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This former UFC athlete has been arrested: https://t.co/duqRIL3u9B

— KHON2 News (@KHONnews) June 13, 2025 Things are not looking great for Ultimate Fighting Championship legend B.J. Penn.

On Thursday, news broke that a local judge in Hawaii had granted and extended a temporary restraining order (TRO) to nearly six months for Penn’s mother, Lorraine Shin. She and the ex-UFC champ currently reside in the same house, but according to the TRO, Penn is not permitted to set foot inside it for the duration of the order. He may not contact her in any fashion either.

Later that day, Penn ignored the order he did not sign and entered a residence that violated the TRO. It is unclear from the report from Hawaii News Now whether Penn went to that house he shares with his mother, or to another place where she was currently located. As a result, the former lightweight kingpin was arrested for the fourth time in two weeks, and he was released after po…

Of these two new Ultimate Fighting Championship pairings, one of them might not make much sense.

On Thursday and Friday, two interesting matches at 185 pounds were slotted into the lineup for UFC Chicago. The middleweight contests will play out inside of the United Center on Aug. 16. The first, as announced by the Fighting Nerds team, pits Gerald Meerschaert (37-19) against Michal Oleksiejczuk (20-9, 1 NC) in about as quintessential of a striker vs. grappler affair one could make. The second, which was released by the promotion itself on Friday, takes place between Jared Cannonier (18-8) and Michael Page (23-3).

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Submission savant Meerschaert has dropped his last two, accounting for a submission defeat to Reinier de Ridder last November, and a decision to Brad Tavares in April. Those two losses put a pair of second-round submissions in the rear view, as he had wrangled Bryan Barberena and Edmen Shahbazyan to remain relevant at the mercurial division.…

First to hit the scale this morning! ⚖️@Usman84kg weighs in at 171lbs

[ Watch on @ESPN & @ESPNPlus | 10pmET ] pic.twitter.com/m6hkUZpAnG

— UFC (@ufc) June 13, 2025 The Ultimate Fighting Championship's return to Georgia is officially set after the UFC Atlanta weigh-ins took place.

Sitting atop the 13-fight card is a welterweight fight between former titleholder Kamaru Usman and rising contender Joaquin Buckley. Both men successfully came in under the 171-pound limit, so the five-round main event will move forward as planned. All fighters on the card made weight, including Mansur Abdul-Malik, who had to weigh in a second time.

This is a must-win fight for Usman (20-4), who is on a three-fight skid. "The Nigerian Nightmare" lost the title in a shocking fifth-round upset to Leon Edwards back in 2022. Since then, Usman has lost a decision to Edwards in the rematch and to top contender Khamzat Chimaev at 185 pounds. Having not fough…

Here's your 2025 #PFLWorldTournament welterweight final: Thad Jean vs. Logan Storley pic.twitter.com/W6VmKEkBxP

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) June 13, 2025

Thad Jean took his next step towards Professional Fighters League stardom Thursday night after defeating former Bellator MMA welterweight champion Jason Jackson by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 27-30) in the 2025 PFL World Tournament 5: Semifinals main event from Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

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This fight was heavily anticipated and for good reason. Jean, a young, explosive contender, had yet to face an opponent as seasoned and accomplished as Jackson, and many wondered how he’d handle himself. Jean set the tempo in Round 1 by dropping Jackson on his back with a stiff jab. Jackson composed himself and forced Jean into wrestling exchanges throughout the rest of the period, but Jean showcased his strength by getting the match back to the feet.

The two would trade mom…

Sherdog's live 2025 PFL World Tournament 5: Semifinals coverage will begin Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Fighters only get one shot! Watch the Semifinals of the PFL World Tournament LIVE Thursday, June 12 at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN+

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Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round: Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 2 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:Round 3 Sherdog Scores Jay Pettry scores the round:J.L. Kirven scores the round:Mike Fridley scores the round:The Official Result Round 1 Sherdog Scores Ja…

Court extends protective order against UFC legend #HNN #HINEWS #HawaiiNews https://t.co/cgHx99CiZa

— Hawaii News Now (@HawaiiNewsNow) June 12, 2025 Former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion B.J. Penn has to find somewhere else to live for the foreseeable future.

