Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - February 12, 2020

Devin Clark has yet to get a UFC finish but says that will change at UFC Rio Rancho this weekend. Clark was expected to take on Gadzhimurad Antigulov, but the Dagestani withdrew and Dequan Townsend stepped in who fought not even a month ago at UFC Raleigh. Townsend is a natural middleweight and 0-2 in the UFC. So, Clark knows he will be dangerous as Townsend will be fighting for his UFC job.

Cole Shelton - February 12, 2020

Hector Lombard will finally make his Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship debut this Saturday against David Mundell. The two will headline BKFC 10 in Fort Lauderdale, where Lombard will get the chance to fight in his home state.

Mike Heck - February 12, 2020

UFC 247 was filled with great moments on Saturday night, but it was also mired in controversy when it came to the judging and the scoring of a handful of fights in Houston. One of the fights that many feel was controversial upon completion was the fight between Andrea Lee and Lauren Murphy. The women’s flyweight bout took place during the ESPN preliminary card on Saturday night and was ultimately scored for Murphy via split decision. Judge Patrick Patlin scored the bout 29-28 for Lee. Chris Lee scored it the same for Murphy, while the third judge, Danny Dealejandro, scored it 30-27 for Murphy.

Cole Shelton - February 11, 2020

James Krause had a crazy weekend in Houston, to say the least. The UFC welterweight arrived in Houston on Wednesday to corner Youssef Zalal but on Friday that all changed. He found out Antonio Arroyo was out of his middleweight bout just after weigh-ins and told his manager he would take the fight.

Cole Shelton - February 10, 2020

Jan Blachowicz always wanted to rematch Corey Anderson. The two first fought back at UFC 191 where it was Anderson who used his wrestling to score a unanimous decision win. Now, in the main event of UFC Rio Rancho, they will run it back where the stakes are higher, as the winner is expected to receive the next title shot against Jon Jones.

Cole Shelton - February 7, 2020

Mirsad Bektic believes his Tristar teammate Georges St-Pierre will fight inside the Octagon again. St-Pierre has not fought since he submitted Michael Bisping at UFC 217 to win the middleweight title and become a champion in two divisions. Since that fight, which was his return from a four-year layoff, many have wondered if the Canadian will fight again. He has hinted at a Khabib Nurmagomedov matchup but the UFC wasn’t interested in it.

Cole Shelton - February 7, 2020

For many in the combat sports world, the name Dan Ige was familiar even before the featherweight was in the UFC. He works under Ali Abdelaziz for Dominance MMA and helps Abdelaziz manage top clients like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, and Henry Cejudo. Although that has helped Ige establish a name in MMA, he wants to be known more than a manager. At UFC 247, he has that opportunity as he will take on Mirsad Bektic on the main card where a win should get him ranked.

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2020

Colby Covington believes Jorge Masvidal won’t do a thing when they cross paths at American Top Team. Following Covington’s TKO loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 245 for the welterweight title, he spent time in Oregon and has yet to go back to train at ATT. With “Chaos” not being back in nearly two months since the fight, Jorge Masvidal said that the former interim champion left the gym for good.

Cole Shelton - February 6, 2020

In the main event of UFC 247, Jon Jones is looking to defend his light heavyweight belt once again when he battles Dominick Reyes. Heading into the fight, the champion is a -500 favorite while the undefeated challenger is a +350 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight and the pros are unanimous in this one believing Jones defends his belt.

Cole Shelton - February 4, 2020

Leon Edwards is not a fan of Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal’s altercation at Radio Row during Super Bowl week. The two were doing radio shows to talk about what’s next for them when they saw each other and got into a verbal altercation. Immediately, it went all over social media and UFC president Dana White said he was not a fan of it. For Edwards, he agrees with White and says it makes MMA and the UFC look fake like the WWE.

Cole Shelton - February 4, 2020

Ilir Latifi always wanted to fight Derrick Lewis and now he has gotten his wish. On the main card of UFC 247, Latifi will move up in weight to battle Lewis.

Cole Shelton - February 4, 2020

Mirsad Bektic admits after losing to Josh Emmett in July it was hard for him mentally. Bektic made his return to the Octagon for the first time in over a year after multiple injuries and a canceled fight to Renato Moicano at UFC 231. After the loss, Bektic started to reflect on the past year and admits he was in a dark place.

Natasha Hooper - January 31, 2020

This week on his Weighing In podcast, Josh Thomson announced his official retirement from fighting. “I can say that I’m officially retired,” Thomson began.

Mike Heck - January 31, 2020

While there were two big events in the MMA world on Saturday night — UFC on ESPN+ 24 and Bellator 238 — Montel Jackson may have won the entire weekend before his fight with Felipe Colares even began. Prior to his unanimous decision win over Colares in Raleigh, NC, Jackson walked to the Octagon to a song very few combat sports fans expected to hear: Whitney Houston’s mega-hit song released in November 1992, I Will Always Love You.

Cole Shelton - January 30, 2020

Ryan LaFlare is looking to end his retirement. LaFlare went 7-3 in UFC and headlined a card against Demian Maia and had a notable win over Santiago Ponzinibbio. Yet, he had to end his MMA career after a knockout loss to Anthony Rocco Martin at UFC 229 due to his injuries.

Cole Shelton - January 30, 2020

Kevin Lee has made it clear he is looking to sign two bout agreements at once. Lee is set to headline UFC Brasilia against Charles Oliveira on March 14, yet many expected him to fight Islam Makhachev. After Lee knocked out Gregor Gillespie, he and the Russian went back-and-forth and agreed to fight one another on social media. But, according to “The Motown Phenom” why it isn’t happening next is because Makhachev wanted to wait until June.

Alfredo Zullino - January 28, 2020

Amongst the most hardcore of fight fans, interest is growing in an extremely brutal combat sport: Lethwei. Also called Burmese bare knuckle boxing, Lethwei is far older than other combat sports like MMA, as there are records of matches taking place as far back as the third century in Myanmar. Lethwei, nicknamed “The Art of Nine Limbs” because it includes head-butts, punches, elbows, kicks and knees, is considered one of the most violent sports in the world. Clinches, sweeps, and throws are accepted techniques as well, which makes the sport even more dangerous.

Cole Shelton - January 28, 2020

Sodiq Yusuff is now a perfect 4-0 inside the Octagon, and ranked in the featherweight top-15. At UFC 246, Yusuff competed in the biggest fight of his career when he took on Andre Fili. The Nigerian-American knew it was going to be a tough fight but was confident he would get his hand raised. That is exactly what happened as he edged out a decision victory.