Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - November 20, 2018

Colby Covington is known for his trash talk. He is seemingly always calling out several fighters at a time and saying he is the best fighter on the planet. However, Covington hasn’t been able to back that up since his last fight in which he won the interim welterweight title in June against Rafael Dos Anjos. Since then, he was supposed to fight Tyron Woodley but Woodley took on Darren Till instead. Now, it is a waiting game for Covington. The current plan is for ‘Chaos’ to fight Woodley in the early part of 2019.

Cole Shelton - November 19, 2018

Colby Covington vs. Tyron Woodley is a fight MMA fans are looking forward to. Ever since Covington defeated Rafael Dos Anjos in June to win the promotions interim belt, fans and analysts have been debating if “Chaos” is the man to dethrone “The Chosen One”. Fans initially expected to get that answer in the fall of 2018. However, after an injury to Covington, Woodley ended up fighting Darren Till in September. “T-Wood” would cruise to a second-round submission win over Till at UFC 228, once again proving himself as the best welterweight fighter in the world.

Mike Straus - November 19, 2018

Everyone loves a good comeback story and perhaps no MMA fighter has a more inspirational one than “The Crippler” Cris Leben. An original cast member on season one of The Ultimate Fighter, Leben recently came out of retirement to knock out Phil Baroni in the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation’s (WBKFF) inaugural event.

Cole Shelton - November 19, 2018

On The Ultimate Fighter 28 the biggest rivalry of the season is between Juan Espino and Maurice Greene. The two simply hated each other and got into several verbal exchanges in the house. As well, they nearly got into fights at the gym and in the house. Luckily for them, they get to settle their differences inside the Octagon when they fight each other in the semi-finals. The outcome of the fight will be revealed on Wednesday’s episode.

Jason Kindschy - November 18, 2018

Following the announcement that former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight king, Ben Askren had finally joined the UFC roster, speculation began as to who ‘Funky’ would debut against. After immediately taking to social media and calling out the elite of the division, the dust settled and Askren was booked against former UFC champ Robbie Lawler at UFC 233.

Cole Shelton - November 18, 2018

MMA is a constantly growing sport, there is no doubt about it. Take the UFC for a prime example, they just celebrated their 25th anniversary of existence this year, while sports leagues like the MLB and the NHL have been around for over a hundred years. With MMA so young, promotions are learning on the fly. For welterweight legend, Jake Shields, he understands this better than most. He began his professional career in 1999, and since then the whole MMA world has changed before his eyes.

Jason Kindschy - November 18, 2018

The UFC’s 25 Anniversary event in Denver left fight fans with several amazing moments etched into their psyche. One of them of course being the devastating arm bar executed by Colorado native Donald Cerrone against former teammate Mike Perry. Following the submission loss against Cerrone, Perry has been nothing short of gracious. Speaking with BJPENN Radio earlier this week, “Platinum” gave an update on the condition of his arm, and what went wrong in regards to game plan execution.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2018

Isaac Vallie-Flagg, who is a veteran of the Strikeforce and UFC cages, has seen pretty much everything when it comes to mixed martial arts. Last weekend, however, the MMA veteran ventured into a new and unfamiliar realm of combat sports: bare knuckle fighting. Vallie-Flagg did so as part of the inaugural show from upstart bare knuckle promotion World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF), battling Cory Simpson on the undercard of the event.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2018

Earlier this month, in the co-main event of the UFC’s 25th anniversary show in Denver, Colorado, welterweight knockout artist “Platinum” Mike Perry stepped into the cage with long-time contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Unfortunately for Perry and his many fans, this fight didn’t go as planned. Instead, he was forced to tap to a Cowboy armbar in the first round. Heading into this fight, Mike Perry says he spent a lot of time sharpening his kickboxing arsenal with the elite coaches and training partners at JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque. Even though he didn’t get the result he wanted against Cowboy, he says he’s happy with the striking improvements he showed in the fight.

