Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - March 26, 2020

One of the biggest questions in all of MMA is who is the GOAT? Is it someone who had the biggest impact on the sport or the person who won the most? It’s an interesting debate for fighters and fans alike to have at any time. So, with little to no MMA on for the foreseeable future, BJPENN.com reached out to several current and former flyweights to ask who their divisional GOAT is. To no surprise, the majority gave the nod to Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson for his reign atop the UFC flyweight division for years.

Cole Shelton - March 25, 2020

Artem Lobov says he nearly signed with KSW before the COVID-19 pandemic halted negotiations. Lobov is currently a free agent and is looking to sign a non-exclusive contract so he can fight in MMA, boxing, and bare-knuckle fighting. While looking for that, “The Russian Hammer” says KSW was showing a ton of interest and they were getting ready to sign a bout agreement until the pandemic practically shut the world down.

Cole Shelton - March 25, 2020

Gilbert Burns says Tyron Woodley is a liar for saying he accepted the fight against him to save UFC London. Originally, Woodley was set to fight Leon Edwards, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was moved to the States which forced Edwards off the card. Immediately, Burns offered to take the fight, but he says “The Chosen One” turned him down, despite the former champion saying on social media he did accept the bout.

Mike Pendleton - March 25, 2020

After having his fight against Leon Edwards postponed, former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley had other potential opponents willing to step in on short-notice for a fight. Unfortunately, none materialized, as the UFC officially postponed the UFC London event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns both throwing their names into the hat to face Woodley, it seemed as though the former champion has moved on from Leon Edwards and shifted focus to facing Covington as the two have a long-standing rivalry between them.

Mike Pendleton - March 24, 2020

Francis Ngannou entered the UFC in 2015 just five fights into his professional career, and skyrocketed throughout the division due to his performances inside the Octagon. In just over two years upon entering the UFC, Ngannou would go on a six-fight winning streak which would lead him to get a title shot against Stipe Miocic. Although he would come up short in his attempt at UFC gold, Francis Ngannou showed he could still hang with the very best heavyweights in the world. Following his fight against Miocic, Ngannou would drop his second consecutive fight in a lackluster showing against Derrick Lewis, and then change followed shortly thereafter.

Cole Shelton - March 24, 2020

Gilbert Burns knew he would become just the second person ever to finish Demian Maia but he expected to do it by submission. In the co-main event of UFC Brasilia, Burns was battling Maia in a very important welterweight clash. There, he was fighting in front of no fans which he admits was quite hard to deal with.

Tom Taylor - March 24, 2020

ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes hasn’t fought since he settled his long-standing rivalry with Kevin Belingon back in October. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to tighten its grip on the world, it’s increasingly unclear when he will be able to fight again. Ever the picture of composure, Fernandes is keeping his cool in the face of this uncertainty.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2020

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is one of countless sports organizations to be adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic that is currently sweeping the planet, having already been forced to postpone two events. Suffice it to say that it’s been a hectic few weeks for company president David Feldman, who is doing his best to guide the organization through these times of danger and uncertainty.

Cole Shelton - March 18, 2020

Jimi Manuwa is happy that the UFC’s light heavyweight division has “come alive” in recent months. Manuwa has been in the UFC since 2012, where he saw Jon Jones become the promotions light heavyweight champion and defend his belt several times. Jimi believes the division was stagnant when “Bones” first dealt with his USADA and personal issues.

Cole Shelton - March 18, 2020

It appears Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes 2 will not happen next, according to UFC light heavyweight, Sam Alvey, a training partner of Reyes’. Jones and Reyes fought in the main event of UFC 247 where it was “Bones” who won a very close decision. Yet, for many fighters and fans, they thought Reyes did enough and should have been awarded the belt.

Cole Shelton - March 17, 2020

Early on in Raphael Assuncao’s professional career, like most MMA fighters starting out, he was fighting anyone at any time. When a call came in for his fifth pro fight in Duluth, Georgia, the Brazilian accepted it not knowing he would be fighting a soon to be BMF champion, Jorge Masvidal. Assuncao started his career out at lightweight and on April 21, 2005, at Full Throttle 1, the Brazilian was taking on a fellow undefeated fighter in 5-0, Jorge Masvidal.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2020

Jimi Manuwa doesn’t think his retirement is permanent. Following Manuwa’s knockout loss to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Stockholm, which was his fourth in a row, he decided to call it a career. Yet, since then, he has been pondering the idea of ending his retirement and returning to the UFC.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2020

This Saturday’s UFC Brasilia card has been closed to the public, meaning the fighters on the bill will compete in an arena completely devoid of fans. This is an experience a number of ONE Championship fighters are already familiar with. Late last month, amid growing concerns surrounding the coronavirus, ONE Championship elected to convert its ONE: King of the Jungle card to a closed-door event—just as the UFC has decided to do with the UFC Brasilia card.

Cole Shelton - March 12, 2020

In the main event of the closed-door UFC Brasilia card, Kevin Lee is going into hostile territory when he battles Charles Oliveira. Heading into the fight, Lee is a -145 favorite while the Brazilian is a +115 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The slight majority believe Kevin Lee gets it done but many also believe this is a true pick’em fight.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2020

Pedro Carvalho is confident he will become Bellator’s new featherweight champion on Friday. In the main event of Bellator 241, Carvalho is set to battle Patricio Freire in the quarter-finals of the featherweight grand prix. It is a fight “Pitbull” picked during the selection show, which for Carvalho shows it is destined he becomes a world champion on Friday.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2020

Renato Moicano is looking to snap his two-fight losing streak when he moves up to lightweight at UFC Brasilia to battle Damir Hadzovic. In his last fight, he was knocked out by Korean Zombie in the main event of UFC Greenville in just 58 seconds. After a bad weight cut for that one, he realized it was time to move up.

Alfredo Zullino - March 9, 2020

If you are a casual martial arts fan and you watch only UFC events, you probably haven’t heard of French featherweight Morgan Charriere. But what if we tell you that the Frenchman will probably be the next big thing in Europe’s MMA?

Cole Shelton - March 9, 2020

Patricio Freire believes he can cement his legacy during the Bellator featherweight grand prix. “Pitbull” already defeated Juan Archuleta in the opening round and will now take on Pedro Carvalho on Friday in the quarter-finals. It is a fight the Brazilian picked during the selection show but says he did it because of the date, not because of the opponent.