Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Kyler Phillips plans to "expose" a lot of Marcelo Rojo's "flaws and weaknesses" at UFC 271
Cole Shelton - February 10, 2022
Kyler Phillips sees a lot of holes in Marcelo Rojo’s game and he plans to expose that on Saturday night at UFC 271. Phillips is coming off a controversial decision loss to Raulian Paiva last July and will now face Rojo in what appears to be an all-action fight. For Phillips, he expects Rojo to come out swinging but doubts his foe will be able to keep up with him.
UFC 271 | Pro fighters make their picks for Jared Cannonier vs. Derek Brunson
Cole Shelton - February 10, 2022
At UFC 271, a potential number one contender bout at middleweight goes down as Jared Cannonier takes on Derek Brunson. Heading into the fight, Cannonier is a -160 favorite while the American is a +140 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are actually going with the underdog in Brunson to be able to outwrestle Cannonier to get the win.
Roxanne Modafferi plans to "have some fun" in retirement fight against Casey O'Neill: "I hope it is a crazy dog fight"
Cole Shelton - February 9, 2022
Roxanne Modafferi will be ending her MMA career on Saturday night at UFC 271 against Casey O’Neill. Including her fights on The Ultimate Fighter, this will be Modafferi’s 50th career fight which is a milestone she wanted to reach. Modafferi has been a pro since 2003 and has fought the who’s who of women’s MMA while competing in countless organizations. However, she says the time is right for her to retire.
Jon Jones will be "one of the scariest guys" at heavyweight, says former teammate Rashad Evans
Cole Shelton - February 9, 2022
Rashad Evans believes his former teammate Jon Jones will eventually make the move to heavyweight and will have success. Ever since Jones vacated his light heavyweight title he said he would be moving up to heavyweight. However, it has been two years and he has yet to do it but for Evans, he believes ‘Bones’ will move up and will have a ton of success at the weight class.
Renato Moicano says he no longer cares about rankings, only focused on making money ahead of UFC 271: "This is sad but this is true"
Cole Shelton - February 8, 2022
Renato Moicano says he no longer cares about fighting ranked opponents as all he cares about is making money. Moicano is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 271 against Alexander Hernandez in a really intriguing fight that he’s looking forward to.
Robert Whittaker believes "no one expects me to win" but says Israel Adesanya "looks beatable" ahead of UFC 271
Cole Shelton - February 8, 2022
Robert Whittaker says the pressure is off him for his UFC 271 main event title rematch against Israel Adesanya. Whittaker and Adesanya are set to run it back after “The Last Stylebender” scored a second-round TKO win back in 2019 to become the new champ. Since then, Whittaker has won three fights to earn the rematch and for him, he’s glad he had the chance to fight multiple times before running it back with Adesanya.
Julian Erosa says he "took more money off" Steven Peterson than his entire purse, eyes Alex Caceres or Hakeem Dawodu next
Cole Shelton - February 7, 2022
Julian Erosa made a lot more money than he expected on Saturday. Erosa opened up the UFC Vegas 47 main card against Steven Peterson in a highly anticipated bout. The fight exceeded expectations as the combatants went to war for the full fifteen minutes. In the end, it was Erosa who won the contest by split decision. Although the plan was for Erosa to be more technical, he is happy that the fight was entertaining.
Rashad Evans unsure if he'll fight again after Eagle FC win: "I got the win I have been so desperate to get"
Cole Shelton - February 7, 2022
Rashad Evans always wanted to end his career on a win and he may have just done that. Evans ended his near four-year retirement to return at Eagle FC 44 where he fought Gabriel Checco. He entered the fight on a five-fight losing streak but he says the pandemic is a key reason as to why he even wanted to fight again.
Jack Hermansson praises "special" Khamzat Chimaev, wants to face him in grappling: "It will be a different story"
Cole Shelton - February 4, 2022
Jack Hermansson didn’t expect Khamzat Chimaev to be so strong. Back in November, Hermansson and Chimaev had a freestyle wrestling match which ‘Borz’ won. The two have trained together in the past and even though Hermansson fights a weight class higher, he says his fellow Swede was just as big and strong as him.