Following his third arrest in a week, all related to the alleged abuse of his mother or the court case involving those charges, Penn has been handed down a stiff ruling on his mother’s temporary restraining order request. His mother, Lorraine Shin, sought relief from the courts because she believes that Penn is suffering from a disorder where he imagines that friends and family members have been replaced by impostors.

As a result of the ruling, according to Hawaiian news outlet Hawaii News Now on Thursday morning, Penn will no longer be allowed to live in the home he stays at with Shin in Hilo, Hawaii. The restraining order will be in effect through November 23, although…

If their past sparring matches are any indication, the battle for the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight throne is going to be one for the ages.

After Kayla Harrison submitted Julianna Pena at UFC 316, American Top Team trainer Marcus Silveira had no doubt that Harrison’s next opponent would be Amanda Nunes. As it turned out, the promotion allowed Nunes into the cage to congratulate the Olympian on her success while challenging her to her next match. On Monday, soon after the promotion declared the fight would indeed happen, Silveira spoke to Sherdog, where he chimed in on how he thought that title tilt could play out.

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“When Kayla and Amanda trained here, they were in totally different moments,” Silveira admitted. “Kayla was arriving in PFL, and Amanda was already a UFC champion. Since then, a lot of things have happened. Amanda retired and Kayla evolved a lot.”

The Carlson Gracie black belt recalled that the few times they squared …

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight interim title challenger Mark Hunt has plenty of axes left to grind.

Speaking with betting service and esports platform Thunderpick on Thursday, Hunt did not hold back from what he had to say about the UFC, a few of its favored fighters, the tail end of his fighting career and how esports has given him some form of peace in his life. Most notable were his comments on current UFC heavyweight beltholder Jon Jones, whom he did not hold back criticizing as a “cheat.”

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“Jon Jones is the greatest cheat of all time, that’s all he is and that’s how got to the top end,” Hunt said. “That’s how he got to hang out with guys like me, he’s a cheating little rat. That’s all he’ll ever be. You can’t be the greatest fighter in the world when you’re sticking needles in your ass and hiding under the Octagon from USADA [The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency]. How are you supposed to be the greatest fighter?”

He continued, “UFC ha…

Kamaru Usman hasn’t lost ambition despite recently turning 38 years of age.

Usman (20-4) headlines UFC on ESPN 69 against Joaquin Buckley (21-6) this weekend at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. “The Nigerian Nightmare” recently laid out his planned career trajectory if he beats Buckley. With former lightweight champ Islam Makhachev expected to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title next, Usman wants a crack at the winner.

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Rather than stopping there, after claiming the 170-pound throne, he plans to move up and make a bid for the middleweight belt to become a two-division champ—but not simultaneous, as the UFC has actively tried to avoid that of late. Usman said at the UFC Atlanta media day:

“I’ll lay out the map,” Usman chronicled. “Finish Buckley this weekend, and then wait for the winner of Islam vs. JDM... I love Islam, he's a great fighter, I think that's something that we'll both remember forever... Win that [against…

Congratulations on amazing career. Enjoy your retirement https://t.co/phMYuqbZ95

— Arman Tsarukyan UFC (@ArmanUfc) June 11, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan doesn’t think Justin Gaethje will fight for a title next.

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Gaethje’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently said that his fighter is considering retirement if he doesn’t fight for the title next. Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira are set to fight for the vacant lightweight strap in the UFC 317 headliner on June 28 in Las Vegas. Abdelaziz believes Gaethje should fight the winner. While Gaethje allegedly isn’t “feeling loved” by the UFC right now, his manager trusts the promotion to do right by “The Highlight.”

However, Tsarukyan (22-3) believes Gaethje (26-5) will have to retire if he remains adamant on fighting for a title next.

“Congratulations on amazing career,” Tsarukyan wrote. “Enjoy your retirement.”

