Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - July 7, 2023

Kamuela Kirk is finally back in action. Kirk has not fought since March of 2022 when he suffered a submission loss to Damon Jackson in his second UFC fight. In his debut, he beat Makwan Amirkhani after stepping up on short notice. After the loss, Kirk realized it was time to move to lightweight. Once he made the move, he was booked to face Esteban Ribovics at UFC 285 in March.

Cole Shelton - July 7, 2023

Shannon Ross is looking to prove to the doubters that he belongs in the UFC. Ross suffered a TKO loss to Vinicius Salvador on the Contender Series, but it was revealed he fought with appendicitis, so Dana White signed him. In his debut, he suffered a 59-second knockout loss to Kleydson Rodrigues and wasn’t sure what would be next after the setback.

Cole Shelton - July 7, 2023

Grant Dawson knows he sent a message to the lightweight division with his win over Damir Imsagulov. Dawson was taking on Ismagulov in the co-main event, and the ATT fighter dominated Ismagulov over all three rounds to get the decision win. Although Grant Dawson wanted the stoppage win, he says he is happy with his performance as he dominated Ismagulov more than Arman Tsarukayn did.

Cole Shelton - July 6, 2023

In the featured fight of UFC 290, a middleweight title eliminator goes down as Robert Whittaker takes on Dricus Du Plessis. Heading into the fight, Whittaker is a sizeable -400 favorite while the South African is a +300 underdog. Ahead of the fight at UFC 290, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are in favor of the odds as they are unanimous in thinking Whittaker gets the job done.

Cole Shelton - July 5, 2023

Brandon Royval is more than ready to fight for UFC gold on Saturday night at UFC 290. In the co-main event of UFC 290, Brandon Moreno is looking to defend his flyweight title as he takes on Alexandre Pantoja. The two have fought twice – with Pantoja winning both, although one was on TUF so it was ruled an exhibition.

Cole Shelton - July 5, 2023

In the co-main event of UFC 290, Brandon Moreno looks to defend his flyweight title as he rematches Alexandre Pantoja. It’s technically the third fight as they fought on TUF but it was an exhibition so it doesn’t count, but Pantoja has won both of them. Heading into the fight, Moreno is a -205 favorite while the Brazilian is a +158 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC 290, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are split in this one but the slight majority lean towards Moreno getting his hand raised and defending his belt.

Cole Shelton - July 4, 2023

Dricus Du Plessis is ready to make a statement at UFC 290. Du Plessis is set to take on Robert Whittaker in a title eliminator fight on the main card in Las Vegas on Saturday. While the booking admittedly came as a bit of a surprise, the South African was fine taking the fight as he wants to earn his title shot by beating the best.

Cole Shelton - July 4, 2023

In the main event of UFC 290, the featherweight title is up for grabs as Alexander Volkanovski looks to defend his strap against Yair Rodriguez. Heading into the fight, Volkanovski is a massive -400 favorite while the Mexican is a +285 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC 290, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, the pros are unaninmous in picking Volkanovski to defend his belt as they believe he is too good at featherweight.

Cole Shelton - June 27, 2023

Max Griffin is ready to make a statement. Griffin is coming off a decision win over Tim Means back in October and was hoping to return much sooner. However, he wasn’t offered a fight until he was booked against Michael Morales at UFC Vegas 76. When Griffin got the fight offer, he admits he felt a bit disrespected by the UFC.

Cole Shelton - June 22, 2023

Modestas Bukauskas wasn’t happy with the way he fought last Saturday. Bukauskas was taking on Zac Pauga at UFC Vegas 75 and entering the fight, he was confident he would be able to finish him. He thought his striking would be too much for Pauga but that wasn’t the case as the scrap went the distance.

Cole Shelton - June 22, 2023

In the main event of UFC Jacksonville, a battle of ranked featherweights go down as Josh Emmett takes on Ilia Topuria. Heading into the fight, Emmett is a +280 underdog while the Georgian is a -390 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros lean towards Topuria getting the job done as they believe the Georgian is the real deal.

Cole Shelton - June 21, 2023

Gillian Robertson is making a quick turnaround. Robertson returned at strawweight back in April and submitted Piera Rodriguez in the first round. After the win, she called out Tabatha Ricci and was granted her wish as she will return just two months later at UFC Jacksonville.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2023

Shane Burgos knows his PFL 6 fight against Yamato Nishikawa is do-or-die for his season. Burgos left the UFC last year and proceeded to sign with PFL, competing at lightweight as part of their tournament format. Unfortunately, in his debut, ‘Hurricane’ suffered a decision loss to Olivier Aubin-Mercier. The setback was disappointing, but Burgos is just glad he gets to fight again so soon.

Cole Shelton - June 17, 2023

Kyle Nelson couldn’t be happier with how UFC 289 played out. The Octagon returned to Canada for the first time since 2019 on June 10th, as the promotion headed to Vancouver for UFC 289. On the card were five Canadians – six if you include Diana Belbita who calls Canada home – but many, including Kyle Nelson were the betting underdogs.

Zain Bando - June 17, 2023

Lightweight Ronald Paradeiser continued his winning ways against Andrew Fisher Saturday at OKTAGON 44 in Germany, winning via third-round TKO. https://twitter.com/oktagonofficial/status/1670156399299493889?s=46&t=6IucOZrSJ7rj4VnSxXrDpA

Cole Shelton - June 15, 2023

Nikolas Motta believes his UFC Vegas 75 fight against Manuel Torres will be a banger for as long as it lasts. Motta was supposed to face Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC 287 in Miami in April, but he was forced out of the bout which was heartbreaking for him. But, luckily, he was able to return quickly and is set to fight on Saturday at UFC Vegas 75.

Cole Shelton - June 14, 2023

In the main event of UFC Vegas 75, a battle of top-five middleweights goes down as Marvin Vettori takes on Jared Cannonier. Heading into the fight, Vettori is a -120 favorite while the American is a slight -106 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC Vegas 75, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their predictions for the scrap. The pros lean towards Vettori getting his hand raised, likely by decision in what should be a close, competitive fight.

Cole Shelton - June 13, 2023

Modestas Bukauskas wanted to fight in London in July but is ready for redemption at the UFC Apex. Bukauskas was re-signed by the UFC earlier this year as he took on Tyson Pedro on short notice at UFC 284. Heading into the fight, the former Cage Warriors champ was a sizeable underdog but shocked many when he pulled off a decision win.