Jack Hermansson explains why he's "the biggest threat" to Israel Adesanya: "I'm the person that is going to dethrone him"
Cole Shelton - February 4, 2022
Jack Hermansson believes he is the biggest threat to Israel Adesanya at middleweight. Adesanya is the current middleweight champion and has been seemingly unbeatable at 185lbs. However, for Hermansson, he believes his grappling is the main reason as to why he poses the biggest threat to the champ.
Jason Witt expects to "break" Phil Rowe at UFC Vegas 47, wants a ranked opponent by the end of the year
Cole Shelton - February 3, 2022
Jason Witt believes he is a stylistic nightmare for Phil Rowe. Witt picked up his second UFC win last time out in a Fight of the Night performance against Bryan Barberena. After the fight, he was rewarded with a new contract and after discussing opponents, he and his team pushed for the Rowe fight.
Pro fighters make their picks for Jack Hermansson vs. Sean Strickland
Cole Shelton - February 3, 2022
In the main event of UFC Vegas 47, a battle of top-10 middleweights go down as Jack Hermansson takes on Sean Strickland. Heading into the fight, Strickland is a -210 favorite while the Swede is a +175 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros believe Strickland will be able to keep it standing and either get a late finish or a clear decision win.
Steven Peterson expects to KO Julian Erosa in violent fashion: "You shouldn't have called me out, you should have kept your mouth shut"
Cole Shelton - February 2, 2022
Steven Peterson has violent intentions for Julian Erosa after he was called out by his fellow featherweight. Before Erosa’s fight against Charles Jourdain, he told BJPENN.com he wanted to fight Peterson and after the win, he said the same thing in the post-fight interview. After hearing that, Peterson assumed that would be his next fight and now they will meet at UFC Vegas 47.
Jack Hermansson expects to get an "early finish" against Sean Strickland and earn a title shot: "Just go in there and dominate"
Cole Shelton - February 1, 2022
Jack Hermansson wanted to fight someone ranked above him but is excited for the challenge of fighting Sean Strickland. Hermansson is coming off a decision win over Edmen Shahbazyan and will now headline UFC Vegas 47 against Strickland. ‘The Joker’ says he is glad the UFC is giving him an opportunity to headline another card.
Jasmine Jasudavicius says friend is getting a tattoo of her face after losing UFC bet, explains why she wants to fight Casey O'Neill
Cole Shelton - January 28, 2022
Jasmine Jasudavicius always knew she would get to the UFC and she made a bet to prove that. Jasudavicius was always considered one of the best Canadian prospects and at UFC 270 she made her UFC debut with a decision win over Kay Hansen. Although she got her hand raised, the Canadian admitted she did want a brawl but her coaches told her not to.
Vanessa Demopoulos says $50K bonus is massive after quitting job as a stripper, planned on jumping in Joe Rogan's arms after the fight
Cole Shelton - January 27, 2022
Vanesa Demopoulos had an interesting UFC 270 fight, to say the least. Demopoulos was facing Silvana Juarez Gomez in her second fight and got dropped early and was nearly finished with ground and pound. However, once on the ground, she started to use her jiu-jitsu and got ahold of an arm, and got the tap to pick up her first UFC win.
Angela Lee responds to opponent Stamp Fairtex's 'idol' comments
Andrew Whitelaw - January 26, 2022
Angela Lee will defend her atomweight title against Stamp Fairtex at ONE: ‘X’ on March 26th. The Thai earned her shot at the champ by winning the ONE Women’s Atomweight world Grand Prix in December. The former ONE Muay Thai and kickboxing champion pulled off a big surprise when she submitted Ritu Phogat in the final. Currently 9-2, that was only Stamp’s second submission victory. She only had her first pro MMA fight in 2018 and her skillset has evolved rapidly. Like Stamp, Angela Lee won her first world title in ONE when she was still just a teenager. She took the atomweight crown with a unanimous decision win against Mei Yamaguchi when she was just 19.
Benson Henderson plans to test Islam Mamedov's durability at Bellator 273, says he's been promised a title shot with a win
Cole Shelton - January 25, 2022
Benson Henderson knows people are counting him out but he’s eager for the challenge of facing Islam Mamedov at Bellator 273. Henderson is set to fight Mamedov in the co-main event, and even though the former UFC champion is on a three-fight losing skid, he’s fighting the presumed number one contender. Although many were surprised by the fight booking, Henderson says he asked for the fight as he wants to get back in the title picture.