Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - August 29, 2019

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos is currently ranked 14th in the UFC welterweight division and is on a seven-fight winning streak. Despite his success, the Brazilian continues to be matched up with unranked opponents. Yet dos Santos doesn’t care if he fights ranked or unranked opponents. Instead, he is just focused on fighting.

Cole Shelton - August 29, 2019

UFC strawweight champ Jessica Andrade is days out from her first title defense, as she’s set to take on Weili Zhang in the main event of UFC Shenzhen this Saturday. Although Zhang is a tough opponent, the Brazilian champ is already eyeing her next fight, and she wants it to be a super fight. She has been talking about fighting Valentina Shevchenko and now plans on calling her out if she wins on Saturday.

Tom Taylor - August 28, 2019

Brazilian welterweight contender Elizeu Dos Santos has won his last seven fights. China’s Li Jingliang plans to put an end that win-streak. The pair will meet in the co-main event of the under-the-radar UFC Shenzhen card this Saturday in Jingliang’s native China. This is a big opportunity for the Chinese fighter nicknamed “The Leech”, as dos Santos currently holds the No. 14 spot in the UFC welterweight rankings. Jingliang has been seeking a ranked opponent for some time, and was very excited when the opportunity was finally offered.

Cole Shelton - August 28, 2019

Jessica Andrade is set for her first title defense in the main event of UFC Shenzhen. She will be taking on Weili Zhang in the challenger’s home country of China. For Andrade, defending her belt in hostile territory will be a new experience, but fighting in someone else’s backyard will not be.

Tom Taylor - August 28, 2019

There has never been a Chinese champion in the UFC. Hebei’s Weili Zhang is looking to change that. This Saturday, when the UFC touches down in Shenzhen, China, the streaking strawweight contender will battle Brazilian champion Jessica Andrade for divisional gold. Zhang can imagine no outcome more perfect than becoming the UFC’s first Chinese champion in front of an arena-full of Chinese fans, and believes a victory will inspire people all over her country.

Cole Shelton - August 28, 2019

This weekend, the Octagon heads to Shenzhen, China. In the card’s main event, Jessica Andrade will put her strawweight title on the line against China’s Weili Zhang. Heading into the fight, the champion is a -160 favorite, while the challenger from China is a +130 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The majority are leaning towards Jessica Andrade’s power being too much for Weili Zhang.

Cole Shelton - August 27, 2019

Sodiq Yusuff had a big opportunity at UFC 241. He fought on the main card and he knew it was his chance to make his a household name. Ultimately, Yusuff did just that as he knocked out his opponent Gabriel Benitez in the first round. For the 26-year-old, the fight went exactly as he and his team thought it would.

Cole Shelton - August 26, 2019

If you watched The Ultimate Fighter 28 you would know the two winners were Juan Espino and Macy Chiasson. Since winning it, Chiasson has fought twice and has her third fight booked. Juan Espino, meanwhile, has still yet to fight. He beat Justin Frazier at The Ultimate Fighter 28 Finale in November of 2018 and has been out of action since. There has been no news on when he will fight, and no details on whether he was hurt or on what was keeping him out of the Octagon.

Cole Shelton - August 23, 2019

Paige VanZant has not fought since January of this year, when she submitted Rachael Ostovich. Since then, she has been sidelined due to yet another broken arm. For her husband Austin Vanderford, it has been hard to see her be on the shelf once again. “The hardest part of our relationship has been her arm. It is hard to relate it to anything else. Really, it just takes away from what she wants to do,” Vanderford told BJEPNN.com. “She has her foot in a lot of things and is very smart and has built her brand to go further than fighting. But, her fighting is the most important thing. If anything has proven that is this injury. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t get to see that. She is a fighter first and foremost.”

Cole Shelton - August 23, 2019

Switzerland’s Volkan Oezdemir has wanted to run it back with Dominick Reyes ever since his controversial loss to the American earlier this year. But Reyes is set to take on Chris Weidman, so the fight isn’t possible right now. For that reason, Oezdemir is turning his attention to Jan Blachowicz.

Mike Pendleton - August 22, 2019

Mike Kimbel is days away from another fight with Bellator MMA, and another fight in his home state of Connecticut, as he’s set to battle Chris Disonell at Bellator 225 this Saturday. Kimbel is currently 3-1 as a professional, with all of his fights occurring in the Bellator cage. His most recent fight was a split decision victory over Sebastian Ruiz inside New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Getting the opportunity to fight inside this world famous arena was a bucket list item for Kimbel. He’s glad to have checked it off his list, but he wasn’t happy with the split decision ruling.

Cole Shelton - August 22, 2019

Austin Vanderford will return to the cage at Bellator 225 and will take on Joseph Creer. Both men are undefeated. When he makes the walk to the cage he will be fighting at middleweight for the first time. He decided to move up a division for a simple reason, but also notes a return to welterweight is not impossible.

Cole Shelton - August 21, 2019

Anthony Smith and Luke Rockhold have had a heated rivalry for quite some time. Ever since “Lionheart” moved up from the middleweight division and began having success at light heavyweight, the former middleweight champion Rockhold has been critical of him. Yet when Rockhold made his own debut at 205-pounds, he was knocked out in the second round by Jan Blachowicz. For Anthony Smith, this was good to see as it forced Rockhold eat his words. But, even after Rockhold’s failed light heavyweight debut, Smith isn’t done trash-talking his rival.

Cole Shelton - August 19, 2019

Anthony Smith is confident that, if he were healthy, he could be getting a rematch against Jon Jones immediately. The two fought back at UFC 235. Jones won the fight by unanimous decision. Since then, “Lionheart” has submitted Alexander Gustafsson, while “Bones” beat Thiago Santos.

Cole Shelton - August 16, 2019

After putting on a dominating performance against Robbie Lawler at UFC Newark, the expectation is that Colby Covington now fights Kamaru Usman for the welterweight belt. Of course, “Chaos” has been promised a title shot before. So, he isn’t holding out hope for it, especially after what happened after his fight with Lawler.

Cole Shelton - August 15, 2019

Kinektic grappling is starting off with a bang. On Aug. 16, they will have their first event, which is a team grappling competition. The promotion is co-founded by Urijah Faber and features the likes of MMA stars Chael Sonnen, Chris Lytle, and Anthony Smith. For Smith, when the Kinektic team asked him to be a part of it, he was extremely excited about it.

Mike Heck - August 15, 2019

Cory Sandhagen is on the short list of fighters in the bantamweight title discussion and he believes he can get right to the top of that list Saturday night. Sandhagen will square off against perennial contender Raphael Assuncao at UFC 241. The event takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. with the 135-pound clash taking place during the ESPN prelims.

Cole Shelton - August 15, 2019

Ian Heinisch expects a dominating performance at UFC 241 when he takes on Derek Brunson. The 31-year-old called for this fight and for a good reason. He doesn’t believe Brunson is on his level and plans on exploiting him come Saturday.