Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Roxanne Modafferi knows Andrea Lee is a "different fighter" but expects rematch to end in the same result
Cole Shelton - September 9, 2020
Roxanne Modafferi handed Andrea Lee her first professional loss back at Invicta FC 10 with a split decision win and expects the same result at UFC Vegas 10. Now, nearly six years later, the two will have their rematch in the UFC. Since they fought they have become friends. Although Modafferi would prefer to not fight someone she is close with, she knows this is a business and has to fight anybody the UFC tells her to.
Kyle Nelson doesn't believe Billy Quarantillo is a "killer", expects to KO him in the first round
Cole Shelton - September 9, 2020
Kyle Nelson isn’t impressed with Billy Quarantillo and his fighting style. Nelson, who has not fought since he knocked out Polo Reyes last September, didn’t have Quarantillo on his radar but is excited to fight him.
Patrick Mix expects dominant performance over Juan Archuleta to win vacant title: "I finish him in three rounds, I will break him"
Cole Shelton - September 8, 2020
Patrick Mix knows he will be Bellator’s bantamweight champion. On Saturday night in the main event of Bellator 246, Mix is set to take on Juan Archuleta for the vacant bantamweight title. Yet, for the undefeated Patrick Mix, he doesn’t believe Archuleta deserves the title shot at 135-pounds.
Michelle Waterson has a simple game plan for Angela Hill: "It's not going to be strategic, I’m going in there to fight"
Cole Shelton - September 8, 2020
Michelle Waterson is on a two-fight losing streak but her confidence hasn’t wavered one bit. In the main event of UFC Vegas 10 this Saturday, Waterson is set to battle the rising contender in Angela Hill. It is a very intriguing matchup but one that was delayed from August 22. So, for Waterson, she is glad Hill was okay with the delay as she is looking forward to sharing the Octagon with her.
Jalin Turner ready to live up to the hype, expects to exploit and then KO Thiago Moises
Cole Shelton - September 3, 2020
Jalin Turner believes the UFC wants to push him up the lightweight rankings and is ready to live up to the hype. Turner made his UFC debut on short notice up a weight class at UFC 229 and suffered a knockout loss to Vicente Luque. He then got his first UFC win by TKO over Callan Potter but couldn’t build off of it as he suffered a loss to Matt Frevola in his next fight. In February, he returned to the win column with a TKO win over Joshua Culibao.
Pro fighters make their picks for Alistair Overeem vs. Augusto Sakai
Cole Shelton - September 3, 2020
In the main event of UFC Vegas 9, Alistair Overeem is looking to continue his winning streak when he battles a surging contender in Augusto Sakai. Heading into the fight, Overeem is a -160 favorite with the Brazilian being a +130 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe Overeem’s experience will be the difference as he will get his hand raised.
Zak Cummings brutally honest on UFC Vegas 8 win: "I truly don’t think I deserve a ranked guy after that"
Cole Shelton - September 2, 2020
Zak Cummings isn’t happy with his UFC Vegas 8 win over Alessio Di Chirico. Cummings was coming off a loss to Omari Akhmedov and looking to return to the win column. He even entered as the betting underdog which surprised him.
Cole Smith changing approach to fighting after first career loss: "I just want to have fun"
Cole Shelton - September 2, 2020
Cole Smith is changing his approach to fighting. Last September at UFC Vancouver, Smith was set for his second UFC fight against Miles Johns in his home city of Vancouver. It was a big stage for him but unfortunately, the Canadian suffered a split decision loss. After the fight, Smith realized he was putting too much pressure on himself to win and is now just focused on winning fights.
After moving to Team Elevation, Montana De La Rosa looking for "a dominant win" over Viviane Araujo
Cole Shelton - September 1, 2020
Montana De La Rosa made a big career change ahead of her UFC Vegas 9 fight against Viviane Araujo. For the majority of her career, Montana and her husband, Mark, were training in a small gym in Fort Worth, Texas. Yet, ahead of her UFC Vegas 9 fight, Montana decided she needed a change. That change was going to Colorado to train at Team Elevation.
