Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Marcin Tybura eyes KO win over Walt Harris at UFC Vegas 28 to earn top-five opponent
Cole Shelton - June 2, 2021
Marcin Tybura had a phenomenal 2020 and is looking to build off of that on Saturday. After being TKO’d by Shamil Abdurakhimov in April of 2019, he returned in September of that year and was knocked out in just 59 seconds by Augusto Sakai. After the losses, he had a new mindset for fighting and went 4-0 in 2020 with wins over Sergey Spivak, Maxim Grishin, Ben Rothwell, and a TKO win over Greg Hardy.
Miesha Tate talks motherly motivation, 'I really want to make my kids proud'
Drake Riggs - June 1, 2021
Miesha Tate is headed back into the Octagon. A lot has changed since “Cupcake’s” initial run in the sport. For her personally, she’s now a mother of two.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik eager to right the wrong of his last fight with a "great performance" against Augusto Sakai
Cole Shelton - June 1, 2021
Jairzinho Rozenstruik wasn’t happy with the way he fought his last fight. In the main event of UFC Vegas 20, Rozenstruik suffered a decision loss to Ciryl Gane in a very lackluster fight. Both men rarely threw and for Rozenstruik he says he was disappointed in his performance and is glad to be making a quick turnaround.
Sean Woodson expects to finish Youssef Zalal to "prove I belong" in the UFC: "I have a chip on my shoulder"
Cole Shelton - May 31, 2021
Sean Woodson is looking to remind UFC fans that he’s a problem in the featherweight division. Woodson came into the UFC at 6-0 after winning a flying knee KO over Terrance McKinney on the Contender Series. In his debut, he earned a decision win over Kyle Bochniak. In his second appearance, he took on short-notice replacement Julian Erosa. Early on, he had success but in the third round he lost by submission for his first career loss. Although it was disappointing, he says it was a good learning experience.
Jared Vanderaa happy with "fun ass fight" against Justin Tafa, in no rush to make move up heavyweight ranks
Cole Shelton - May 27, 2021
Jared Vanderaa was excited when he found out he was fighting Justin Tafa and the scrap lived up to his expectations. Although Vanderaa knew he had the grappling advantage, he wanted to get into a striking fight with Tafa to show off his striking. However, in the fight, Vanderaa suffered a cut in his hairline, but when he saw all the blood rushing down him, he was worried the cut would stop the fight.
Danny Sabatello expects bantamweights to duck him after his "dominant" win over Brett Johns
Cole Shelton - May 25, 2021
Danny Sabatello knew he would be able to beat Brett Johns and would do it with ease. At Bellator 259, Sabatello – a former Contender Series winner – stepped up on just five days’ notice to face Johns. Entering the fight, Sabatello told BJPENN.com he expected to dominate the fight and he believes he did just that.
Justin Tafa says he’s ‘coming for war’ against Jared Vanderaa at UFC Vegas 27
Andrew Whitelaw - May 22, 2021
Justin Tafa hasn’t been in the UFC long, but his no-nonsense style means he’s fast becoming a fan favourite. The 27-year-old lost a split decision to Carlos Felipe in his last outing. It was an action-packed affair and one which he felt should have gone his way.
Christos Giagos blasts commentary team for being bias towards Sean Soriano, doubles down on Donald Cerrone callout
Cole Shelton - May 21, 2021
Christos Giagos wasn’t a fan of the UFC 262 commentary team. Opening up the card, Giagos fought short-notice replacement, Sean Soriano. Soriano is one of Michael Chandler’s main training partners. Throughout the fight, Giagos believes the commentary team was biased towards his opponent and they weren’t mentioning anything he was doing well.
Yancy Medeiros knows UFC Vegas 27 fight is do-or-die for his UFC career, wants Michael Johnson next
Cole Shelton - May 20, 2021
Yancy Medeiros is returning to the Octagon on Saturday for the first time in over a year. Medeiros enters his UFC Vegas 27 scrap against Damir Hadzovic on a three-fight losing streak and on the last fight of his contract. After the Hawaiian lost to Lando Vannata, he realized he needed to make some changes to his team and that is exactly what he did.
