Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - March 5, 2019

Beneil Dariush went 735 days without a win. It was a rough two years for the 29-year-old. There’s no other way to put it. In that stretch, he suffered losses to Edson Barboza and Alexander Hernandez as well as a draw with Evan Dunham. But finally, this past November, Dariush got his hand raised again inside the Octagon. Dariush had a dominating performance and scored a unanimous decision win over Thiago Moises to snap his winless streak. This was a massive relief for him.

Cole Shelton - March 5, 2019

Blagoy Ivanov is ready to fight again. The Bulgarian heavyweight was considered a big signing for the UFC after he dominated in the now defunct World Series of Fighting organization, capturing heavyweight gold. The UFC had so much confidence in Ivanov that his UFC debut was a main event spot against former champion Junior dos Santos. He ended up losing the fight by unanimous decision, but for Ivanov it was a great learning experience.

Tom Taylor - March 4, 2019

Trying to knock Bryan Barberena out is kind of like trying to chop down a tree with a golf club — it’s possible, but it’s absurdly difficult. Vicente Luque learned this the hard way when he met Barberena at UFC on ESPN 1 last month. Over the course of two and half rounds, Luque bombarded his sturdy foe with the kind of skull-rattling strikes that would have left many other fighters snoozing. But Barberena just kept coming — and firing back.

Cole Shelton - March 4, 2019

Montana De La Rosa is one of the more promising flyweight prospects in the UFC. The 24-year-old is undefeated in the Octagon, not counting exhibition bouts on The Ultimate Fighter. De La Rosa is coming off of an impressive submission win over the formerly undefeated Nadia Kassem at UFC 234. For De La Rosa, that fight went as good as it could have.

Cole Shelton - March 2, 2019

When Khabib Nurmagomedov took on Conor McGregor at UFC 229, it resulted in the biggest pay-per-view in promotional history. The event did well over two million PPV buys, and in the end, Nurmagomedov beat McGregor in the fourth round by submission.

Mike Pendleton - March 1, 2019

Some fans have been surprised by the rise of Anthony Smith, which has carried him to a light heavyweight title showdown with Jon Jones. Yet is coach Mark Montoya isn’t surprised one bit. In fact, this has been the gameplan for Smith since before he made his debut in the light heavyweight division in 2018, after spending 10 years of his career at middleweight.

Mike Pendleton - March 1, 2019

Tecia Torres, who began her career down at American Top Team before moving to Colorado to be with her fiancee Raquel Pennington, found herself back at the Coconut Creek, Florida gym for her UFC 235 training camp. In her return home, Torres’ strength and conditioning coach Phil Daru has seen a difference in the strawweight contender. In an interview with BJPenn.com, Daru talked about the preparation for Torres’ with her UFC 235 matchup against Weili Zhang, Torres’ return to American Top Team, and more.

Drake Riggs - February 28, 2019

UFC 235 takes place on Saturday night live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. And to call the card stacked would be an understatement. The event features several big-time match-ups and fighters ranging from current champions to former ones, whether it be inside or outside of the UFC. There will be big debuts as well as prospects looking to take a leap up the rankings ladder. One of which happens to be Russia’s Zabit Magomedsharipov.

Cole Shelton - February 27, 2019

Reports came out today that Paige VanZant’s initial opponent at UFC 236 in Poliana Botelho was injured and off the card. Replacing her would be Montana De La Rosa who is fresh off of yet another submission win at UFC 234. However, De La Rosa has now confirmed that the fight is not happening and those reports are false. “I guess [UFC matchmaker] Mick [Maynard] wanted to make that fight between me and Paige,” De La Rosa told to BJPENN.com. “But now Paige is claiming her arm is hurt so she can’t fight that Poliana girl or me so we aren’t sure what is happening. As of now, she is hurt so that is not true. I’m just waiting to hear. They do want to make that fight with Paige and I but she is claiming she is hurt. I’m not really sure what is going on now.”

Mike Pendleton - February 27, 2019

UFC 235 will be headlined by a pair of title fights, as Jon Jones defends his title against Anthony Smith, and Tyron Woodley looks to fend off Kamaru Usman. But the fireworks kick off far earlier than that. In the first bout of the UFC 235 main card, former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt returns to the Octagon, where he’ll look to correct a two-fight skid after losing the title to bitter rival TJ Dillashaw. In a rivalry that not only cost him his title, but consumed over a year of his fighting career, Garbrandt finds himself on the road to redemption and glory, as he looks to get back to what made him so special when he became champion.

Cole Shelton - February 27, 2019

Cody Stamann was preparing to fight in March before the UFC even called him. Then, about a month he was offered the chance to fight at UFC 235, where he is set to take on Alejandro Perez. Stamann, who is coming off of a submission loss to Aljamain Sterling in September is confident he was what it takes to beat Perez. Frankly, Stamann doesn’t even think Perez is that good.

Cole Shelton - February 27, 2019

In the co-main event of UFC 235 this Saturday, Tyron Woodley will look to defend his welterweight title against Kamaru Usman. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the title fight. In this case, the majority are leaning toward one fighter.

Cole Shelton - February 25, 2019

Jon Jones is set to defend his light heavyweight championship at UFC 235 this Saturday against Anthony Smith. There is no question Jones is the huge favorite, but that doesn’t mean Jones isn’t worried. After all, this is a fight and anything can happen. Furthermore, Jones claims he took Alexander Gustafsson lightly in their 2013 fight, and nearly lost the title as a result. Thus, Jones and his head coach Mike Winkeljohn know they can’t make that mistake again.

Cole Shelton - February 22, 2019

Liz Carmouche last fought in July of 2018 and wanted to return sooner. She will finally get that chance on Saturday when the UFC makes its debut in the Czech Republic. “I’m ready to fight,” Carmouche said to BJPENN.com. “That’s what I’m looking forward to. I haven’t fought since July and I have been nagging the UFC. I have tried to get booked well before but I’m excited to finally be able to go out there and do what I do.”

Drake Riggs - February 21, 2019

It took the UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov a few months after his massive title defending win over Conor McGregor at UFC 229 to finally receive his fine and suspension from the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC). Of course, the punishments came in response to the post-fight scuffle that ensued following the fight between both Nurmagomedov and McGregor’s camps.

Cole Shelton - February 21, 2019

Diego Ferreira is looking to continue his win streak and work his way up the UFC lightweight rankings. Ferreira is coming off of a second-round TKO win over Kyle Nelson at UFC 231 and will now be taking on Rustam Khabilov at UFC Prague. There is no question Khabilov will be a tougher test for Ferreira, but the Brazilian is confident he has what it takes to end Khabilov’s six-fight winning streak.

Cole Shelton - February 20, 2019

Anderson Silva has his next fight booked as he will return to Brazil to take on Jared Cannonier at UFC 237. “I never thought it was going to happen, I got the call today, but hell, the UFC has already announced it so I assume Silva has agreed to it as well,” Cannonier said to BJPENN.com. “Right now it is just verbally agreed to. I think Silva is going to take it.”

Cole Shelton - February 20, 2019

Jason Knight wasn’t a free agent for long. The former UFC featherweight recently signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) on a one-fight basis to fight Artem Lobov in April. For Knight, this is exactly what he wanted as he wasn’t ready for another MMA fight yet.