Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Vanessa Demopoulos excited to showcase her entire skillset against Jinh Yu Frey, eyes another finish win
Cole Shelton - June 23, 2022
Vanessa Demopoulos is looking to build off her first UFC win.
After helping Sean O'Malley prepare for his bout, Mario Bautista confident he will overwhelm Brian Kelleher as the fight goes on
Cole Shelton - June 23, 2022
Mario Bautista was hoping to fight around this date. Bautista was in training camp helping Sean O’Malley prepare for his UFC 276 fight on July 2 against Pedro Munhoz. During the camp, he got the call to fight Brian Kelleher at UFC Vegas 57 on just three weeks’ notice and jumped at the chance as he feels he’s in good condition.
Jimmie Rivera claims Chad Mendes turned him down for their BKFC debuts: "I can't blame him, I wouldn't want to fight Jimmie Rivera either"
Cole Shelton - June 23, 2022
Jimmie Rivera says his BKFC debut was originally supposed to be against Chad Mendes. Rivera is set to be the co-main event of BKFC 26 against Howard Davis but that was not always the plan. Instead, he says he was offered Mendes in both of their BKFC debuts but ‘Money’ turned the fight down.
Christos Giagos plans to hit Thiago Moises with "something big and make him fold" at UFC Vegas 57, eyes Grant Dawson next
Cole Shelton - June 22, 2022
Christos Giagos believes he will finally show just how good he is at UFC Vegas 57 on Saturday. Giagos will return to the Octagon against Thiago Moises in what will be his second fight at Sanford MMA. Giagos made the move to Sanford last camp, but before he could even get accustomed to the gym and have a full camp, he was offered a short-notice fight against Arman Tsarukyan. Unfortnately for Giagos, it didn’t go his way and he says he just wasn’t himself in there.
Chris Curtis says he either gets submitted in the first round or KO's Rodolfo Vieira in the second: "The goal is to drown him before he strangles me"
Cole Shelton - June 21, 2022
Chris Curtis says his UFC Vegas 57 fight against Rodolfo Vieira is quite easy to break down. Curtis is set to take on the grappling wizard on Saturday night. When he got the contract, he knew it was a fight he will need to keep standing to win.
Jimmie Rivera relieved to finally make BKFC debut, hoping for a "brawl" against Howard Davis at BKFC 26
Cole Shelton - June 21, 2022
Jimmie Rivera will finally end his long layoff on Friday night. Rivera is set to face Howard Davis in the co-main event of BKFC 26. It will be his first fight since February of 2021 when he dropped a decision to Pedro Munhoz. For Rivera, he says it’s a big relief for him to finally fight, this after suffering two canceled bouts since leaving the UFC.
On a new multi-fight deal, Ricardo Ramos confident he will finish Danny Chavez at UFC Austin: "I can give him some trouble on the ground"
Cole Shelton - June 17, 2022
Ricardo Ramos will be returning to the Octagon for the first time in nearly 10 months against Danny Chavez at UFC Austin which is a lot longer than he wanted. Ramos suffered a decision loss to Zubaira Tukhugov back in October and since then he has been waiting to fight. However, no opportunities came up until this Saturday when he will face Chavez.
Pro fighters make their picks for Calvin Kattar vs. Josh Emmett
Cole Shelton - June 16, 2022
In the main event of UFC Austin, top-10 featherweights are set to headline the card as Calvin Kattar takes on Josh Emmett. Heading into the fight, Kattar is a massive -260 favorite on FanDuel while Emmett is a +196 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros expect this one to be a very fun and entertaining fight but the majority believe Kattar will get his hand raised as he is the better striker.
Adrian Yanez wants to "starch" and "hurt" Tony Kelley at UFC Austin after his "bigotry" comments: "It makes it a lot easier for me to punch him in the face"
Cole Shelton - June 15, 2022
Adrian Yanez knows there will be a ton of people rooting for him on Saturday at UFC Austin. Yanez is set to face Tony Kelley, who previously made some bigotry comments while in the corner of Andrea Lee, which ultimately had provided Adrian with a lot of support. Although that adds intrigue to the fight, for Yanez the most exciting aspect is the fact he’s fighting back home in Texas.