Cole Shelton - November 17, 2018

Jake Shields doesn’t know what his future holds. Shields most recently fought for PFL this year in which he lost to Ray Cooper III back in late October. Since the loss, Jake has been contemplating his future.

Cole Shelton - November 16, 2018

For most competitors on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) the goal is to win the show and earn a UFC contract. However, TUF 28 fighter Leah Letson didn’t have that worry. No matter how she did on the show, she was guaranteed to fight in the UFC. “Mine was a little bit of a different story, just because I am already signed to the UFC. My coaches called me and told ‘hey they are asking if you want to be on TUF, do you want to do it?” So it was more of a decision if I wanted to do it,” Letson said to BJPENN.com. “After I talked to my coaches we thought it was a great opportunity to get my name out there and get some exposure. And, get some ring rust off because it had been a year and a half since I fought. I knew the fights wouldn’t count on my record. I knew no matter how I did on the show I would still have my UFC contract. It was a win-win situation for me. It was a pretty cool opportunity that I got presented that I definitely wanted to take up.”

Cole Shelton - November 16, 2018

Ilima-Lei MacFarlane is quickly emerging as one of Bellator’s biggest stars. The current women’s flyweight champion is set to defend her title for the second time against Valerie Letourneau on December 15.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2018

When fighters get the call to say they are competing on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) it is a dream come true. The news means they are just three victories away from earning a UFC contract, while even the fighters that don’t win sometimes end up in the UFC. However, when fighters compete on The Ultimate Fighter, they are locked away in a house together with the other competitors. It can cause some awkward moments and has even resulted in scraps breaking out inside the house. TUF 28 fighters, Leah Letson and Maurice Greene now know all to well what the infamous TUF house is like.

Cole Shelton - November 14, 2018

Justin Frazier is ready to prove all the doubters wrong. On The Ultimate Fighter 28 (TUF), Justin Frazier left tryouts not knowing if he would be on the show. Ultimately, the UFC saw enough potential in him and decided to put him on the show. However, before competing on TUF, Frazier didn’t take his fighting career seriously. The heavyweight was overweight, and his cardio was not very good. Then, to top it off, Frazier was the last heavyweight taken when coaches Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum picked their teams.

Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a place for fighters to try and reach their goal of fighting in the UFC. The rules are simple, win the season, get a UFC contract. Along with that, the fighters all live in a house together where arguments and drama often take place. But at times, the house has also created friendships. That’s just what happened this season as teammates Maurice Greene and Justin Frazier created a lifelong friendship inside the house. The two immediately bonded at tryouts where both of them believed they would be in the house together.

Mike Straus - November 12, 2018

One of several Roufusport fighters poised to make a run is the ‘Native Psycho’ Jordan Griffin who is ready to take the UFC’s featherweight division by storm. Before Griffin can unleash his brand of violence upon the UFC’s 145-pound division he must first make his debut. He will do so on December 15 as he takes on Dan Ige in his official first UFC bout which takes place in his own backyard of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Cole Shelton - November 11, 2018

Currently, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is in season 28, where heavyweights and women featherweights are competing. The coaches for the season are Kelvin Gastelum and Robert Whittaker. However, one of the more popular people on the show isn’t a coach, rather a competitor, in Maurice Greene. Greene had an unconventional path to MMA. He used to be over 300 pounds and never trained a day of MMA in his life until he decided he wanted to. Since then, Greene lost a lot of weight, and quit his full-time job in hopes of fighting for the UFC. Well, he appears to be close after getting a call to go on TUF.

Tom Taylor - November 10, 2018

On Friday night in Singapore, (Friday morning in North America), in the main event of ONE: HEART OF THE LION, Filipino spitfire Kevin Belingon ended the reign of longstanding ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes with a thrilling split decision victory. For Belingon, who lost his first encounter with the champion Fernandes by first-round submission, this title victory was a huge moment.