While Gaethje won the interim lightweight crown against Tony Ferg…

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight king Cody Garbrandt doesn’t think quitting marijuana has helped Sean O'Malley.

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Garbrandt (14-6) is set to return after more than a year on the shelf to fight Raoni Barcelos (19-5) at UFC Atlanta this weekend at the State Farm Arena. The former UFC 135-pound king just completed three years of sobriety, a big achievement for him considering his family history of addiction.

Garbrandt also revealed that while he had been smoking marijuana since his teenage years, he has stopped that, too, six months ago.

“Six months I haven’t smoked weed either,” Garbrandt said at media day. “I have been smoking weed since I was 12-13 years old. So man, the clarity that I have going in, it’s nice… I come from a long line of addicts. My father’s an addict, been in prison my whole life… So it’s something I never wanted to do and I always wanted to make my mom super proud.”

Another fighter on a similar t…

Ariane da Silva removed from the active UFC roster.

— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) June 10, 2025

An Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor’s journey in the Octagon has concluded after a loss at UFC 316.

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Ariane Lipski da Silva (17-11) faced Cong Wang at UFC 316 in New Jersey last weekend. The Brazilian missed the flyweight limit by a whopping 6 pounds and had to sacrifice 30% of her purse. Despite the weight advantage, Silva suffered a lopsided unanimous decision loss against the Chinese flyweight prospect.

After her third consecutive loss, Silva’s contract was reportedly not renewed by the UFC. This was first reported by FullContactMTWF on social media and subsequently confirmed by Ag.Fight.

Silva came to the UFC in 2019 as a former Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki flyweight champ with two title defenses. However, Silva’s regional success never really translated into the UFC as she went back and forth betw…

O Rodolfo Bellato se pronunciou publicamente e explicou o motivo de não ter lutado no #ufcvegas106 pic.twitter.com/fGE9H0gwJF

— Ag. Fight (@AgFight) May 18, 2025 Cold sores are still a point of contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

At UFC Vegas 106 in May, the light heavyweight match between Rodolfo Bellato (12-2) and Paul Craig (17-9) was scuttled on fight night due to a medical issue suffered by Bellato. “Trator” recently detailed exactly what happened that night, causing the bout to shift to UFC Atlanta in June.

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According to Bellato, he told Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight has always had a hereditary cold sore problem. Despite a lifelong struggle with the ailment, it hadn’t troubled him in some time. However, the Brazilian unexpectedly woke up with cold sores on his face on the day of the fight against “Bearjew.” While some criticized Bellato for not detecting the problem on time, the 29-year-old is just taki…

Jessica Andrade is headed back down to the division where she experienced her greatest success.

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The former strawweight queen will return to 115 pounds for a matchup against Lupita Godinez at UFC 319. Ag.Fight was first to report the pairing. UFC 319 takes place at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 16 and is headlined by a middleweight championship bout between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.

Andrade is coming off back-to-back losses against Jasmine Jasudavicius and Natalia Silva at 125 pounds. Prior to that, “Bate Estaca” earned victories over Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez at strawweight. While the 33-year-old Brazilian was a title holder at 115 pounds, she came up short in a bid for flyweight gold, falling to Valentina Shevchenko via TKO at UFC 261.

Godinez snapped a two-bout skid in her first appearance of 2025, as she outpointed Julia Polastri at UFC on ESPN 64 on March 29. “Loopy” is 8-5 since beginning her Octagon tenure…

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Sean O'Malley did everything he could to prepare for the rematch with Merab Dvalishvili.

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He underwent surgery to repair his ailing hip, quit smoking marijuana, disconnected from social media and in general adopted an more focused mindset. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough. While “Suga” looked improved in the early going, Dvalishvili gradually asserted himself en route to a third-round submission victory in the UFC 316 headliner.

A few days removed from that defeat, O’Malley could do little more than tip his cap to his Georgian rival.

“He felt strong last time but this time he felt just freakishly strong,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “He’s the greatest bantamweight of all time.”

