Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Grant Dawson reveals he and Damir Ismagulov have sparred and rolled with one another in the past: "Both of us know what the other person is trying to do"
Cole Shelton - June 28, 2023
Grant Dawson is quite familiar with his UFC Vegas 76 opponent Damir Ismagulov. Dawson is coming off a submission win over Mark O. Madsen back in November and since then, he has been trying to get a fight. However, Dawson says multiple top-15 opponents have turned him down which has been frustrating as he wants to be more active.
"Disrespected" Max Griffin plans to teach Michael Morales a lesson at UFC Vegas 76: "I'm going to drown this guy"
Cole Shelton - June 27, 2023
Max Griffin is ready to make a statement. Griffin is coming off a decision win over Tim Means back in October and was hoping to return much sooner. However, he wasn’t offered a fight until he was booked against Michael Morales at UFC Vegas 76. When Griffin got the fight offer, he admits he felt a bit disrespected by the UFC.
Modestas Bukauskas explains why he was "frustrated" with his performance against Zac Pauga at UFC Vegas 75
Cole Shelton - June 22, 2023
Modestas Bukauskas wasn’t happy with the way he fought last Saturday. Bukauskas was taking on Zac Pauga at UFC Vegas 75 and entering the fight, he was confident he would be able to finish him. He thought his striking would be too much for Pauga but that wasn’t the case as the scrap went the distance.
Pro fighters make their picks for Josh Emmett vs. Ilia Topuria
Cole Shelton - June 22, 2023
In the main event of UFC Jacksonville, a battle of ranked featherweights go down as Josh Emmett takes on Ilia Topuria. Heading into the fight, Emmett is a +280 underdog while the Georgian is a -390 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros lean towards Topuria getting the job done as they believe the Georgian is the real deal.
Randy Brown admits he was shocked to get offered Wellington Turman, eyes a "dominant" performance to get a ranked opponent next
Cole Shelton - June 20, 2023
Randy Brown took a chance and fought Jack Della Maddalena back in February and it didn’t go his way. Della Maddalena was someone not many people were eager to fight, but Brown is always up for the challenge, so he took the offer to fight him. Unfortunately, he suffered a first-round stoppage loss, and right away, he was asking the UFC to get him another fight.
Shane Burgos expects "fireworks" against Yamato Nishikawa at PFL 6 as he needs a finish to make playoffs
Cole Shelton - June 20, 2023
Shane Burgos knows his PFL 6 fight against Yamato Nishikawa is do-or-die for his season. Burgos left the UFC last year and proceeded to sign with PFL, competing at lightweight as part of their tournament format. Unfortunately, in his debut, ‘Hurricane’ suffered a decision loss to Olivier Aubin-Mercier. The setback was disappointing, but Burgos is just glad he gets to fight again so soon.
Kyle Nelson believes Canadian sweep at UFC 289 will force the promotion to come back to Canada this year
Cole Shelton - June 17, 2023
Kyle Nelson couldn’t be happier with how UFC 289 played out. The Octagon returned to Canada for the first time since 2019 on June 10th, as the promotion headed to Vancouver for UFC 289. On the card were five Canadians – six if you include Diana Belbita who calls Canada home – but many, including Kyle Nelson were the betting underdogs.
OKTAGON 44: Ronald Paradeiser says Andrew Fisher is the "right test" for him
Zain Bando - June 17, 2023
Lightweight Ronald Paradeiser continued his winning ways against Andrew Fisher Saturday at OKTAGON 44 in Germany, winning via third-round TKO. https://twitter.com/oktagonofficial/status/1670156399299493889?s=46&t=6IucOZrSJ7rj4VnSxXrDpA
Kyle Daukaus reveals several opponents turned him down in first fight since UFC release, hopeful to sign with Bellator or PFL after CFFC 120
Cole Shelton - June 14, 2023
Kyle Daukaus could have still been a UFC fighter if he wanted. Daukaus lost back-to-back fights by knockout to Roman Dolidze and Eryk Anders and after the loss to Anders, he had fought out his contract. With him losing two in a row, Daukaus expected to get released but he was offered a short-notice fight at light heavyweight against Tyson Pedro at UFC 284 in Australia which he turned down. He was subsequently released shortly there after.
