Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Brandon Moreno expects to "bully" Deiveson Figueiredo now that he knows what his power is like
Cole Shelton - June 8, 2021
Brandon Moreno left UFC 256 without the belt, but he gained a ton of confidence for his rematch against Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 263. In the main event of the pay-per-view card, Figueiredo and Moreno had one of the best fights of the year. It was a back-and-forth bout that ended in a draw and for Moreno, he says he feels much better now than he did back in December.
UFC 263 | Pro fighters make their picks for Israel Adesanya vs. Marvin Vettori 2 title fight
Cole Shelton - June 8, 2021
In the main event of UFC 263, Israel Adesanya looks to defend his middleweight title for the third time as he rematches Marvin Vettori. Heading into the fight, Adesanya is a -250 favorite while the challenger is a +200 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The majority believe Israel Adesanya will get his hand raised again and likely do so by stoppage this time around.
After "hanging with" Khabib and Islam in training, Kyle Crutchmer has the confidence to make a Bellator title run
Cole Shelton - June 7, 2021
Kyle Crutchmer has all the confidence in the world to be a Bellator champion. Crutchmer is coming off his first career loss as he lost a hard-fought decision to Kemran Lachniov at Bellator 249 in October, who is on the newest season of TUF. Although it was Crutchmer’s first career loss, he says he took a lot from it as he learned how to mix in his striking and grappling.
Youssef Zalal expects to finish Sean Woodson to get back into the win column
Cole Shelton - June 3, 2021
Youssef Zalal isn’t putting any pressure on himself ahead of his upcoming fight. On the prelims of UFC Vegas 28, Zalal is set to face Sean Woodson in a very intriguing featherweight bout. After starting out his UFC career 3-0, Zalal is now on a two-fight losing skid and could be fighting for his job. Although he is on a losing skid, he still expected to get tough fights and that’s exactly what he gets in Woodson.
Marcin Tybura eyes KO win over Walt Harris at UFC Vegas 28 to earn top-five opponent
Cole Shelton - June 2, 2021
Marcin Tybura had a phenomenal 2020 and is looking to build off of that on Saturday. After being TKO’d by Shamil Abdurakhimov in April of 2019, he returned in September of that year and was knocked out in just 59 seconds by Augusto Sakai. After the losses, he had a new mindset for fighting and went 4-0 in 2020 with wins over Sergey Spivak, Maxim Grishin, Ben Rothwell, and a TKO win over Greg Hardy.
Miesha Tate talks motherly motivation, 'I really want to make my kids proud'
Drake Riggs - June 1, 2021
Miesha Tate is headed back into the Octagon. A lot has changed since “Cupcake’s” initial run in the sport. For her personally, she’s now a mother of two.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik eager to right the wrong of his last fight with a "great performance" against Augusto Sakai
Cole Shelton - June 1, 2021
Jairzinho Rozenstruik wasn’t happy with the way he fought his last fight. In the main event of UFC Vegas 20, Rozenstruik suffered a decision loss to Ciryl Gane in a very lackluster fight. Both men rarely threw and for Rozenstruik he says he was disappointed in his performance and is glad to be making a quick turnaround.
Sean Woodson expects to finish Youssef Zalal to "prove I belong" in the UFC: "I have a chip on my shoulder"
Cole Shelton - May 31, 2021
Sean Woodson is looking to remind UFC fans that he’s a problem in the featherweight division. Woodson came into the UFC at 6-0 after winning a flying knee KO over Terrance McKinney on the Contender Series. In his debut, he earned a decision win over Kyle Bochniak. In his second appearance, he took on short-notice replacement Julian Erosa. Early on, he had success but in the third round he lost by submission for his first career loss. Although it was disappointing, he says it was a good learning experience.
Jared Vanderaa happy with "fun ass fight" against Justin Tafa, in no rush to make move up heavyweight ranks
Cole Shelton - May 27, 2021
Jared Vanderaa was excited when he found out he was fighting Justin Tafa and the scrap lived up to his expectations. Although Vanderaa knew he had the grappling advantage, he wanted to get into a striking fight with Tafa to show off his striking. However, in the fight, Vanderaa suffered a cut in his hairline, but when he saw all the blood rushing down him, he was worried the cut would stop the fight.