Pro fighters make their picks for Rob Font vs. Cody Garbrandt
Cole Shelton - May 20, 2021
In the main event of UFC Vegas 27, Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt are set for a pivotal bantamweight fight. It’s an evenly matched fight and the odds have it as a pure pick’em as both men are -110. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe Cody Garbrandt gets the job done by KO to extend his winning streak to two.
Darrion Caldwell expects to finish Leandro Higo again, plans to reclaim bantamweight title later this year
Cole Shelton - May 19, 2021
Darrion Caldwell is focused on reclaiming his bantamweight title. After Caldwell lost back-to-back fights to Kyoji Horiguchi for the RIZIN title and to lose his Bellator belt, he moved up to featherweight to take part in the grand prix. He beat Henry Corrales by decision and then submitted Adam Borics, but lost in the semis to AJ McKee.
Edson Barboza still "not sure what happened" to Shane Burgos, wants main event against top-five opponent
Cole Shelton - May 19, 2021
Edson Barboza still isn’t sure how he got the KO win over Shane Burgos at UFC 262. Opening up the main card, Barboza and Burgos were engaged in a back-and-forth fight. Both men were landing heavy shots. After the second round, many thought it would come down to the final round, but the Brazilian was dealing with a cut on his shin from all the kicks he landed.
Rob Font plans to frustrate Cody Garbrandt and force him to make a mistake en route to a KO win
Cole Shelton - May 18, 2021
Rob Font is ecstatic to be headlining his first UFC show. In the main event of UFC Vegas 27 on Saturday night, Font is set to take on former UFC bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt. After Font knocked out Marlon Moraes in the first round in December, he called out TJ Dillashaw and Jose Aldo, as he thought Garbrandt would be going down to flyweight. But, when he was offered this fight, it was an immediate yes for the New England Cartel member.
After being "disrespected" by Dana White, Danny Sabatello expects to "maul" Brett Johns and "make him quit"
Cole Shelton - May 17, 2021
Danny Sabatello thought he was for sure going to get a UFC contract after his dominant performance over Taylor Moore on the Contender Series in November. Sabatello landed three of four takedowns and had 14:06 of ground control and won the fight 30-24, 30-25, 30-26. It was a dominant performance and for the now 28-year-old he thought he was a shoo-in for the contract.
Austin Vanderford expects to drag Fabian Edwards into the "deep waters," believes a win puts him into title contention
Cole Shelton - May 17, 2021
Austin Vanderford is eager to share the cage with Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259 on Friday night. Vanderford is 10-0 and coming off a decision win over Vinicius de Jesus in his third fight in Bellator. Vanderford is currently the third-ranked middleweight while Edwards is ranked fourth. Although they are both up and comers in the division, Vanderford believes the fight makes sense now.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk recalls almost quitting MMA, 'There was no money'
Drake Riggs - May 14, 2021
In some parallel universe, Joanna Jedrzejczyk never goes on the historic run that she did as UFC strawweight champion from 2015 to 2017. But it very well could have been this universe. Every UFC fighter’s last fight before joining the biggest stage in the sport holds significance in their career. For Jedrzejczyk, if she never got her opportunity to shine against Rosi Sexton in London, that could have been it for her time as a competitor.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk targets late August return, 'not interested' in Marina Rodriguez
Drake Riggs - May 13, 2021
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is excited to get back in the Octagon now that crowds are a reality once again. The UFC brought back full capacity events for UFC 261 on April 24. In the card’s co-main event, MMA fans around the globe saw the strawweight title once held by Jedrzejczyk (16-4) change hands once again.
Jack Hermansson expects to be able to finish Edmen Shahbazyan on the ground, but ready to strike with him
Cole Shelton - May 13, 2021
Jack Hermansson is eager to return to the Octagon at UFC Vegas 27 on May 22. Hermansson is coming off a decision loss to Marvin Vettori, in a fight Hermansson was scheduled to face Darren Till and then Kevin Holland. Early on in the fight, the Swede broke his orbital which he says impacted him greatly in the fight.