Pro fighters make their picks for Marvin Vettori vs. Jared Cannonier
Cole Shelton - June 14, 2023
In the main event of UFC Vegas 75, a battle of top-five middleweights goes down as Marvin Vettori takes on Jared Cannonier. Heading into the fight, Vettori is a -120 favorite while the American is a slight -106 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC Vegas 75, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their predictions for the scrap. The pros lean towards Vettori getting his hand raised, likely by decision in what should be a close, competitive fight.
Modestas Bukauskas says fighting back at the Apex is a chance to "change the script," vows to finish Zac Pauga
Cole Shelton - June 13, 2023
Modestas Bukauskas wanted to fight in London in July but is ready for redemption at the UFC Apex. Bukauskas was re-signed by the UFC earlier this year as he took on Tyson Pedro on short notice at UFC 284. Heading into the fight, the former Cage Warriors champ was a sizeable underdog but shocked many when he pulled off a decision win.
Aspen Ladd plans to "start faster" at PFL 5 believing she needs "a first-round finish" to advance to playoffs
Cole Shelton - June 13, 2023
Aspen Ladd knows the stakes are high for her 2023 PFL 5 fight against Karolina Sobek. Ladd lost her season-opening fight by a majority decision to Olena Kolesnyk. It was a close fight that Ladd really took over late in the bout, so with that, she knows she needs to start faster and be aggressive out of the gate.
Beneil Dariush reveals he asked to fight Arman Tsarykuan after Charles Oliveira pulled out of UFC 288 fight
Cole Shelton - June 9, 2023
Beneil Dariush wanted to remain on the UFC 288 card and had an opponent in mind. Dariush had hoped to face Charles Oliveira at March’s pay-per-view event, but the fight wasn’t booked until UFC 288 in May. However, just under a month out, it was revealed Oliveira had suffered a minor injury and the fight would be pushed back to UFC 289 in June.
Jasmine Jasudavicius "super excited" to fight in Canada, expects UFC 289 scrap against Miranda Maverick to be a "banger"
Cole Shelton - June 8, 2023
Jasmine Jasudavicius is getting the chance to fight in Canada for the first time in the UFC. Jasudavicius is set for her fourth fight inside of the Octagon at this Saturday’s event in Vancouver. She has gone 2-1 in the UFC and is coming off a victory over Gabriella Fernandes. After that win, Jasudavicius heard the UFC was coming back to Canada and she knew she had to be on the card.
UFC 289 | Pro fighters make their picks for Charles Oliveira vs. Beneil Dariush
Cole Shelton - June 8, 2023
In the co-main event of UFC 289, Charles Oliveira looks to return to the win column as he takes on Beneil Dariush in a potential title eliminator. Heading into the fight, Oliveira is a +120 underdog while the fourth-ranked lightweight is a -154 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC 289, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their predictions for the scrap. The pros actually lean towards the underdog in Oliveira getting his hand raised over Dariush.
Kyle Nelson ecstatic to be fighting back home in Canada, vows to KO Blake Bilder at UFC 289 and hand him his first career loss
Cole Shelton - June 7, 2023
Kyle Nelson gets to fight in his home country of Canada once again. Nelson made his UFC debut at UFC 231 in Toronto on short notice against Diego Ferreira. Since then, he hasn’t fought back in Canada – in large part due to the promotion not having an event in the country since 2019 – so he’s eager to get the chance to fight in his home Nation again.
Dan Ige expects to have a "short, quick, easy night" against Nate Landwehr at UFC 289
Cole Shelton - June 6, 2023
Dan Ige is fine with fighting another unranked opponent. Ige snapped his three-fight losing skid back in January with a KO win over Damon Jackson and will now face Nate Landwehr at UFC 289. After Ige’s win, he says he wanted to return in June and in front of fans, which is exactly what he got.
Beneil Dariush says he has "no problem taking it to the ground" with Charles Oliveira at UFC 289: "Kill or be killed"
Cole Shelton - June 6, 2023
Beneil Dariush is ready to just fight. Dariush was hoping to return in March against Charles Oliveira, but the fight didn’t get booked until May. However, after the Brazilian suffered a minor injury, the fight was pushed back until UFC 289 in June which was frustrating for Dariush.