MMA News

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.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2026 at 12:43 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Magomed Ankalaev doesn’t think much of his UFC Abu Dhabi main event against Bogdan Guskov. Ankalaev was supposed to headline the Fight Night card against Khalil Rountree, but the American was forced out of the bout due to an injury. Given that he withdrew with less than two weeks’ notice, it was hard to find an opponent, and it was Guskov who stepped up.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2026 at 11:38 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Colby Covington has nothing but good things to say about Arman Tsarukyan after they shared the mat in Milwaukee. Covington and the top UFC lightweight contender headlined the RAF 11 card, and it was “Chaos” who was awarded the 5-3 victory. While “Akhalkalakets” has been known for his antics during freestyle wrestling matches, he had mutual respect for Covington, who believes Tsarukyan is well on his way to being a world champion.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2026 at 11:05 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Kamaru Usman hasn’t committed to his weight class going forward, but Chael Sonnen urges him to see things through at middleweight. Usman had his second 185-pound fight when he met Dricus du Plessis in the UFC OKC headliner. “The Nigerian Nightmare” had significant issues in the first two rounds, but he started to come alive in the third. He even threw out a barrage of punches near the end of the final frame, but it was too little too late.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2026 at 9:51 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Israel Adesanya believes the best version of Dricus du Plessis showed up at UFC OKC. Du Plessis stood across the Octagon from Kamaru Usman, who is no easy task even at the age of 39. The two former champions clashed inside the Paycom Center, and it was “Stillknocks” who had the clear early edge. Usman was even rocked by a clean knee strike upstairs, but he held on and eventually tried mounting a late comeback.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2026 at 9:20 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Paddy Pimblett ultimately became the highlight of UFC 329, but one ex-MMA slugger still isn’t sold. Pimblett was featured in the co-main event of McGregor’s return to the Octagon. While “Mystic Mac’s” knee injury left fans feeling unsatisfied, those same spectators were rocking T-Mobile Arena prior to the disappointing turn of events after “The Baddy” choked out Benoit Saint Denis in under a minute.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2026 at 7:07 AM PDT // 0 Comments

Dustin Poirier is puzzled by Michael Chandler hinting at a possible move to 170 pounds, and would prefer seeing “Iron” hang up his gloves. Chandler has long been know for his exciting fighting style, but many believe Father Time has caught up. Chandler has lost four straight bouts and he’s gone 1-6 in his last seven fights. In that stretch, the former three-time Bellator champion has been stopped four times.

Cole Shelton - July 20, 2026 at 6:08 PM PDT // 0 Comments

The UFC was in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Saturday for a solid UFC Oklahoma City card. The main event saw former middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis taking on former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a pivotal fight at middleweight. Du Plessis was coming off a lopsided loss to Khamzat Chimaev, to lose his middleweight title. Usman, meanwhile, was moving back up to middleweight after he returned to the win column with a decision win over Joaquin Buckley at welterweight last time out.

Curtis Calhoun - July 20, 2026 at 3:56 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman issued his first social media remarks since losing to Dricus du Plessis. Kamaru Usman’s return to the UFC middleweight division fell short last Saturday at UFC Oklahoma City. In his highly-anticipated comeback fight, Usman lost to former UFC middleweight titleholder Dricus du Plessis by unanimous decision in an instant classic battle.

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

UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett took a creative path to trolling Ilia Topuria after his stunning UFC White House loss. Longtime UFC rivals Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria have been in the headlines in recent weeks for producing different results in the Octagon.

Curtis Calhoun - July 20, 2026 at 2:29 PM PDT // 0 Comments

Colby Covington used his RAF 11 post-fight press conference to mock Ben Askren’s long journey back to the wrestling mats. Colby Covington continues to find success outside of the UFC Octagon after winning the Real American Freestyle Crossover Cruiserweight championship last weekend at RAF 11. He handed top UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan his first loss on the mats in an impressive performance from the three-time UFC title challenger.

Curtis Calhoun - July 20, 2026 at 1:41 PM PDT // 0 Comments

UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev’s team scoffed at Ian Machado Garry comparing himself to Conor McGregor ahead of UFC 330 Islam Makhachev will face rising star Ian Machado Garry in the UFC 330 main event next month in Philadelphia. Makhachev will make his first UFC welterweight title defense against Garry after winning the belt last year at UFC 322.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 22, 2026

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

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

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

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

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.

Cole Shelton - July 21, 2026

Magomed Ankalaev doesn’t think much of his UFC Abu Dhabi main event against Bogdan Guskov. Ankalaev was supposed to headline the Fight Night card against Khalil Rountree, but the American was forced out of the bout due to an injury. Given that he withdrew with less than two weeks’ notice, it was hard to find an opponent, and it was Guskov who stepped up.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2026

Kamaru Usman hasn’t committed to his weight class going forward, but Chael Sonnen urges him to see things through at middleweight. Usman had his second 185-pound fight when he met Dricus du Plessis in the UFC OKC headliner. “The Nigerian Nightmare” had significant issues in the first two rounds, but he started to come alive in the third. He even threw out a barrage of punches near the end of the final frame, but it was too little too late.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2026

It’s rare that two wins over someone would hurt your chances of getting a UFC title shot, but Daniel Cormier feels that’s the situation Dricus du Plessis finds himself in. Du Plessis first defeated Strickland in early 2024 to capture the middleweight gold. It was a highly competitive fight that went the distance, and “Stillknocks” edged it out via split decision. The rematch at UFC 312 was far more one-sided with du Plessis taking the clear unanimous decision win.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2026

Israel Adesanya believes the best version of Dricus du Plessis showed up at UFC OKC. Du Plessis stood across the Octagon from Kamaru Usman, who is no easy task even at the age of 39. The two former champions clashed inside the Paycom Center, and it was “Stillknocks” who had the clear early edge. Usman was even rocked by a clean knee strike upstairs, but he held on and eventually tried mounting a late comeback.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 21, 2026

Paddy Pimblett ultimately became the highlight of UFC 329, but one ex-MMA slugger still isn’t sold. Pimblett was featured in the co-main event of McGregor’s return to the Octagon. While “Mystic Mac’s” knee injury left fans feeling unsatisfied, those same spectators were rocking T-Mobile Arena prior to the disappointing turn of events after “The Baddy” choked out Benoit Saint Denis in under a minute.