MMA News
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Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Cory Sandhagen targeted for UFC Des Moines event in May
Josh Evanoff - February 20, 2025
Bantamweight contenders Deiveson Figueiredo and Cory Sandhagen will reportedly meet in May. ‘Deus da Guerra’ is fresh off his return to the octagon in the main event of UFC Macau in November. He entered the event riding a two-fight winning streak and met former bantamweight champion Petr Yan. Despite Deiveson Figueiredo’s newfound success at 135 pounds, he was outpointed by ‘No Mercy’ en route to a unanimous decision loss.
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Islam Makhachev's manager sounds off on possible Ilia Topuria bout: "We already gave chances to featherweight champ"
Josh Evanoff - February 20, 2025
Islam Makhachev’s manager doesn’t seem to be a fan of a potential bout with former UFC champion Ilia Topuria. The UFC lightweight champion is fresh off his return to the cage last month in Los Angeles. There, Islam Makhachev met a short-notice replacement, Renato Moicano. While he was initially set to face Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC 311, an injury forced him out. As a result, Makhachev handed the short-notice ‘Money Moicano’ a first-round submission loss.
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Patricio Pitbull sends message to featherweight division after joining the UFC: "Your future king has arrived!"
Josh Evanoff - February 20, 2025
Former Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull has sent a message after joining the UFC. The Brazilian was one of the key faces of the Bellator brand for well over a decade. From 2010 to 2024, Patricio Pitbull racked up title defense after title defense, and title after title. During his tenure with Scott Coker, he scored victories over names such as A.J. McKee, Michael Chandler, Emmanuel Sanchez, and Wilson Reis.
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Song Yadong vows to end Henry Cejudo's career at UFC Seattle: "Time is over, it’s time to retire"
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2025
Song Yadong is looking to end Henry Cejudo’s career on Saturday at UFC Seattle. Yadong is set to headline UFC Seattle on Saturday in a pivotal bantamweight bout. Heading into the bout, Yadong is the favorite. He’s confident he will get his hand raised, and once Cejudo loses, which would be his third straight, he will retire from the sport.
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Ex-UFC fighter believes Jon Jones will retire instead of fighting Tom Aspinall
Fernando Quiles - February 20, 2025
One retired UFC fighter is of the belief that it’s more likely that Jon Jones retires. Jones is a surefire Hall of Famer down the road, but many are wondering if he will return to the Octagon for a UFC heavyweight title unification bout against Tom Aspinall. “Bones” hasn’t committed to his next move and has publicly shown more interest in a fight with 205-pound champion Alex Pereira instead of the interim heavyweight titleholder Aspinall.
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Michael Chandler reacts to Dana White announcing Paddy Pimblett fight for UFC 314
Fernando Quiles - February 20, 2025
Michael Chandler is fired up to share the Octagon with Paddy Pimblett. This past Wednesday night, UFC CEO Dana White announced a slew of marquee fights scheduled for the coming months. One of the bouts made official is a lightweight tilt between Chandler and Pimblett. That fight will take place on the UFC 314 card on April 12th. Headlining the card will be a UFC Featherweight Championship bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes.
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Brendan Allen questions Dricus du Plessis' UFC resume
Harry Kettle - February 20, 2025
Top UFC middleweight contender Brendan Allen has questioned the legitimacy of the resume put forward by Dricus du Plessis. As UFC middleweight champion, Dricus du Plessis has already achieved some incredible things. He’s enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the division, which has included victories over the likes of Sean Strickland, Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya.
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Song Yadong explains where he could have success against Merab Dvalishvili
Harry Kettle - February 20, 2025
UFC star Song Yadong has given his thoughts on where he could find success against bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili. As we know, Song Yadong is a top contender in the bantamweight division. While he’s suffered his fair share of setbacks over the years, he’s clearly an incredibly talented fighter who is more than capable of mixing it up with the very best that is available at 135 pounds.
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Henry Cejudo is embracing underdog role against Song Yadong at UFC Seattle
Harry Kettle - February 20, 2025
UFC legend Henry Cejudo has said that he’s embracing his underdog role against Song Yadong this weekend at UFC Seattle. As we know, Henry Cejudo is one of the most successful fighters in UFC history. He is one of the few competitors who has held two belts in two different weight classes, and while that was many years ago, the veteran is still competing at an elite level – despite losses to Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili.