The loss likely removes O’Malley from the title picture for the foreseeable future — especially for as long as Dvalishvili reigns atop the division. Nonetheless, the 30-year-old MMA Lab product seems to be at peace with his situation. Much of tha…

A bantamweight barnburner has been added to UFC Abu Dhabi. 

Petr Yan (18-5) will face Marcus McGhee (10-1) at UFC on ABC 9 on July 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Multiple outlets confirmed the booking on Wednesday following an initial report from Cageside Press. UFC Abu Dhabi is headlined by a middleweight showdown pitting Robert Whittaker against Reinier de Ridder.

Yan’s title reign came to an end at the hands of Aljamain Sterling via disqualification in 2021. After failing to reclaim his title in the rematch, Yan dropped two more fights against future champs Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. “No Mercy” has since bounced back with consecutive decision wins over Yadong Song and former flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo last year. 

McGhee made his UFC debut on 13 days’ notice in 2023 and has racked up four straight wins with three finishes. McGhee comes off a unanimous decision win over fellow top prospect Jonathan Martinez, going the d…

🚨 نزال استعراضي – وزن الولترويت | النزال الرئيسي مصر ضد إيطاليا

🇪🇬 عمر الدفراوي vs دانييلي ميشيلي 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/jtmGWnjypW

— PFL MENA (@PFLMENA) June 10, 2025

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The card for PFL MENA 2 is now complete.

Professional Fighters League on Wednesday unveiled the full lineup for the event, which takes place on July 4 at The Green Halls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Headlining the card will be a welterweight showcase bout pitting Omar El Dafrawy against Daniele Miceli, while a 170-pound tournament showdown between Omar Hussein and Mohammad Alaqraa will serve as the co-main event.

PFL MENA 2 will feature tournament quarterfinal bouts at welterweight and bantamweight. Additionally, Hattan Alsaif will return to action for an amateur showcase against Nour Al Fliti. The card will air in the United States on the PFL app.

A native of Cairo, Egypt, Dafrawy will take a seven-bout winning streak into his upcoming assignment. …

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While Sean O'Malley’s  immediate future remains uncertain, Merab Dvalishvili’s coach, John Wood, advises against a featherweight move. 

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O’Malley’s short bantamweight title reign ended with a unanimous decision loss against Dvalishvili last year. “Suga” got a chance at redemption in a rematch at UFC 316 last weekend in Newark, New Jersey. Dvalishvili dominated O’Malley for two rounds before submitting him in the third. 

With consecutive title losses against Dvalishvili, O’Malley is far removed from the title picture as long as the Georgian remains champion. Considering he’ll have to fight down the rankings now, O’Malley must return to the drawing board. 

However, Wood notes that the UFC doesn’t always work based on merit or rankings. Wood believes a star like O’Malley could be back in title conversations with a few flashy wins. 

It’s been speculated that moving up to featherweight is the way fo…

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Kamaru Usman recently shared his version of the infamous podcast fight with Belal Muhammad. 

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Usman and Muhammad have not been on the best of terms, often feuding on social media. Regardless, Dominance MMA head Ali Abdelaziz set up Muhammad as a guest on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast co-hosted by Usman and Henry Cejudo. 

While there was hope that Muhammad and Usman would bury the hatchet, things instead got heated between the two. While the podcast hasn’t been released, reports of the incident continue to surface. Sharing his version, Usman hinted that Muhammad’s championship reign got into his head and made him say things that he found offensive. However, “The Nigerian Nightmare” would have preferred for things to have turned out differently. Usman also wished Muhammad hadn’t lost his title against Jack Della Maddalena, as he would have liked to fight “Remember the Name.”

“When you become champion, it validates a lot…

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Andre Petroski has already won his biggest fight in life outside the Octagon. 

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Petroski recently shared intimate details about his long battle with drugs. The Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight was introduced to opioids as a teenager by his neighbor’s mother. However, Petroski doesn’t blame anyone and admits he was always inclined to addiction.