Danny Sabatello expects bantamweights to duck him after his "dominant" win over Brett Johns
Cole Shelton - May 25, 2021
Danny Sabatello knew he would be able to beat Brett Johns and would do it with ease. At Bellator 259, Sabatello – a former Contender Series winner – stepped up on just five days’ notice to face Johns. Entering the fight, Sabatello told BJPENN.com he expected to dominate the fight and he believes he did just that.
Justin Tafa says he’s ‘coming for war’ against Jared Vanderaa at UFC Vegas 27
Andrew Whitelaw - May 22, 2021
Justin Tafa hasn’t been in the UFC long, but his no-nonsense style means he’s fast becoming a fan favourite. The 27-year-old lost a split decision to Carlos Felipe in his last outing. It was an action-packed affair and one which he felt should have gone his way.
Christos Giagos blasts commentary team for being bias towards Sean Soriano, doubles down on Donald Cerrone callout
Cole Shelton - May 21, 2021
Christos Giagos wasn’t a fan of the UFC 262 commentary team. Opening up the card, Giagos fought short-notice replacement, Sean Soriano. Soriano is one of Michael Chandler’s main training partners. Throughout the fight, Giagos believes the commentary team was biased towards his opponent and they weren’t mentioning anything he was doing well.
Yancy Medeiros knows UFC Vegas 27 fight is do-or-die for his UFC career, wants Michael Johnson next
Cole Shelton - May 20, 2021
Yancy Medeiros is returning to the Octagon on Saturday for the first time in over a year. Medeiros enters his UFC Vegas 27 scrap against Damir Hadzovic on a three-fight losing streak and on the last fight of his contract. After the Hawaiian lost to Lando Vannata, he realized he needed to make some changes to his team and that is exactly what he did.
Pro fighters make their picks for Rob Font vs. Cody Garbrandt
Cole Shelton - May 20, 2021
In the main event of UFC Vegas 27, Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt are set for a pivotal bantamweight fight. It’s an evenly matched fight and the odds have it as a pure pick’em as both men are -110. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe Cody Garbrandt gets the job done by KO to extend his winning streak to two.
Darrion Caldwell expects to finish Leandro Higo again, plans to reclaim bantamweight title later this year
Cole Shelton - May 19, 2021
Darrion Caldwell is focused on reclaiming his bantamweight title. After Caldwell lost back-to-back fights to Kyoji Horiguchi for the RIZIN title and to lose his Bellator belt, he moved up to featherweight to take part in the grand prix. He beat Henry Corrales by decision and then submitted Adam Borics, but lost in the semis to AJ McKee.
Edson Barboza still "not sure what happened" to Shane Burgos, wants main event against top-five opponent
Cole Shelton - May 19, 2021
Edson Barboza still isn’t sure how he got the KO win over Shane Burgos at UFC 262. Opening up the main card, Barboza and Burgos were engaged in a back-and-forth fight. Both men were landing heavy shots. After the second round, many thought it would come down to the final round, but the Brazilian was dealing with a cut on his shin from all the kicks he landed.
Rob Font plans to frustrate Cody Garbrandt and force him to make a mistake en route to a KO win
Cole Shelton - May 18, 2021
Rob Font is ecstatic to be headlining his first UFC show. In the main event of UFC Vegas 27 on Saturday night, Font is set to take on former UFC bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt. After Font knocked out Marlon Moraes in the first round in December, he called out TJ Dillashaw and Jose Aldo, as he thought Garbrandt would be going down to flyweight. But, when he was offered this fight, it was an immediate yes for the New England Cartel member.
After being "disrespected" by Dana White, Danny Sabatello expects to "maul" Brett Johns and "make him quit"
Cole Shelton - May 17, 2021
Danny Sabatello thought he was for sure going to get a UFC contract after his dominant performance over Taylor Moore on the Contender Series in November. Sabatello landed three of four takedowns and had 14:06 of ground control and won the fight 30-24, 30-25, 30-26. It was a dominant performance and for the now 28-year-old he thought he was a shoo-in for the contract.