MMA News

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Two years ago, online critics wrote off Sam-A Gaiyanghadao. Now the Thai legend is one win from World Title gold. Sam-A Gaiyanghadao challenges Aliff Sor Dechapan for the ONE Interim Strawweight Muay Thai World Title in the main event of The Inner Circle 23 on Friday, July 24, streaming live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Curtis Calhoun - July 22, 2026 at 12:48 PM PDT // 0 Comments

UFC heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson will face a former collegiate wrestling rival in his return to the mats. Gable Steveson lived up to immense expectations in his highly anticipated UFC debut at UFC 329 earlier this month. The Olympic gold medalist earned a first-round knockout against Elisha Ellison with former two-division champion Jon Jones in his corner.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026 at 11:59 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Logan Paul believes Conor McGregor’s viability as an MMA fighter is long gone, but a WWE run is a different story. McGregor was hoping to make his UFC 329 return a memorable one, but it ended up making waves for the wrong reasons. It didn’t take the “Notorious” one long to go high-risk with a leaping kick attempt on Max Holloway. The Irish megastar ended up landing awkwardly, injuring his ACL and meniscus. McGregor’s right knee buckled, and referee Mike Beltran had no choice but to stop the fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026 at 11:30 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Kamaru Usman’s talk of a possible eye poke at UFC OKC don’t have merit if you ask Dricus du Plessis’ coach. Usman and du Plessis recently shared the Octagon for five rounds inside Paycom Center in Oklahoma. The middleweight bout swayed in the favor of “Stillknocks,” who many believe had his best overall performance to date. Du Plessis was credited for taking a more measured approach than his past outings, and it led to a unanimous decision win.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026 at 10:02 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Zhang Weili is used to breaking faces inside the Octagon, but this time she’s breaking social media. Weili has developed the reputation of being all business but felt it was time to switch things up outside of prizefighting. The former two-time UFC women’s strawweight titleholder took to her Instagram account to show off a new look. The glow up has left MMA fans stunned.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026 at 9:26 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Longtime referee Herb Dean has been under fire since officiating Alex Pereira’s loss at UFC Freedom 250, but he’s got some support. Dean was on officiating duties when Pereira faced Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship back in June. “Poatan” suffered a second-round TKO loss, but he has since complained about illegal strikes to the back of the head. Pereira has gone full tilt in his criticism of Dean, even calling for his job.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026 at 8:45 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Belal Muhammad was far from stunned when Dricus du Plessis defeated Kamaru Usman. The UFC OKC main event featured a middleweight clash between “Stillknocks” and “The Nigerian Nightmare.” It was a dominant start for du Plessis, who had Usman staggering momentarily. The former UFC welterweight titleholder did have moments of success in the bout, but he never made enough of a dent to give du Plessis problems.

Curtis Calhoun - July 21, 2026 at 4:51 PM PDT // 0 Comments

UFC CEO Dana White responded to Jon Jones’ ‘homie for life’ message just months after he publicly asked for his release. Just hours after UFC CEO Dana White and U.S. President Donald Trump announced the plans for UFC Freedom 250, former two-division titleholder Jon Jones wanted in. Despite announcing his retirement last year following a long contract dispute, Jones reversed course after the UFC Freedom 250 card was finalized.

Curtis Calhoun - July 21, 2026 at 3:35 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Former UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria was having the time of his life with his young son after Spain’s World Cup win. Just weeks ago, Ilia Topuria suffered the first setback of his otherwise stellar fighting career when he lost the undisputed UFC lightweight title to Justin Gaethje at the White House. Despite being just weeks removed from suffering the jaws of defeat, Topuria is in good spirits after his native Spain pulled off a monumental football win.

Curtis Calhoun - July 21, 2026 at 2:13 PM PDT // 0 Comments

A top Real American Freestyle executive responded to Colby Covington’s recent claim that a matchup with Belal Muhammad is off the table. Colby Covington and Belal Muhammad nearly came to blows at the Real American Freestyle 11 post-fight press conference last weekend. After Covington and Muhammad each earned wins at RAF 11, the table was set for a future showdown after years of bad blood between the two former UFC titleholders.

Curtis Calhoun - July 21, 2026 at 1:30 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Former UFC star Dustin Poirier’s post-fighting partnership with Bud Light is over following his recent arrest for public intoxication. Since Dustin Poirier retired from fighting at UFC 318 last year, the former interim lightweight champion has repeatedly opened up about the difficulties of his post-fighting life. Poirier’s inner demons came to a head when he was arrested at an Atlanta airport last month for public intoxication, after he was kicked off a flight set to depart for Florida.

