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Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva
Mayra Bueno Silva

UFC 297 | Pro fighters make their picks for Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva title fight

Cole Shelton - January 18, 2024

In the co-main event of UFC 297 in Toronto on Saturday, the vacant women’s bantamweight title is up for grabs as Raquel Pennington takes on Mayra Bueno Silva. Heading into the fight, Pennington is a +136 underdog while the Brazilian is a -174 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to some pro fighters to make their picks for the title fight at UFC 297. The majority of the pros believe Pennington will leave Toronto as the bantamweight champ, and likely doing so by decision.

Gillian Robertson
Gillian Robertson

Gillian Robertson trained with UFC 297 opponent Polyana Viana in the past, eyes TKO victory in front of hometown crowd

Cole Shelton - January 18, 2024

Gillian Robertson is eager to fight back home in Canada. Robertson hasn’t fought in Canada since July of 2019 at UFC 240, where she scored a first round TKO victory over Sarah Frota. After missing out on the UFC’s return to Vancouver last June, Robertson was ecstatic when she found out she’d be on UFC 297 in Toronto.

Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis
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UFC 297 | Pro fighters make their picks for Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis title fight

Cole Shelton - January 17, 2024

In the main event of UFC 297 in Toronto on Saturday, the middleweight title is up for grabs as Sean Strickland looks to defend his belt for the first time against Dricus Du Plessis. Heading into the fight, Strickland is a small -138 favorite while the South African is a +108 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the title fight at UFC 297. The pros believe Strickland will get it done, as they think the American can edge out a decision win, as his pressure will be too much for Du Plessis to deal with.

Bruce Buffer
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Bruce Buffer very excited "to perform for the Canadians" at UFC 297: "The fans are rabid and they love the UFC"

Cole Shelton - January 16, 2024

Bruce Buffer was excited to see the UFC returning to Canada in 2024, and Toronto for that matter. Buffer has been to plenty of countries, where he has introduced several fighters inside of the Octagon. Buffer knows no matter where the UFC goes the crowd is always loud and electric, but the voice of the UFC says Canada, and especially Toronto, is always one of the rowdiest and loudest crowds of the year.

Magomed Ankalaev, Johnny Walker
Johnny Walker

Pro fighters make their picks for Magomed Ankalaev vs. Johnny Walker 2

Cole Shelton - January 11, 2024

In the first event of 2024, top-10 light heavyweights collide as Magomed Ankalaev rematches Johnny Walker in the main event of UFC Vegas 84. Heading into the fight, Ankalaev is a sizeable -590 favorite while the Brazilian is a +390 underdog on FanDuel. The two fought back at UFC 294 in October in Abu Dhabi, but the fight ended in a No Contest in the first round as Ankalaev landed an illegal knee to Walker and the doctor stopped the scrap. Ahead of their rematch, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the fight at UFC Vegas 84. The pros believe Ankalaev’s grappling will be the difference and will lead to the win over Walker.

Mario Bautista
UFC

Mario Bautista confident he can "put out" Ricky Simon at UFC Vegas 84 to send a "statement" to the bantamweight division

Cole Shelton - January 11, 2024

Mario Bautista is excited to finally get his chance to fight a ranked opponent. Bautista is coming off a decision win over Da’Mon Blackshear in August, in a fight where he was originally supposed to take on Cody Garbrandt, but the former bantamweight champion was forced out of the bout due to an injury. After the win over Blackshear, Bautista wanted a ranked opponent next, and he got his wish as he will take on Ricky Simon at UFC Vegas 84.

Jim Miller
Jim Miller

Jim Miller expects to "overwhelm" Gabriel Benitez at UFC Vegas 84, has an "inclination" of who he will fight at UFC 300

Cole Shelton - January 9, 2024

Jim Miller always wanted to fight one more time before UFC 300. For years, Miller has been vocal that he wants to compete at UFC 300, given he has competed at both UFC 100 and 200. However, many were surprised when Miller was booked to fight at UFC Vegas 84 on Jan. 13, exactly three months before the historic event.

Louis Smolka
Louis Smolka

Louis Smolka entering tech world as fighting future in doubt after UFC release: "I went back to school"

Cole Shelton - January 8, 2024

Louis Smolka has done a complete 180 with his career. After Smolka suffered a KO loss to Davey Grant at UFC Vegas 54 in May of 2022, which was his second straight loss, he was released from the UFC. With Smolka having been cut from the promotion for the second time, the Hawaiian wasn’t sure what his future held, so he decided to go back to school with an eye toward a tech job.

