Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - July 4, 2023

In the main event of UFC 290, the featherweight title is up for grabs as Alexander Volkanovski looks to defend his strap against Yair Rodriguez. Heading into the fight, Volkanovski is a massive -400 favorite while the Mexican is a +285 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC 290, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, the pros are unaninmous in picking Volkanovski to defend his belt as they believe he is too good at featherweight.

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.

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.

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.

Cole Shelton - June 21, 2023

Gillian Robertson is making a quick turnaround. Robertson returned at strawweight back in April and submitted Piera Rodriguez in the first round. After the win, she called out Tabatha Ricci and was granted her wish as she will return just two months later at UFC Jacksonville.

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.

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.

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.

Cole Shelton - June 15, 2023

Nikolas Motta believes his UFC Vegas 75 fight against Manuel Torres will be a banger for as long as it lasts. Motta was supposed to face Ignacio Bahamondes at UFC 287 in Miami in April, but he was forced out of the bout which was heartbreaking for him. But, luckily, he was able to return quickly and is set to fight on Saturday at UFC Vegas 75.

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.

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.

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.

Cole Shelton - June 10, 2023

Daniel Pineda had a chance to enter the featherweight rankings last weekend. Not even three months after Pineda submitted Tucker Lutz at the end of March, he took a fight against Alex Caceres at UFC Vegas 74. It was a chance for Pineda to enter the ranks, but in the end, it was Caceres who won by decision.

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.

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.

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.

Cole Shelton - June 7, 2023

In the main event of UFC 289, Amanda Nunes looks to defend her bantamweight title as she takes on Irene Aldana who stepped up after Julianna Pena was forced out of the scrap due to an injury. Heading into the fight, Nunes is a -350 favorite while the Mexican is a +255 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC 289, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, most are picking Nunes to remain the champ, although some think Aldana can make it difficult with her striking.

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.