BJPENN.COM Staff - July 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Injuries end reigns. They do not always end legacies, and Tawanchai’s will be remembered as one of the finest in ONE Championship history. Nico Carrillo has been elevated from interim titleholder to undisputed ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion after Tawanchai PK Saenchai officially vacated the title to continue rehabbing a serious leg injury.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 23, 2026

Dana White believes UFC will continue to build stars, but there can only be one Conor McGregor. While things didn’t pan out for McGregor during his short-lived return at UFC 329, there is no denying that he remains the biggest star the MMA world has ever seen. He entered the UFC roster with a ton of buzz back in 2013, and he carried that momentum all the way to his shocking 13-second knockout win over Jose Aldo in late 2015.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 23, 2026

Justin Gaethje continues to dismiss an immediate rematch with Ilia Topuria. Gaethje pulled off a huge upset at the conclusion of UFC Freedom 250, forcing Topuria’s corner to quit on the stool before the fifth round of their undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship fight. “The Highlight” battered Topuria’s face to the point where he caused an orbital injury. Gaethje delivered such damage that some are even questioning if “El Matador” will ever recapture the magic he had prior to suffering the first defeat of his pro MMA career.

Harry Kettle - July 23, 2026

Former UFC champion Belal Muhammad has given his thoughts on Islam Makhachev vs Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330. In the main event of UFC 330, Islam Makhachev will defend his UFC welterweight championship against top contender Ian Machado Garry. While Islam is considered to be the big favorite, Machado Garry is certainly good enough to cause him some real problems.

Harry Kettle - July 23, 2026

UFC light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev is still interested in hunting down a future third fight against Alex Pereira. This weekend, Magomed Ankalaev will attempt to get back on the winning trail when he goes head to head with Bogdan Guskov. While Guskov is certainly a dangerous opponent for him to face, the former champion will definitely be the overwhelming favorite.

Dylan Bowker - July 22, 2026

Many around the world were captivated by the 2026 World Cup Finals, but not everyone is a Soccer enthusiast, to use the more domestic phrasing. Sean Strickland and Dana White seem to be within that collective, with the pair saying less-than-glowing things about the football match from last weekend. Spain was able to best Argentina 1-0 in extra time, and the UFC middleweight champion took a screenshot of the action during that overtime period. By way of his personal Instagram story, the two-time titleholder at 185 pounds posted text over top of his screenshot, as Strickland succinctly said,

Curtis Calhoun - July 22, 2026

Former UFC heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida will look to begin a potential fight back to the promotion in an upcoming main event. After back-to-back controversial losses to Alexander Volkov and Rizvan Kuniev, the UFC opted to cut ties with promising heavyweight contender Jailton Almeida earlier this year. Almeida, before a knockout loss to Curtis Blaydes at UFC 299, was seen as a potential future heavyweight title challenger.

Curtis Calhoun - July 22, 2026

UFC heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson will face a former collegiate wrestling rival in his return to the mats. Gable Steveson lived up to immense expectations in his highly anticipated UFC debut at UFC 329 earlier this month. The Olympic gold medalist earned a first-round knockout against Elisha Ellison with former two-division champion Jon Jones in his corner.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026

Logan Paul believes Conor McGregor’s viability as an MMA fighter is long gone, but a WWE run is a different story. McGregor was hoping to make his UFC 329 return a memorable one, but it ended up making waves for the wrong reasons. It didn’t take the “Notorious” one long to go high-risk with a leaping kick attempt on Max Holloway. The Irish megastar ended up landing awkwardly, injuring his ACL and meniscus. McGregor’s right knee buckled, and referee Mike Beltran had no choice but to stop the fight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026

Nassourdine Imavov is confident that his next fight will be contested for UFC gold. Imavov has long been viewed by fans and pundits as the rightful No. 1 contender for the UFC Middleweight Championship.  Some feel he solidified his spot with a dominant unanimous decision win over Caio Borralho at UFC Paris back in Sept. 2025. That was Imavov’s most recent bout, and many have wondered if he is holding out for that title opportunity.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026

Zhang Weili is used to breaking faces inside the Octagon, but this time she’s breaking social media. Weili has developed the reputation of being all business but felt it was time to switch things up outside of prizefighting. The former two-time UFC women’s strawweight titleholder took to her Instagram account to show off a new look. The glow up has left MMA fans stunned.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026

Belal Muhammad was far from stunned when Dricus du Plessis defeated Kamaru Usman. The UFC OKC main event featured a middleweight clash between “Stillknocks” and “The Nigerian Nightmare.” It was a dominant start for du Plessis, who had Usman staggering momentarily. The former UFC welterweight titleholder did have moments of success in the bout, but he never made enough of a dent to give du Plessis problems.

Curtis Calhoun - July 21, 2026

UFC CEO Dana White responded to Jon Jones’ ‘homie for life’ message just months after he publicly asked for his release. Just hours after UFC CEO Dana White and U.S. President Donald Trump announced the plans for UFC Freedom 250, former two-division titleholder Jon Jones wanted in. Despite announcing his retirement last year following a long contract dispute, Jones reversed course after the UFC Freedom 250 card was finalized.