Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - May 12, 2020

In the headliner of Wednesday’s UFC Jacksonville event, Anthony Smith returns after nearly a year-long injury layoff to take on perennial contender Glover Teixeira. Heading into the fight, the American is a -185 favorite, while the Brazilian is a +150 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe it will be Smith who gets it done as he’s the better all-around fighter.

Cole Shelton - May 11, 2020

A.J. McKee is not a fan of Patricio Pitbull. McKee and Pitbull are currently competing in the featherweight grand prix, where the undefeated contender in McKee predicts they will meet in the finals. Once there, McKee is confident he will not only beat the Brazilian, but finish him badly.

Cole Shelton - May 8, 2020

Ryan Bader was expected to defend his light heavyweight title on May 9 against Russian contender, Vadim Nemkov. Yet, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic leaving Bader uncertain when he’ll defend his 205-pound strap next. Bader, who has not fought since September against Cheick Kongo in a controversial no-contest, is eager to get back in the cage.

Cole Shelton - May 8, 2020

Sam Alvey knows his UFC roster spot in on the line when he opens the stacked UFC 249 card against Ryan Spann. Alvey is currently on a three-fight losing streak where he lost by TKO to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Jimmy Crute and most recently dropped a decision to Klidson Abreu. Against Spann, “Smile’n Sam” is the biggest underdog on the card but isn’t paying attention to any of that.

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2020

On the stacked UFC 249 main card, Francis Ngannou takes on undefeated contender, Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Heading into this fight, Ngannou is a -275 favorite while “Bigi Boy” is a +215 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe the scrap ends by knockout where the majority lean towards Ngannou getting his hand raised.

Cole Shelton - May 6, 2020

Alexey Oleynik says there is a belt on the line when he takes on Fabricio Werdum at UFC 249. Oleynik will welcome Werdum back to the Octagon after a USADA suspension on the stacked UFC 249 card. The Russian is eager to share the cage with a ‘legend’ and says this fight is to see who’s the best grappler of all-time.

Cole Shelton - May 6, 2020

In the co-main event of UFC 249, Henry Cejudo is looking to defend his bantamweight title for the first time against former champion, Dominick Cruz. Heading into this fight, “Triple C” is a -225 favorite while the challenger is a +180 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe Cejudo will defend his belt, but they realize they can’t count out Cruz, who many consider is the bantamweight GOAT.

Cole Shelton - May 5, 2020

Michelle Waterson believes her UFC 249 fight against former champion Carla Esparza has title implications on the line. Waterson will make her return to the Octagon after a decision loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk back at UFC Tampa last October. She says she learned a lot about herself in that fight and says it proves she belongs at the top.

Cole Shelton - May 4, 2020

Jairzinho Rozenstruik is expecting to continue his knockout streak on Saturday night when he takes on Francis Ngannou at UFC 249. Rozenstruik and Ngannou were expected to headline UFC Columbus and then fight on April 18, but those events were canceled. Now, for Rozenstruik, he finally gets his wish of fighting Ngannou on May 9.

Tom Taylor - May 4, 2020

UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya has made no secret of the fact that he intends to move up to the light heavyweight division to battle Jon Jones in the future. Speaking on the latest episode of BJPENN.COM Radio, Adesanya explained why he’s so confident he’d win this potential matchup.

Cole Shelton - May 1, 2020

Johny Hendricks says he doesn’t think about the Georges St-Pierre fight anymore. Back at UFC 167, St-Pierre was looking to defend his welterweight title against Hendricks. It was a back-and-forth fight but when the final bell rang, most fans and media, including UFC president Dana White thought Hendricks had won. But, the judges’ gave GSP a hard-fought split decision victory.

Cole Shelton - May 1, 2020

Douglas Lima hopes he and Kamaru Usman will fight each other one day. Currently, Lima is Bellator’s welterweight champion while Usman is the UFC’s 170-pound champion. Although a fight between them seems unlikely due to the lack of cross-promotional interest by Dana White, Lima hopes it can happen one day, but he isn’t holding his breath.

Cole Shelton - April 30, 2020

Douglas Lima says he’s disappointed Rory MacDonald left Bellator as it ruined plans for a trilogy fight. MacDonald is the former Bellator welterweight champion but after losing his belt to Lima in the grand prix final, he left in free agency to PFL. Many were surprised as they figured the Canadian would re-sign to set up the trilogy with Lima, which the Brazilian thought would be the case.

Cole Shelton - April 30, 2020

Johny Hendricks never failed a USADA test or took any performance-enhancing drugs in his career. But, he does say USADA played a big factor in why he retired in 2018. Hendricks claimed UFC gold back at UFC 171 where he defeated Robbie Lawler to win the vacant belt. He would then lose the title to Lawler in his next fight and USADA would be soon introduced afterward.

Tom Taylor - April 30, 2020

Alain Ngalani has been given the momentous task of welcoming former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort to ONE Championship, and he relishes that challenge. In fact, it’s providing him with new motivation after a prolonged period of listlessness. Ngalani, who hails from Cameroon and now lives in Hong Kong, says the bout will most likely occur in the ONE light heavyweight division under a modified rule set—though the pertinent details are still being hashed out. The date of this showdown is also a moving target amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Cole Shelton - April 29, 2020

Johny Hendricks says the door is still open for a return to the UFC. Hendricks is a former UFC welterweight champion who last fought in 2017 where he suffered a TKO loss to Paulo Costa. He announced his retirement from MMA in June of 2018 but had one bare-knuckle fight after.

Cole Shelton - April 28, 2020

Douglas Lima was disappointed he won’t get the chance to become a champ-champ on May 9. Lima, who is the current Bellator welterweight title was moving up in weight to battle Gegard Mousasi for the vacant middleweight strap. Yet, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which was disappointing news for Lima.

Alfredo Zullino - April 24, 2020

Being signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship is the dream of many fighters around the world. Modestas Bukauskas recently achieve that dream. Back in January, Bukauskas’ management announced his signing with the UFC. Since then, though, the Brit hasn’t been able to step foot into the Octagon.