Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - January 18, 2021

Shinya Aoki is no longer motivated by money or world titles. The Japanese MMA legend strives only to continue doing what he loves as long as possible. Aoki, one of the most lethal submissions in MMA history, is set to return to action at ONE: Unbreakable next Friday in Singapore, where he’ll welcome former LFA welterweight champion James Nakashima to the lightweight division.

Cole Shelton - January 15, 2021

Ike Villanueva knows he enters his UFC Fight Island 8 fight in a must-win scenario. Villaneuva is currently 0-2 in the UFC, but his first loss against Chase Sherman should be overturned to a no-contest due to Sherman being flagged by USADA. However, Villaneuva knows he still lost that fight, and in his last one, lost by cut stoppage which was heartbreaking for him.

Cole Shelton - January 15, 2021

The UFC is set to kick off 2021 with a bang as they will hold three-events in a week. The main events of the three cards see Max Holloway take on Calvin Kattar, Neil Magny vs. Michael Chiesa, and Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 2. However, for UFC commentator, Brendan Fitzgerald, he knows those are good fights but says Tyson Nam vs. Matt Schnell has all the capabilities of being the best fight of the week.

Cole Shelton - January 14, 2021

Tyson Nam wasn’t surprised the UFC booked him against Matt Schnell for the third time. Nam and Schnell were supposed to fight on September 12 and December 19 but a botched weight cut by Schnell and Schnell pulling out canceled both of those fights. However, Nam knows the UFC likes the matchup and is eager to share the Octagon with him.

Cole Shelton - January 13, 2021

After UFC 248 on March 7, which served as the final event with fans, Brendan Fitzgerald headed on a plane to go to Brasilia. However, while he was in the air, the world changed. As Fitzgerald was set to land in New York before going on another flight to Brasilia everything started to shut down. Sports leagues canceled championships and passed their seasons. For Fitzgerald, he wondered if he should even go on the plane to Brazil as he worried he would be stuck there.

Cole Shelton - January 13, 2021

Steven Peterson will have to wait a bit longer to make his return to the Octagon. Peterson hasn’t fought since he had a highlight-reel spinning backfist KO over Martin Bravo in September of 2019. After that fight, the Fortis MMA product hurt his arm and needed surgery which kept him out of action for all of 2020.

Cole Shelton - January 13, 2021

Matt Brown knows the end is near for his career. The 40-year-old is set to be the co-main event of UFC Fight Island 7 against Carlos Condit. It is a fight that has been booked two times previously, but Brown was forced to pull out with injuries both times.

Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021

Dusko Todorovic was surprised with the name on his bout agreement. At UFC Fight Island 7, Todorovic, who is 10-0, will battle fellow undefeated prospect, Punahele Soriano. Although the fight was surprising to many fans, given both Todorvic and Soriano are top prospects, the Serbian no longer cares as he is now just focused on the task at hand and figured he would’ve fought Soriano eventually.

Cole Shelton - January 11, 2021

Alessio Di Chirico knows his UFC Fight Island 7 fight against Joaquin Buckley is do-or-die for his UFC career. Di Chirico is on a three-fight losing streak and many were surprised he was fighting Buckley who is on a winning streak. However, the Italian was excited when he got the call to fight Buckley.

Drake Riggs - January 5, 2021

An unbelievable amount of ridiculousness ensued throughout 2020 the further along we all got in the year. To perfectly summarize 2020 with a capper, the MMA world provided us with an intergender openweight exhibition bout in November pitting Russia’s Darina Mazdyuk vs. the 500-plus pound YouTuber, Grigory Chistyakov (also known as Grisha Polnoe). Mazdyuk, 28, is a solid prospect who has competed in the 135-pound bantamweight and 145-pound featherweight divisions. However, up until her viral first-round TKO victory, the 4-1 pro was a virtual unknown outside of Russia’s regional scene.

Cole Shelton - December 30, 2020

Rob Font is now a top-five bantamweight and he plans on staying ready for the upcoming title fight. At UFC Vegas 17, Font picked up the biggest win of his career as he knocked out Marlon Moraes in the first round. For his head coach, Tyson Chartier, he says the win over Moraes is a big one for Font’s confidence and silencing the doubters.

Tom Taylor - December 30, 2020

Minowaman, a legend among hardcore fight fans, is headed to the RIZIN Fighting Federation ring. The 44-year-old, who has competed in well over 100 mixed martial arts bouts and many pro wrestling matches, will take on jūryō-ranked sumo Tsuyoshi Sudario at RIZIN 26 inside the Saitama Super Arena on New Years Eve.

Cole Shelton - December 28, 2020

Rob Font is now a top-five bantamweight. Entering UFC Vegas 17, Font had heard all the talk that he couldn’t win the big one. When the New England Cartel member got steps up in competition he faltered as evidence to the Raphael Assuncao and Pedro Munhoz losses. However, as he was getting ready to fight Marlon Moraes, his confidence and mental state were much different which was the key to getting his hand raised.

Cole Shelton - December 23, 2020

Christos Giagos thought he wouldn’t get a fight in 2020. Giagos lost a close decision to Drakkar Klose at UFC 241 and since then, he was looking to fight. He was expected to fight in April but due to the pandemic, the event was canceled. Since then, he was bugging his manager for a fight, and out of blue, last Wednesday, he got a fight offer to fight on three days’ notice against Carlton Minus and took it.

Cole Shelton - December 18, 2020

Marlon Vera still doesn’t like Sean O’Malley. In the lead-up to UFC 252, O’Malley made it clear Vera was not on his level and he was going to KO him in the first round. However, that is far from what happened as it was “Chito” who won by TKO in the opening round.

Cole Shelton - December 18, 2020

Maycee Barber has responded to Michael Bisping. After Barber suffered her first career loss to Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246, the 22-year-old grabbed the mic before Modafferi could speak. Barber also blamed her ACL tearing as the reason she lost. However, Bisping was not a fan of the way Barber handled her first career loss.

Cole Shelton - December 17, 2020

Maycee Barber’s 2020 did not go the way she envisioned. In January at UFC 246, Barber was looking to improve to 9-0 when she took on Roxanne Modafferi. The goal for the 22-year-old was to beat Modafferi, get another win in the summer and fight for the belt at year’s end. Unfortunately for her, she lost the fight by decision and tore her ACL which has kept her out of action for the remainder of the year.

Cole Shelton - December 17, 2020

In the main event of the UFC Vegas 17 which is the final UFC event of 2020, Stephen Thompson returns to the Octagon against rising contender, Geoff Neal. Heading into the fight, Neal is a -120 favorite while “Wonderboy” is a -110 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of pros believe it will be Thompson getting the job done and remaining a top-five welterweight.