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Cory Sandhagen doesn’t think Sean O'Malley has consistently fought tough competition.

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Sandhagen believes one is bound to lose at some point if they regularly take on elite opponents. Sandhagen considers only himself, Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan worthy of that claim — and certainly not O’Malley. Sandhagen is also confident that he can outclass O’Malley and wants to prove it when they potentially meet.

“When me and O’Malley fight, I’ll get to show that I’m a lot better than him,” Sandhagen said on “The Overdogs Podcast.” “Unless I get that opportunity, I don’t really feel like arguing with the ether of the internet about who’s better at what. I think I’ll definitely get that opportunity to show that one of these days…I think if you fight tough guys for long enough there’s gonna be nights when you just don’t win… And I fought the best guys for a really long time. And not a lot of other people in the division really get to say that…

Renowned MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz is supremely confident in Kayla Harrison.

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Harrison challenges Julianna Pena for the women’s bantamweight title in the co-main event at UFC 316 on June 7 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Abdelaziz recently claimed that Harrison can beat former champ Ronda Rousey, women’s GOAT contender Amanda Nunes, and Pena on the same night at UFC 316.

“June 7, you can bring Ronda, Amanda, [Juliana] at the same time,” Abdelaziz wrote.”They will all lose to [Kayla Harrison]. She’s [a] different [breed].”

June 7, you can bring Ronda Amanda Julian at the same time they will all lose to @KaylaH she’s different Bread

— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) May 27, 2025

Harrison is a massive -550 favorite to beat “The Venezuelan Vixen,” a +370 underdog. Harrison made instant waves in the world of MMA when she made her pro debut with the Professional Fighters League in 2018. The two-time Olym…

Alexandre Pantoja (29-5) remains a favorite going into his UFC 317 title fight against Kai Kara-France (25-11). 

Pantoja puts his flyweight title on the line against Kara-France in the co-main event at UFC 317 on June 28 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pantoja opened as a -215 favorite against Kara France, a +160 underdog. The odds are expected to further sway towards Pantoja before closing. 

Pantoja has been a favorite for most of his UFC career and managed to upset the odds on the only two times he was an underdog against Brandon Moreno. “The Cannibal” dethroned Moreno via split decision in their rematch at UFC 290 in 2023. The Brazilian then defended his title against Brandon Royval, beating “Raw Dawg” for the second time. He followed it up by derailing Australian challenger train Steve Erceg and making easy work of former Rizin champ Kai Asakura. 

Meanwhile, Kara-France can’t be counted out coming off a knockout win over Erceg. The …

Here’s everything you need to know about the UFC 319 card. 

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UFC 319 will go down on Aug. 16 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Dricus Du Plessis will look to defend his middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev in the main event of the night. 

The early prelims are scheduled to start at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT, followed by the prelims at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The main card will begin at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.  The early prelims will be available on ESPN+ and Disney+, while the next set of prelims will be available on ESPN/ESPN+/Disney+. The main card can only be viewed on pay-per-view via ESPN+.

Tickets for the event can be purchased from the UFC’s official website and are available earlier for those who register for the presale. Tickets will first be available for UFC Fight Pass presale subscribers at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT on June 11. UFC Newsletter subscribers can purchase tickets starting at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT. T…

The OFFICIAL #TUF33 teams :boom: pic.twitter.com/wyRS2YXguH

— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) May 28, 2025

Season 33 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series lifted off with Episode 1 on Tuesday, as 16 participants—eight flyweights and eight welterweights—from 10 different countries set out in search of an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract. Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen will serve as coaches for the 12-week season.

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“Both of these guys are very competitive and they both want to win,” UFC CEO Dana White said, “so this should be a very entertaining season.”

Evaluations led into team selections. Cormier won a coinflip between the coaches, elected to draft first in each weight class and chose reigning Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Eduardo Henrique as the No. 1 overall flyweight. Sonnen countered by selecting Team Alpha Male’s Joseph Morales, a man who already has three UFC appearances under his belt…

Lorraine Shin, the mother of UFC great B.J. Penn, has filed a restraining order against her son.

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According to documents initially obtained by MMAFighting.com, Shin is alleging that Penn has used “extreme psychological abuse towards me for over the past several months that I am not Lorraine Shin, I killed his family and have taken over his mother’s identity, and he wants me to be removed from his home.” For now, the restraining order is pending until it is approved or denied by a judge.