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Jonathan Haggerty insists Superlek would be in for "long night"
BJPENN.COM Staff - February 19, 2025
ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Haggerty believes there’s still more to come of his rivalry with two-division king Superlek Kiatmoo9 in the future. “The General” returns to action this Thursday, February 20, in the co-main event of ONE 171: Qatar inside Doha’s Lusail Sports Arena. There, he defends his kickboxing gold against #1-ranked contender Wei Rui.
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Three fights at ONE 171: Qatar that fans shouldn't miss
BJPENN.COM Staff - February 19, 2025
ONE 171: Qatar is almost here, packed with a superstar-filled card from the opening curtain to the headline attraction. All the action comes to a head this Thursday, February 20, inside Doha, Qatar’s Lusail Sports Arena. There, over a dozen bouts across four combat sports disciplines take centerstage in ONE Championship’s return to the Middle East.
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Dana White announces key welterweight fights including Belal Muhammad title defense
Cole Shelton - February 19, 2025
UFC CEO Dana White has made two key welterweight fights official, including Belal Muhammad’s first title defense. On Instagram Live on Wednesday, White announced that Jack Della Maddalena has been pulled from his UFC London main event fight against Leon Edwards. Della Maddalena will now headline UFC 315 in Montreal against Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title. White revealed that Shavkat Rakhmonov is dealing with an injury and will likely face the winner of Muhammad-Della Maddalena.
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Pro fighters make their picks for Henry Cejudo vs Song Yadong
Cole Shelton - February 19, 2025
In the main event of UFC Seattle, former UFC champ-champ Henry Cejudo takes on Song Yadong. Heading into the fight, Cejudo is a +220 underdog while the eighth-ranked bantamweight is a -295 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the bantamweight main event. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Song Yadong will get his hand raised and beat Henry Cejudo, likely by decision.
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Rob Font reveals Raul Rosas Jr. was originally targeted to replace Dominick Cruz at UFC Seattle
Cole Shelton - February 19, 2025
Rob Font went through a couple of opponents after Dominick Cruz withdrew from their UFC Seattle fight. Font was supposed to take on the former bantamweight champ, but a shoulder injury knocked Cruz out. After Cruz pulled out of the fight, he said the original opponent offered was Raul Rosas Jr., but that didn’t come to fruition.
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Aaron Pico vows to never fight for PFL again due to feud with Donn Davis: "I haven't been able to work!"
Josh Evanoff - February 19, 2025
Hard-hitting featherweight star Aaron Pico never wants to fight for the PFL again. The 28-year-old is hitting his prime right now, having won nine of his last ten bouts. He was last seen in the cage at the PFL vs. Bellator event last February, scoring a first-round knockout win over Henry Corrales. While Aaron Pico hoped to book a title fight against Patricio Pitbull next, that bout never came to fruition.
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Anthony Smith opens up on retirement fight against Zhang Mingyang: "I was very shocked with the matchup"
Josh Evanoff - February 19, 2025
Anthony Smith was just as shocked as everyone else to learn his final UFC opponent. ‘Lionheart’ has been out of the cage since a clash with Dominick Reyes in December. Anthony Smith entered UFC 310 with a heavy heart, fighting just weeks after the passing of his coach, Scott Morton. Sadly for the former title challenger, he was dominated and handed a second-round stoppage loss by ‘The Devastator’.
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Muhammad Mokaev reveals he rejected offers from PFL and ONE Championship to focus on UFC return: "They called me"
Josh Evanoff - February 19, 2025
Undefeated flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev is still focused on a return to the UFC. ‘The Punisher’ became one of the UFC’s most-hyped prospects at 125 pounds starting in 2022. Holding an undefeated 6-0 record, Muhammad Mokaev quickly notched wins over the likes of Charles Johnson, Tim Elliott, and Alex Perez. His winning streak earned him a crack at fellow contender Manel Kape last summer at UFC 304 in Manchester.
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Dricus Du Plessis says Khamzat Chimaev fight cements his legacy even though he isn't a "boogeyman" anymore
Cole Shelton - February 19, 2025
UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis doesn’t think Khamzat Chimaev is the boogeyman people think he is. After Du Plessis defended his middleweight title with a decision win over Sean Strickland, the expectation was he would face Chimaev next. It’s an intriguing matchup as many view Chimaev as the boogeyman, but he doesn’t think that is the case.