“I was probably like 16, a freshman in high school,” Petroski told Home of Fight. “My neighbor’s mom would give us Oxy-80s. That was the beginning. This was back in the oxy era, like 2006… I’ve got it all—whatever you want to call it—the void, the addictive personality. That’s what made me a terrible addict. But it’s also what makes me a great fighter. I’ve got that fire.”

While he was training in MMA, Petroski was hesitant to turn pro due to the fear of drug testing. Petroski even revealed he used to look up if any then-active UFC fighters were addicts. After a point, Pe…

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It’s all systems go for the semifinal bouts scheduled for PFL World Tournament 5.

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All eight fighters — four welteweights and four featherweights — hit their contracted marks at weigh-ins on Wednesday. It wasn’t entirely smooth sailing, however, as Anthony Ivy tipped the scales at 175.4 pounds for his welterweight alternate clash against Magomed Umalatov (170.4). As a result, that matchup will be contested as a catchweight bout.

PFL World Tournament 5 takes place on Thursday at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, and features semifinal pairings at welterweight and featherweight. The evening’s main event is a 170-pound clash between former Bellator champion Jason Jackson (171) and rising talent Thad Jean (170.4). The main card airs on ESPN and ESPN+ at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT, while prelims begin on ESPN+ at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT.

Jackson has been victorious in nine of his last 10 professional outings. After losing the Bellat…

Iaquinta Criticizes UFC for Glorifying Weed Smokers Over Disciplined Fighters like Merab Dvalishvili😲

"UFC promotes the guy that smokes weed, and all these little kids are smoking weed and have pink hair. If UFC wanted, they could change the world.

They could go, 'Look at… pic.twitter.com/6jRrdsbxPk — Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) June 10, 2025

Al Iaquinta believes the UFC can change society by promoting a disciplined fighter like Merab Dvalishvili. 

Dvalishvili dethroned Sean O'Malley, who has been marketed to be one of biggest stars of the sport, at UFC 306 last year. “The Machine” submitted O’Malley in their rematch at UFC 316 last weekend. 

It is no secret that UFC puts its promotional muscle behind fighters who it believes can be big draws. However, Iaquinta believes it would serve society better for the UFC to hype up a fighter like Dvalishvili, who is an epitome of discipline. While Iaquinta didn’t name O’Ma…

Jack Della Maddalena puts out a Story supporting the UFC pay structure pic.twitter.com/QFIf1OKjtR

— Benny P 🇦🇺 (@Bendaman2001) June 10, 2025

Jack Della Maddalena doesn’t mind the UFC’s pay structure, which has faced severe criticism over the years. 

While UFC fighter pay has always been a controversial topic, the issue was recently highlighted in a documentary titled “Dark Side of the UFC” by Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal for ABC News In-depth. The piece accuses the UFC of paying fighters low wages, limiting competition and binding them in restrictive contracts. 

Maddalena came to the promotion’s defense, justifying the disparity in pay between stars and entry-level fighters.

"I love this company and everything it stands for,” Maddalena wrote on his Instagram Stories. “It has [brought] me joy since I was 12. If you don't like the contract, don't sign it. If the bottom guys get paid as much as the top guys, ther…

This one got the boss OUT OF HIS SEAT 😱

Imanol Rodriguez gets the first round finish!

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[ #TUF33 airs on Tuesday | 10pmET ] pic.twitter.com/Fmkwj3Ug8B — The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) June 11, 2025

Imanol Rodriguez left a lasting impression on Dana White.

The 25-year-old Mexican punched his ticket to the flyweight semifinals with a first-round technical knockout victory against India’s Arshiyan Memon on Episode 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter 33. The finishing sequence brought the UFC CEO out of his cageside seat in appreciation.

“That’s one of the best fights I’ve seen in a minute,” White said.

After a kick from Memon landed below the belt early and resulted in a brief pause in the action, Rodriguez went on the attack. About 90 seconds in, the Team Cormier representative connected with a body kick that had Memon on the retreat. Rodriguez swarmed with ground-and-pound in pursuit of the finish, but Team So…