Exclusive MMA Interviews News
UFC 289 | Pro fighters make their picks for Amanda Nunes vs. Irene Aldana title fight
Cole Shelton - June 7, 2023
In the main event of UFC 289, Amanda Nunes looks to defend her bantamweight title as she takes on Irene Aldana who stepped up after Julianna Pena was forced out of the scrap due to an injury. Heading into the fight, Nunes is a -350 favorite while the Mexican is a +255 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC 289, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, most are picking Nunes to remain the champ, although some think Aldana can make it difficult with her striking.
Dan Ige expects to have a "short, quick, easy night" against Nate Landwehr at UFC 289
Cole Shelton - June 6, 2023
Dan Ige is fine with fighting another unranked opponent. Ige snapped his three-fight losing skid back in January with a KO win over Damon Jackson and will now face Nate Landwehr at UFC 289. After Ige’s win, he says he wanted to return in June and in front of fans, which is exactly what he got.
Beneil Dariush says he has "no problem taking it to the ground" with Charles Oliveira at UFC 289: "Kill or be killed"
Cole Shelton - June 6, 2023
Beneil Dariush is ready to just fight. Dariush was hoping to return in March against Charles Oliveira, but the fight didn’t get booked until May. However, after the Brazilian suffered a minor injury, the fight was pushed back until UFC 289 in June which was frustrating for Dariush.
Randy Couture shares the favorite memory from his legendary MMA career
Cole Shelton - June 3, 2023
Randy Couture is the former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion and has tons of memories from his career, yet one stands out from the rest. In Couture’s career, he was one of the biggest stars and fought the who’s who of his time from Chuck Liddell to Tito Ortiz, to Brock Lesnar, and Vitor Belfort. Although fighting the best was what everyone did, Couture says he is happy he never shielded away from any challenge.
Randy Couture hopes the PFL doesn't "protect" Jake Paul when he eventually makes his MMA debut
Cole Shelton - June 1, 2023
Randy Couture is hoping that when Jake Paul does compete in MMA it won’t just be a walkover fight for him. Paul surprised many when he signed with the PFL as an ambassador and said he would fight in MMA down the line. At this moment, ‘The Problem Child’ is still focused on boxing, as he is set to face Nate Diaz on August 5.
Jim Miller admits he is surprised that Jared Gordon accepted a fight with him at UFC Vegas 74 after being knocked out in April
Cole Shelton - May 31, 2023
Jim Miller says he was close to not fighting at UFC Vegas 74. Miller was originally slated to face L’udovit Klein at Saturday’s event, but the Slovak was forced out of the contest due to an injury. Jim was then offered a couple of different opponents, but nothing came to fruition until Jared Gordon accepted the scrap. Had Gordon not taken it, Miller says he likely would have just delayed the Klein fight.
Randy Couture reacts after Dana White claims Francis Ngannou's PFL deal makes no sense: "I just turned it off"
Cole Shelton - May 31, 2023
PFL commentator and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture didn’t care what Dana White had to say after Francis Ngannou signed with the PFL. Following UFC Vegas 73, White was asked about Ngannou’s deal when he claimed he didn’t know much about it, but then went on a rant explaining why it doesn’t make sense.
Randy Couture believes Francis Ngannou signing with PFL makes them the clear number two promotion
Cole Shelton - May 30, 2023
UFC Hall of Famer and current PFL commentator, Randy Couture believes the PFL is the clear number two promotion after signing Francis Ngannou. After Ngannou fought out his UFC deal, he made it clear he wanted to box but also wanted to continue his MMA career. After months of negotiating, Ngannou signed with the Professional Fighters League, which was a huge acquisition for the promotion. With that, Couture says this is just the first step in becoming the biggest MMA promotion.
Joe Pyfer reveals he may need surgery, still hopeful to rematch Dustin Stoltzfus next: "It's personal for me"
Cole Shelton - May 25, 2023
Joe Pyfer isn’t sure when he will be able to fight again. Pyfer is set to grapple Gerald Meerschaert – who he knocked out at UFC 287 – this Saturday night. However, he says he is using that grappling match as a chance to see if he needs surgery on his injury or if he can fight through it.