Kyle Daukaus plans to "be as dominant" as possible against "tough" Roman Dolidze at UFC Austin: "He's a guy that is in for all 15 minutes"
Cole Shelton - June 15, 2022
Kyle Daukaus figured he would be fighting Julian Marquez next. Daukaus and Marquez were originally booked to fight on February 19, but Marquez was forced to withdraw and Jamie Pickett stepped up. Daukaus ended up winning by first-round submission and after the victory, he figured he would be rebooked against Marquez. Instead, he was booked against Dolidze, who he was supposed to face last November.
Josh Emmett brought in Shane Burgos to prepare for Calvin Kattar, believes he will find the finish to earn a title shot: "I possess a different type of power"
Cole Shelton - June 14, 2022
Josh Emmett will be headlining a UFC card once again. Emmett, who has not headlined an event since his stoppage loss to Jeremy Stephens in 2018, is set to face Calvin Kattar in the main event of UFC Austin. It’s a very fun fight on paper and for Emmett, when he got the fight offer, he was immediately excited for the matchup.
Joe Lauzon received show money for canceled UFC 274 fight, plans to "get after" Donald Cerrone early at UFC Austin
Cole Shelton - June 14, 2022
Joe Lauzon is glad he and Donald Cerrone will finally be sharing the Octagon together. Lauzon and Cerrone were supposed to fight at UFC 274 on May 7, but on the morning of the event, ‘Cowboy’ had to pull out as he fell ill. Immediately, the promotion began looking to get the fight rebooked and the two will now meet at UFC Austin. For Lauzon, he says he still got paid for the canceled fight.
Ode Osbourne believes he sent a "statement" to the flyweight division with KO win, wants Jeff Molina next
Cole Shelton - June 10, 2022
Ode Osbourne says his UFC Vegas 56 fight couldn’t have gone any better. Osbourne was facing Zarrukh Adashev and many expected if he was going to win, it was going to be by using his wrestling. Yet, he showed off his striking as he scored a vicious KO in just 61 seconds and he says the fight couldn’t have gone any better.
UFC 275 | Pro fighters make their picks for Valentina Shevchenko vs. Taila Santos title fight
Cole Shelton - June 9, 2022
In the co-main event of UFC 275, the women’s flyweight title is up for grabs as Valentina Shevchenko looks to defend her belt for the seventh time against Taila Santos. Heading into the fight, Shevchenko is a -720 favorite on FanDuel while the challenger is a +450 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. To no surprise, the pros are unanimous in thinking Shevchenko defends her belt with the majority also thinking she finds the stoppage sometime in the fight.
UFC 275 | Pro fighters make their picks for Weili Zhang vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk 2
Cole Shelton - June 9, 2022
On the main card of UFC 275, Weili Zhang is set to rematch Joanna Jedrzejczyk after the two had one of the best women’s fights of all time at UFC 248. Heading into the fight, Zhang is a -172 favorite on FanDuel while the Pole is a +134 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Jedrzejczyk gets the job done likely by decision.
Jack Della Maddalena plans to make UFC 275 scrap against Ramazan Emeev a "very violent fight" that leads to "a brutal finish"
Cole Shelton - June 8, 2022
Jack Della Maddalena expects to kick off the UFC 275 main card with a bang. Della Maddalena is set for his second UFC fight when he meets Ramazan Emeev to open up the main card on Saturday in Singapore. It’s an intriguing matchup and now that he has one UFC fight under his belt Jack expects to perform much better on Saturday.
UFC 275 | Pro fighters make their picks for Glover Teixeira vs. Jiri Prochazka title fight
Cole Shelton - June 8, 2022
In the main event of UFC 275, the light heavyweight title is up for grabs as Glover Teixeira looks to defend his strap against Jiri Prochazka. Heading into the fight, Teixeira is a +164 underdog on FanDuel while the challenger is a -215 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros slightly lean toward the champ pulling off the upset as many think he can extend the fight and eventually find a submission win to defend his belt.
Alan Belcher vows to KO Frank Tate within a minute in 'BKFC Jackson 2' main event: "That's the only way it goes down"
Cole Shelton - June 7, 2022
Alan Belcher is set to headline his first BKFC event since coming out of retirement. After Belcher dropped a technical decision to Michael Bisping at UFC 159 in 2013, he proceeded to retire from the sport due to an eye injury he sustained in the fight. After years away from the fight game, ‘The Talent’ decided to sign on with BKFC in 2021, a move which he says needed to happen.