Shin’s allegations seem to align with an April Instagram post from Penn, where he issues an alert to Hilo police claiming that his family members have all been murdered.

“I need you to investigate these guys, get these people out of my house and [off my] properties,” he wrote.

Penn was arrested on both Sunday and Monday for the same charge of abuse of a family or household member before being released on both occasions.

In the restraining order request…

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Kai Asakura will make his second Octagon appearance against Tim Elliott at UFC 319.

Both fighters confirmed the booking on social media after realkevink initially brought word of the flyweight bout on social media. UFC 319 takes place on Aug. 16 at the United Center in Chicago and is headlined by a middleweight championship clash between Dricus Du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev.

A former Rizin Fighting Federation title holder, Asakura made his promotional debut in a flyweight title bout at UFC 310, where he fell to reigning champion Alexandre Pantjoa via second-round submission. The Japan Top Team product had won five of his previous six outings under the Rizin banner prior to that defeat.

Also a former UFC flyweight title challenger, Elliott has been victorious in three of his last four Octagon appearances. Most recently, the 38-year-old Missouri native submitted Su Mudaerji in the opening stanza at UFC Fight Night 233 this past December.

If Ian Garry is to be believed, the welterweight title picture might not be set in stone just yet.

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After Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad to capture the 170-pound belt at UFC 315, all signs pointed to Islam Makhachev moving up to received the next championship opportunity against the newly-crowned Aussie. While that may still be the plan, Garry claims that he is part of that discussion.

“One hundred percent, I'm in the conversation for a shot at Jack Della Maddalena next,” Garry told Covers.com. “There's not a bigger name that you can mention in the division right now other than mine. You can put anyone else in there but the argument is there that I am the biggest draw, and if you put whoever versus me for the world title, it would be the biggest fight.”

If Makhachev takes on Della Maddalena next as expected, Garry believes the Dagestani might be surprised by the size of the champion.

“Size matters and when you're giving up…

Former UFC champion B.J. Penn was recently arrested in his home state on charges of abuse of family or household member.

According to online records, Penn was arrested on Sunday in Hawaii and later released on $2,000 bail (He was also arrested on $1,000 bond for the same charges on Monday before being released). Penn posted a video of his arrest on his Instagram account. In the video, police surround the former fighter in his bed while he asks why he is being arrested.

“How can I be under arrest for harassment? This is my house,” Penn said to the officers. “I just went to go grab the mail …. Can we call an officer that I know that can talk to you guys? Why am I being arrested again? What kind of harassment? What does harassment mean?”

In the caption on the video, Penn addresses the topic of “impostor theft.”

“In Hawaii, ‘impostor theft,’ refers to instances where individuals falsely impersonate others, often to steal their identity or commit fraudulent …

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Nate Diaz hasn’t been in Octagon in nearly three years, but a return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship seems to be something that might interest him.

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In a recent appearance on “The HJR Podcast,” the popular Stockton, California, native broached the possibility of fighting for the organization where he originally made his name.

"I plan on going back to UFC," Diaz said. "If they'll have me, I would like to go back and f—ing whoop someone's ass there. It's kind of slow rolling. I don't really have a name in mind right now in the UFC. That's why I'm not there right now.”

Diaz parted ways with the Las Vegas-based promotion in 2022 after a fourth-round submission victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. Since then, he’s competed in boxing twice, falling to Jake Paul via unanimous decision in August 2023 and earning a majority verdict over former UFC rival Jorge Masvidal in July 2024.

While the 40-year-old Cesar Gracie Fig…

“He has a legitimate shot of beating him.”

Sean @SStricklandMMA breaks down the anticipated rematch between UFC light heavyweight champ Magomed @AnkalaevM and @AlexPereiraUFC . pic.twitter.com/cplE8sKqVG

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) May 26, 2025

Sean Strickland believes Alex Pereira needs to reset before facing Magomed Ankalaev again. 

Ankalaev dethroned Pereira via unanimous decision at UFC 313 this past March. The Brazilian is expected to get an immediate chance to reclaim his light heavyweight title. Strickland believes his former opponent turned friend can beat Ankalaev in a potential rematch. 

However, Strickland believes Pereira needs to step back and collect himself before fighting Ankalaev. Strickland noted that “Poatan” defended his strap three times within six months last year. According to Strickland, the activity paired with Pereira’s overnight rise to stardom was bound to take a toll on the Brazilian…