Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - August 30, 2023

Thiago Moises is excited to fight in Paris, France. Moises is coming off a submission win over Melquizael Costa back in January and after the win, he stayed home in Brazil for a few months. With that, he was looking to return in the fall and was excited when he got the call to fight at UFC Paris.

Cole Shelton - August 30, 2023

Kurt Holobaugh has called out Paddy Pimblett following his TUF 31 win. Holobaugh has already had two stints in the UFC as he lost his debut to Steven Siler at UFC 159 in 2013 and was released. He then earned a contract on the Contender Series, but he lost three straight fights to Raoni Barcelos, Shane Burgos, and Thiago Moises and was cut again.

Cole Shelton - August 29, 2023

Ian Machado Garry says Geoff Neal missed his chance to fight him. Garry and Neal were booked to fight at UFC 292 in Boston but just over a week before the fight, ‘Handz of Steel’ was forced out of the bout due to an injury. The Irishman believes Neal was never actually hurt and was simply traumatized by his head games, especially after selling the mugshot t-shirt.

Cole Shelton - August 29, 2023

Volkan Oezdemir will finally make the walk to the Octagon. Oezdemir last fought back in October when he dropped a decision to Nikita Krylov. It was with the first punch he landed the fight that Volkan broke his hand which hindered his performance. Following the fight, he needed to get surgery as he had been dealing with a nagging hand injury for a while.

Cole Shelton - August 28, 2023

Ian Machado Garry has an idea for who will be standing across the Octagon from him in the main event of UFC Dublin. After Garry beat Neil Magny at UFC 292, he called out Stephen Thompson for a fight in November or December, which he believes will happen. Following that, the plan according to UFC president Dana White, is to bring the Octagon back to Ireland for UFC Dublin and have Garry as the main event.

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2023

Ian Machado Garry doesn’t think having so many teammates in the welterweight rankings will make it challenging for him to get fights. Garry trains at Kill Cliff FC alongside the likes of Glbert Burns, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Vicente Luque, as well as Kamaru Usman who trains there part-time. With that, some teammates never want to fight one another, but Garry doesn’t think that will be an issue.

Cole Shelton - August 25, 2023

Ian Machado Garry is confident he will face Stephen Thompson his next time out. Garry is coming off a one-sided dominant decision win over Neil Magny at UFC 292, and after the win, he called out Stephen Thompson. He said he wanted to prove he was the best striker in the world, but after UFC 292, Dana White claimed ‘Wonderboy’ turned down the scrap.

Cole Shelton - August 24, 2023

Mario Bautista had called out Cody Garbrandt for quite some time and finally got his wish. Bautista was booked to fight Garbrandt at UFC 292 in Boston, but a week out, it was revealed the former bantamweight champion was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury. Although he knew he would remain on the card, Mario was happy to learn that a fellow UFC fighter in Da’Mon Blackshear took the scrap.

Cole Shelton - August 23, 2023

Fernie Garcia wasn’t sure if he was going to get another fight. After getting signed off the Contender Series, Garcia has lost both his UFC fights by decision to Journey Newson in his debut and Brady Hiestand. It’s been a disappointing time for Garcia as he knows he hasn’t fought to his ability but is excited to get another chance.

Cole Shelton - August 23, 2023

In the main event of UFC Singapore, a battle of top-10 featherweights goes down as Max Holloway takes on Korean Zombie. Heading into the fight, Holloway is a gigantic -1000 favorite while Chan Sung Jung is a +560 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight. To no surprise, the pros expect Holloway to run through Korean Zombie in the main event of UFC Singapore.

Cole Shelton - August 22, 2023

Parker Porter is looking to get some redemption for his KO loss to Justin Tafa back in February. Porter entered that fight with a ton of confidence but got caught early in the first round and knocked out. Although it was his second straight loss, he rebounded nicely back in May with a first-round TKO win over Braxton Smith, and the hope was to return at UFC 292 in Boston.

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2023

Marcus McGhee is now 2-0 with two Performance of the Night bonuses inside the Octagon. McGhee stepped up on short notice in his debut and beat Journey Newson by submission. He then was booked to fight JP Buys at UFC Vegas 78 where he won by first-round KO.

Cole Shelton - August 17, 2023

Isaac Dulgarian is pleased to prove all the doubters wrong. Dulgarian earned his UFC contract back in February of 2022 but he didn’t make his debut until last Saturday at UFC Vegas 78. He was booked to make his debut in January but had to withdraw due to an injury.

Cole Shelton - August 17, 2023

In the co-main event of UFC 292, the strawweight title is up for grabs as Zhang Weili looks to defend her title against Amanda Lemos. Heading into the scrap, Weili is a sizeable -340 favorite while the Brazilian is a +250 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Zhang Weili will defend her belt at UFC 292 and likely will do so by stoppage in the later rounds.

Cole Shelton - August 16, 2023

Andre Petroski admits it was difficult to withdraw from his fight in Newark back in May. The fight in Newark was pretty much a hometown fight for Petroski, so having to withdraw was tough. However, he says it was required as he had a nagging injury that he needed to let rest and rehab.

Cole Shelton - August 16, 2023

In the main event of UFC 292, the bantamweight title is up for grabs as Aljamain Sterling looks to defend his title against Sean O’Malley. Heading into the scrap, Sterling is a sizeable -265 favorite while ‘Suga’ is a +200 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Sterling defends his belt, with some thinking it comes with ease due to his grappling.

Cole Shelton - August 11, 2023

Francis Marshall knows he has to follow the game plan at UFC Vegas 78. In his last fight, Marshall strayed away from his game plan against William Gomis and lost a close split decision. Marshall says he decided to fight differently than what he and his coaches studied for, and that ended up costing him.

Cole Shelton - August 11, 2023

Billy Quarantillo knew his scrap with Damon Jackson at UFC Nashville would be a dog fight. Quarantillo was coming off a first-round KO loss to Edson Barboza back in April and knew he needed to get back into the win column. Yet, in the first round, Jackson was able to use his wrestling to grind on Quarantillo and win the open five minutes, which is exactly what Billy was expecting.