Martial Arts News

UFC legend B.J. Penn will have to be at least 100 feet away from his mother — or 100 yards from her work or residence — for the next 180 days.

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According to a report from MMAFighting.com, Judge Jeffrey Ng approved a temporary restraining order filed by Lorraine Shin on Tuesday. Shin claims that she has been subject to “extreme psychological abuse” from Penn, who has allegedly taken her personal belongings, stolen her mail, attempted to remove security cameras from her home and tried to prevent her from calling the police.

Penn, who was arrested twice this week for abuse of a family or household member, must appear in court on June 10 for a full hearing on the restraining order. As part of the restraining order, he is not allowed to “threaten, physically abuse or psychologically abuse” his mother. Additionally, Penn cannot “contact, write, telephone or otherwise electronically contact” Shin mother or anyone living with her. If Penn violates any of…

Roy Jones Jr. is willing to help Ilia Topuria perfect his striking technique ahead of his lightweight debut.

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Topuria, a former featherweight champion, will move up to 155 pounds to face Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight strap in the UFC 317 headliner on June 28 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While “El Matador” is known for his knockout power, Jones Jr. believes he could help the Georgian-Spaniard build upon the skills he already possesses.

“I would make a lot of difference [to Ilia Topuria’s camp for Charles Oliveira] because I teach how to get the most out of the striking, how to stay set while you're doing it,” Jones Jr. told Prime Casino.

"Because in MMA you gotta always be set because guys can take your legs out, but the way I fight you always stay set, so I think what I teach would be advantageous to anybody who chose to indulge in it and get what I really teach.”

The 56-year-old Jones Jr. compiled a 66-10 boxing rec…

🚨𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🚨@MoTownPhenom signs with the PFL

He steps in to replace Jay-Jay Wilson and will face Gadhzi Rabadanov in new 2025 PFL World Tournament Lightweight Semifinal Main Event in Wichita, Kansas on June 20th!

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[ #PFLWorldTournament | Friday, June 20th |… pic.twitter.com/IBOWmHf805 — PFL (@PFLMMA) May 28, 2025

Kevin Lee’s Professional Fighters League debut will come with a berth in the lightweight tournament finals at stake.

The promotion announced on Wednesday that Lee will replace the injured Jay-Jay Wilson and face Gadzhi Rabadanov at PFL World Tournament 6 in Wichita, Kansas, on June 20. The 155-pound semifinal will serve as the card’s headliner. According to a release, Lee enters the tournament as an official alternate despite having not competed in the first round.

PFL World Tournament 6 takes place at INTRUST Bank Arena and features semifinals at lightweight, bantamweight and women’s flyweigh…

Saturday’s UFC Vegas 107 card has undergone a few changes, the promotion announced on Wednesday.

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Due to visa issues, both Oban Elliott and Seok Hyun Ko have been removed from their respective bouts. As a result, Elliott and Ko will now square off at UFC Baku on June 21 in Azerbaijan.

Elliott was scheduled to face Ramiz Brahimaj at UFC Vegas 107, while Ko was initially slated to meet Billy Goff. Now, Brahimaj will lock horns with Goff on Saturday in a new welterweight booking.

Meanwhile, MarQuel Mederos has been removed from a lightweight clash against Bolaji Oki due to illness. Mederos has been replaced by Michael Aswell in the contest.

UFC Vegas 107 — also known as UFC on ESPN 68 — takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by a women’s flyweight showdown pitting Erin Blanchfield against Maycee Barber. Prelims begin on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT, while the main card begins on ESPN and ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.

Merab Dvalishvili dismisses 'bright lights' reasoning from O’Malley’s team: 'Same lights for both of us.' 💡🗣️🇬🇪

"We were both in the same situation, and before the fight, everybody was like, ‘Oh, how are you gonna fight in the Sphere? It's gonna be too bright and full of… pic.twitter.com/mlaG8zHlll

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) May 27, 2025

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Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t think the lighting played any role in his win over Sean O'Malley at the Sphere last year. 

Dvalishvili dethroned O’Malley via a dominant unanimous decision in the main event at UFC 306 in September 2024. The card, also billed as Noche UFC, was a one-of-a-kind affair dedicated to celebrating Mexico’s contribution to combat sports. 

O’Malley’s coach, Tim Welch, recently said that his fighter couldn’t land shots as the lights were too bright at the venue. Dvalishvili brushed off this theory, saying the lights were equally bright for everyone…

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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 …

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…

Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty Images/UFC Credit: Getty Images/UFC Credit: Getty Images/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty Images/Zuffa Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Getty/UFC Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA Credit: Bellator MMA …

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.