactic fashion. McGregor began favoring his right knee after landing awkwardly from a jumping kick. He had trouble staying on his feet, and referee Mike Beltran had seen enough.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 16, 2026

Colby Covington isn’t done hurling personal digs at his former training partner Dustin Poirier. Poirier found himself in the headlines after being arrested for public intoxication. Bodycam footage revealed that Poirier threatened to fight a police officer after he was removed from a flight for insulting staff members. Following the ordeal, Poirier appeared on “Diary of a CEO” to reveal that he went through some personal struggles thinking about his father, who is dealing with his own issues.