Jimmie Rivera says four opponents - including Chad Mendes - turned him down in BKFC, expects to fight for the belt next time out
Cole Shelton - May 24, 2023
Jimmie Rivera finally got his first win in BKFC. Rivera made his BKFC debut last June against Howard Davis and they fought to a draw. Since then, he has been campaigning for a fight but he says numerous fighters turned him down, including Chad Mendes, which was frustrating for Rivera as he wanted to be more active than this.
Joe Pyfer details "inspirational" documentary on his story from being abused as a kid to making the UFC
Cole Shelton - May 23, 2023
Joe Pyfer never thought he would have a documentary made about his life. Pyfer grew up in a troubled home as he dealt not only with poverty but also he and four sisters being abused by his father. During his childhood, Pyfer had run away from home numerous times and only his close friends knew how bad his childhood truly was, including Chandler Henry who went on to become a film director.
OKTAGON MMA's Miroslav Broz plans to 'not leave anything to the judges' Saturday night
Zain Bando - May 20, 2023
Miroslav Broz comes into his welterweight (turned catchweight) bout with Robert Pukač having nothing to lose and everything to gain. Entering Saturday night, the 34-year-old Czech Republican native re-upped his contract while winning six of his last seven (with one draw) and is looking to continue his winning streak as part of OKTAGON 43’s main card, which is headlined by a highly anticipated middleweight rematch between promotional champion Patrik Kincl and Karlos Vémola.
Bryan Battle says Ian Garry will avoid fighting him as the Irishman knows he'd get knocked out
Cole Shelton - May 19, 2023
Bryan Battle was pumped when he got the short notice call to fight Gabe Green at UFC Charlotte. Battle was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has repped his home his entire career. With that, he knew fighting at home would be special and he says all fight week felt like a dream.
Loopy Godinez explains why she accepted short notice fight against Emily Ducote at UFC Vegas 73
Cole Shelton - May 18, 2023
Loopy Godinez has taken another short-notice fight. Ever since Godinez signed with the UFC, the Mexican-Canadian has been adamant to take any fight offered to her, even if it is on short notice. Godinez says she is always in the gym anyways, so when she got offered to face Ducote on less than three weeks’ notice she jumped at the chance.
Vanessa Demopoulos confident her "superior" grappling will lead to stoppage win against Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Cole Shelton - May 18, 2023
Vanessa Demopoulos has made a big change to her fighting career ahead of her UFC Vegas 73 fight against Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Demopoulos was forced to leave Fight Ready and in the process of picking a new gym, she went to Factory X in Denver, Colorado, and loved it. She felt a great family atmosphere and she knows training at elevation will only help her game that much more.
Cody Stamann "pretty confident" he will win his appeal to have Douglas Silva de Andrade fight overturned to a No Contest
Cole Shelton - May 17, 2023
Cody Stamann plans to appeal his loss to Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC Charlotte. In the first round with just under two minutes, Stamann got a takedown and as he was on the ground, de Andrade landed an illegal up-kick. The ref then called time to make sure Stamann was okay, but instead of resetting the position or taking a point, the ref stood them up and de Andrade went on to win the first round.
Diego Ferreira admits he thought about retiring due to injures, expects a "war" against Michael Johnson
Cole Shelton - May 16, 2023
Diego Ferreira wasn’t sure if he was going to fight again. Ever since Ferreira suffered a TKO loss to Mateusz Gamrot in December of 2021 – which was his third loss in a row – he has dealt with a plethora of injuries. Those ailments kept him from competing and he admits the time off has been difficult.
Chase Hooper explains why he moved up to lightweight, plans to drag Nick Fiore into "deep waters"
Cole Shelton - May 16, 2023
Chase Hooper is finally making the move up to lightweight. When Hooper entered the UFC he fought at featherweight, but as he started to get older and add size, the weight cut began getting harder and harder. Hooper had to stop eating food a week or two before the fight and instead only had protein shakes, which he says no doubt impacted his performance.