Paddy Pimblett and Tony Ferguson
Paddy Pimblett

UFC 296 | Pro fighters make their picks for Paddy Pimblett vs. Tony Ferguson

Cole Shelton - December 14, 2023

On the main card of UFC 296, an intriguing lightweight bout goes down as Paddy Pimblett takes on Tony Ferguson. Heading into the fight, Pimblett is a sizeable -330 favorite while ‘El Cucuy’ is a +240 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the title fight at UFC 296. Many of the pros made it clear they are rooting for Ferguson to turn back the clock to get the win, but don’t think it will happen.

Dustin Jacoby
Dustin Jacoby

Dustin Jacoby expecting a "battle" against Alonzo Menifield at UFC 296, believes stars are aligning for rematch against Alex Pereira

Cole Shelton - December 13, 2023

Dustin Jacoby will be getting a chance to end 2023 on a high note. Jacoby snapped his two-fight losing streak back in August with a first-round TKO over Kennedy Nzechukwu. After the win, Jacoby was hoping to fight one more time this year, and when he got the call to face Alonzo Menifield at UFC 296 he jumped at the chance.

Brian Kelleher
Cody Garbrandt

Brian Kelleher confident he can bring out the "old" Cody Garbrandt in a "firefight" at UFC 296: "He's an emotional guy"

Cole Shelton - December 13, 2023

Brian Kelleher is relieved to finally make the walk to the Octagon again. Kelleher hasn’t fought since June of 2022 when he suffered a submission loss to Mario Bautista. He was supposed to face Journey Newson in April of this year, but was removed from the scrap on fight week as he had a neck issue that needed to be fixed.

Ian Machado Garry
Ian Garry

Ian Machado Garry plans to do "something pretty spectacular" against Vicente Luque at UFC 296: "100 percent”

Cole Shelton - December 12, 2023

Ian Machado Garry is ready to make a statement at UFC 296 on Saturday. Garry is set to take on Vicente Luque in a very intriguing welterweight fight. The two are former teammates at Kill Cliff and have trained and sparred with one another in the past. However, despite their history, he had no hesitation to take the fight as the Irishman had changed his camp to Chute Box.

Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka
Jan Blachowicz

Jan Blachowicz calls for Jiri Prochazka headliner in Europe after he returns from shoulder surgery

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2023

Jan Blachowicz is hopeful to face Jiri Prochazka in the main event of a Fight Night card in Europe. Blachowicz is set for shoulder surgery, hopefully in the next week or two, he revealed to BJPENN.com on Friday. The plan is for the Pole to return in the summer, once he does the rehab and gets a training camp in.

Vladimir Lengal
Exclusive MMA Interviews

OKTAGON's Vladimir Lengal compares boxing vs. MMA: "It really is a different sport"

Zain Bando - December 8, 2023

Vladimir Lengal has had an interesting combat sports career thus far. Before transitioning to MMA entirely in February, the undefeated Lengal (12-0, 6-0 MMA) took up boxing and became a Czech world champion, further showcasing his skills as a prospect to look out for moving forward.

Jan Blachowicz
Jan Blachowicz

Jan Blachowicz details shoulder injury, lays out timeframe for return

Cole Shelton - December 8, 2023

Jan Blachowicz says his shoulder injury was something that has hindered him for years now. On Thursday it was revealed that Blachowicz was forced out of his UFC 297 rematch against Aleksandar Rakic due to him needing shoulder surgery. Speaking exclusively to BJPENN.com on Friday afternoon, Blachowicz revealed the injury is something he has been dealing with for years but finally gave out, which forced him to need the surgery.

Drakkar Klose
Exclusive MMA Interviews

Drakkar Klose calls for "the easiest fight in the UFC" Mark Madsen at UFC 299 after slam KO win

Cole Shelton - December 6, 2023

Drakkar Klose was relieved to finally make the walk to the Octagon again. Klose was returning to action for the first time since tearing his ACL and when he squared off with Joe Solecki at UFC Austin. Heading into the fight, he said he wasn’t worried about the ring rust as he had full confidence in his training camp.

Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan
Beneil Dariush

Pro fighters make their picks for Beneil Dariush vs. Arman Tsarukyan

Cole Shelton - November 30, 2023

In the main event of UFC Austin, a battle of top-eight lightweights goes down as Beneil Dariush takes on Arman Tsarukyan. Heading into the fight, Dariush is a sizeable +250 underdog while the Armenian is a -310 favorite. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the fight. The pros slightly lean towards Dariush getting his hand raised at UFC Austin.

Joe Solecki
UFC

Joe Solecki explains the "key" to beating Drakkar Klose at UFC Austin

Cole Shelton - November 30, 2023

Joe Solecki is excited to fight a well-known guy like Drakkar Klose at UFC Austin. After Solecki picked up a submission win back in February, he said he likely needed some time off to deal with some nagging injuries and the pending birth of his second child.