Jeff Monson wants Gordon Ryan superfight
Andrew Whitelaw - August 31, 2020
Jeff Monson would like a grappling super fight against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu superstar, Gordon Ryan. Monson is one of the most highly-decorated grapplers in MMA.
Joe Solecki "surprised" he submitted Austin Hubbard in the first round, eyes December return
Cole Shelton - August 28, 2020
Joe Solecki is now 2-0 in the UFC but he even surprised himself with his last performance. At UFC Vegas 7, Solecki was taking on Austin Hubbard in a very intriguing match-up. Hubbard entered the fight 2-2 in the UFC, with his two losses coming by decision to Davi Ramos and Mark O. Madsen, who are elite grapplers.
Bruce Buffer reveals the UFC fight he is most looking forward to this year
Cole Shelton - August 28, 2020
The fourth quarter of 2020 appears to be a good one for the UFC and Bruce Buffer has his eye on one fight. The promotion will see massive fights like Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje, Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa, and possible title defenses of Kamaru Usman and Petr Yan.
Pro fighters make their picks for Anthony Smith vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Cole Shelton - August 27, 2020
In the main event of UFC Vegas 8, Anthony Smith is returning just three months after his loss to Glover Teixeira to take on Aleksandar Rakic. Heading into the fight, Smith is a +215 underdog while the Austrian is a -275 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe the underdog in Smith will get back into the win column.
Carlo Pedersoli Jr. slated to make his Bellator debut on September 24 against Grachik Bozinyan
Alfredo Zullino - August 27, 2020
A Bellator welterweight clash between Carlo Pedersoli Jr. (11-3 MMA, 0-0 Bellator) and Grachik Bozinyan (10-5 MMA, 0-1 Bellator) is set for September 24 in Milan, Italy, sources with knowledge of the situation told BJPENN.com. The sources asked for anonymity since the news hasn’t been officially confirmed yet. The Miami-born Italian fighter was supposed to make his promotional debut at Bellator 239 back in February against Mark Lemminger, in Thackerville, Oklahoma, but Pedersoli was eventually forced to pull out of the fight due to an infection.
Former UFC fighter Clay Collard says boxing is not a "permanent switch," opens up on PFL contract
Cole Shelton - August 26, 2020
Clay Collard is one of boxing’s biggest stars of 2020. The former UFC featherweight is signed to Top Rank boxing and has gone 5-0 in 2020 including a TKO win last Saturday. At the beginning of the year, he was being brought in to lose against some of Top Rank’s best-undefeated prospects. Yet, Collard won the fights and is now getting pushed by the ESPN boxing promotion.
Bruce Buffer expects to continue being the voice of the Octagon for "at least another 10 years"
Cole Shelton - August 25, 2020
Bruce Buffer isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. Buffer has been the voice of the Octagon for over 25 years. As of late has had to provide the same energy with no fans in the building. Yet, for Buffer, he says even when fans are in arenas, the introduction has always just been him and the fighter.
With UFC job on the line, Mike Rodriguez expects to earn first-round stoppage over Marcin Prachnio
Cole Shelton - August 21, 2020
Mike Rodriguez knows his UFC Vegas 7 fight against Marcin Prachnio is do-or-die for his UFC career. Rodriguez was knocked out by Da Un Jung in December following a decision loss to John Allan which was overturned to a no-contest. The 31-year-old is 1-2 with one no-contest in the UFC.
After knockout win over Matt Mitrione, Tim Johnson eyes rematch with Cheick Kongo
Cole Shelton - August 21, 2020
Tim Johnson believes he has his confidence back. After going 4-3 in the UFC, Johnson signed with Bellator and in his debut fought Cheick Kongo. It was a big fight for him, and unfortunately, did not go his way as he suffered a knockout loss in just 68 seconds.