Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Adrian Yanez hopes he can fight at UFC 262 to make childhood dream come true, calls out Davey Grant
Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021
Adrian Yanez has put the bantamweight division on notice. Yanez entered his UFC Vegas 22 fight against Gustavo Lopez coming off a highlight reel KO in his UFC debut. The goal for Yanez was to get another viral KO, which he did, but it also came in the third round, which was a bonus for the surging contender.
Grant Dawson happy to show complete skillset against Leonardo Santos, defends Clay Guida callout: "He has a bigger name than I do"
Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021
Grant Dawson had no clue how the judges were scoring his fight against Leonardo Santos entering the third round. The fight was competitive through two rounds and after the second round, James Krause had a motivating speech to tell Dawson he needs to finish the fight in the third round. Although Dawson was controlling the fight, it appeared the fight was destined to go the distance. However, with 10 seconds left, Dawson started landing heavy ground and pound that knocked Santos out cold, which was a big relief for Dawson.
Modestas Bukauskas plans to finish Michal Oleksiejczuk in "spectacular fashion" at UFC 260
Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021
Modestas Bukauskas was eagerly anticipating his next fight after coming up short last time out. Back on Fight Island in October, Bukauskas suffered a first-round TKO loss to Jimmy Crute. In just his second UFC fight, he fought a very tough and dangerous Crute who is now in the rankings and could be in the top-10 after his next fight. Although the loss was disappointing for Bukauskas, he says it helped him grow as he hired a sports psychologist and started to focus more on the strategy for his fights.
Gillian Robertson opens up on pulling out of UFC 258, expects to submit Miranda Maverick in a "statement" win
Cole Shelton - March 24, 2021
Gillian Robertson is glad she is fighting Miranda Maverick. At UFC 258, Robertson and Maverick were expected to fight in an intriguing matchup. However, on the day of the event, Robertson was forced out of the fight due to her being sick. She believes it was caused by food poisoning and not due to her weight cut or COVID-19.
Khama Worthy believes he will pick apart Jamie Mullarkey, confident he has "a few ways to finish"
Cole Shelton - March 23, 2021
Khama Worthy is confident he will return to the win column on the main card of UFC 260. Worthy is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Ottman Azaitar last September and he was hoping to return to the Octagon much sooner. However, the UFC had different plans and was offered to fight Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 260, who is 0-2 in the UFC.
Vicente Luque expecting a "dangerous" Tyron Woodley, but expects to finish him at UFC 260
Cole Shelton - March 23, 2021
Vicente Luque is eager to share the Octagon with Tyron Woodley. On the main card of this Saturday’s UFC 260 pay-per-view, Luque is set to face another top-10 opponent as he looks to climb the welterweight ranks. After he came up short against Stephen Thompson, he rallied off back-to-back wins over Niko Price and Randy Brown, and after his last win over Brown, Luque thought the Woodley fight made sense.
Jim Miller reveals UFC paid him "a fraction" of his purse for canceled UFC 258 fight: "I made a couple thousand dollars"
Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021
Jim Miller was disappointed he ended up not getting to fight at UFC 258 after making weight. But, what was worse is the fact he went home without his full paycheck. Miller was set to face Bobby Green in the prelim headliner of UFC 258 in February. However, at weigh-ins, Green fainted and the fight was called off. For Miller, he says it sucked for him to not fight given he took the fight on a week’s notice and cut a ton of weight.
Myron Molotky looking to build XFC into top-tier MMA promotion: "We are not a feeder league for anybody"
Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021
XFC MMA is set for its first Young Guns event on March 27 and president, Myron Molotky couldn’t be more excited. When XFC re-launched last year, the first event was a success with the promotion airing on NBC as well. However, as the company was in the stages of re-launching, Molotky made it known he wanted to find the next superstar. To do that, he launched Young Guns, where he will have several fighters making their debuts or only a handful of fights into their career compete on the card as they look to get an official XFC contract.
JP Buys eager to corner and share card with wife Cheyanne, expects to finish Bruno Silva to earn a "statement" win
Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021
JP Buys will get to make his UFC debut alongside his wife, Cheyanne. On the prelims of UFC Vegas 22, JP Buys will face Bruno Silva while on the main card Cheyanne will face Montserrat Ruiz. They will also be looking to make history as the first married couple to both win UFC fights on the same card. Not only are they competing on the same card, but they will also corner one another.
Grant Dawson expects to submit BJJ black belt Leonardo Santos, plans to call out Clay Guida
Cole Shelton - March 18, 2021
Grant Dawson is finally making the move to lightweight. After Dawson missed the featherweight mark by 3.5 pounds against Darrick Minner and barely made weight for a 150-pound catchweight against Nad Narimani in July, he knew he needed to move up to 155lbs. The goal for Dawson was to make a quick turnaround but that was not the case. Finally, at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 22 event, Dawson will make his official UFC lightweight debut against Leonardo Santos.
Jan Blachowicz knows he is better everywhere than Glover Teixeira, eyes heavyweight move after two or three more title defenses
Cole Shelton - March 18, 2021
Jan Blachowicz knows his next opponent will be Glover Teixeira. After Blachowicz beat Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 to defend his belt for the first time, he knew that Teixeira would be his next opponent. Blachowicz knows the Brazilian deserves the next title shot based on the strength of his five straight wins in the UFC, but when the two rivals do meet, the champ is confident he will be better everywhere than Teixeira.
Max Griffin expects to finish Kenan Song: "I will thrash this guy"
Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021
Max Griffin believes Kenan Song is the perfect opponent for him to look good against. On the main card of UFC Vegas 22 on March 20, Griffin is set to return against Song. Although Griffin wanted to return sooner, the birth of his son forced him to postpone the contest from UFC 259 to this card.
Antonio Carlos Junior "happy" to sign with PFL after surprise UFC release, expects to submit Tom Lawlor
Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021
Antonio Carlos Junior didn’t think he was fighting for his job at UFC 257. Carlos Junior was making his return to the Octagon after over a year away against Brad Tavares. In the fight, the Brazilian was looking to get the fight to the ground but Tavares managed to keep the contest on the feet and outstrike him to win a decision. After the fight, it was revealed Carlos Junior was released which caught him by surprise.
Jan Blachowicz happy he "destroyed" UFC's plans, reveals what Israel Adesanya needs to do to get a rematch
Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021
Jan Blachowicz knew the UFC had big plans for Israel Adesanya if he became a champ-champ at UFC 259. Entering the fight, Blachowicz said he would try to wrestle Adesanya early and stand with him late. However, the fight played out completely opposite as he stood and traded with Adesanya and in the championship rounds went to his wrestling to secure the win.
Jason Witt admits he never heard of Matthew Semelsberger, expects to earn second-round TKO
Cole Shelton - March 12, 2021
Jason Witt didn’t know who he would be fighting next but didn’t expect it to be Matthew Semelsberger. After Witt dominated Cole Williams to get his first UFC win, he was looking to return quickly. Although it is now five months later, Witt was just excited to get back in there despite not knowing who his opponent was.
Alexis Davis relieved to snap losing streak, knows rematch with Amanda Nunes makes sense down the line
Cole Shelton - March 12, 2021
Alexis Davis didn’t know if she would remain a UFC fighter. After the Canadian lost to Viviane Araujo at UFC 240, which was her third loss in a row, she wondered if she would be released. The UFC ended up deciding to keep her on, but a shoulder injury kept her out until 2021 where she fought Sabina Mazo.
Pro fighters make their picks for Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad
Cole Shelton - March 11, 2021
In the main event of UFC Vegas 21, Leon Edwards is making his return to the Octagon as he takes on Belal Muhammad. Heading into the fight, Edwards is a -275 favorite while the Palestinian-American is a +215 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, the majority of pros have Edwards extending his winning streak to nine.
Eryk Anders expects to "swing leather" with Darren Stewart until one of them falls
Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021
Eryk Anders is expecting a highly entertaining fight for the fans on Saturday night To open up the UFC Vegas 21 main card, Anders is set to face Darren Stewart. In the lead-up to the fight, Anders, the former D-1 football star at Alabama, left home to go to Arizona and train at Fight Ready. For Anders, he says he needed a change in order to improve.