Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Khaos Williams expects to add to his highlight-reel with KO win over Rolando Bedoya at UFC 288: "He's going to get put out, it's that simple"
Cole Shelton - May 2, 2023
Khaos Williams will finally be making the walk to the Octagon again. Williams hasn’t fought since May of last year when he suffered a split decision loss to Randy Brown. After the defeat, Williams says the plan was to take time off and just improve on his game, which is exactly what he did.
Brady Hiestand "not surprised" the ref stopped his fight against Batgerel Danaa, eyes Christian Rodriguez at UFC 289: "He didn't even protest the stoppage"
Cole Shelton - April 28, 2023
Brady Hiestand knew he had the cardio advantage over Batgerel Danaa and thought the longer the fight went, the better it was for him. Entering the fight at UFC Vegas 71, Hiestand was the underdog but was confident he had all the tools to win. In the first round, Hiestand thought he had a lot of success and went to his corner thinking he won the opening round. In the second round, Danaa dropped him and dominated the round, so Hiestand thought it was 1-1 but still wasn’t going to leave it to the judges so knew he needed to get a stoppage.
Luke Rockhold open to UFC return to face "true champion" Israel Adesanya: "I think I present a lot of problems for Izzy"
Cole Shelton - April 28, 2023
Luke Rockhold isn’t ruling out fighting for the UFC again. Rockhold came back last August at UFC 278 after three years away and suffered a decision loss to Paulo Costa. It was his third defeat in a row and after the loss, he said he was retiring from fighting. Yet, after some time thinking, he asked for and received his UFC release, and will now be fighting at BKFC 41 against Mike Perry.
Christos Giagos believes he saved his UFC career with "flawless victory" over Ricky Glenn at UFC Vegas 71
Cole Shelton - April 27, 2023
Christos Giagos saved his job in a big way on Saturday night. Giagos entered his UFC Vegas 71 fight against Ricky Glenn on a two-fight losing skid and figured he was fighting for his job. He has been cut from the UFC before and even though he was the betting underdog, he had a ton of confidence as he thought he could catch Glenn with a big shot, but admits he was surprised it happened so soon.
Cody Brundage admits he was hesitant to accept Rodolfo Vieira fight again but is confident he'll TKO him at UFC Vegas 72: "I have more ways to win than Rodolfo does"
Cole Shelton - April 26, 2023
Cody Brundage wasn’t sure if he should accept a fight with Rodolfo Vieira again. Brundage and Vieira were supposed to fight last November, but just before Brundage was supposed to fly to Las Vegas the Brazilian pulled out with an injury. It was disappointing turn of events for Brundage, but he ended up taking a short-notice fight against Michal Oleksiejczuk in December and lost by first-round knockout.
Julian Erosa hopeful for an "all-out 15-minute brawl" at UFC Vegas 72 against Fernando Padilla: "He likes to stand and trade and I'm in the same boat"
Cole Shelton - April 25, 2023
Julian Erosa is expecting a Fight of the Night scrap against Fernando Padilla. Erosa is coming off a first-round KO loss to Alex Caceres back in December, which snapped his three-fight winning streak. It was also disappointing due to the fact Erosa felt like he didn’t do anything wrong, but simply got caught by a surprise kick that he didn’t see coming.
Luke Rockhold believes Mike Perry "bit off more than he can chew" at BKFC 41, plans to only sign one-fight deals for the rest of his career
Cole Shelton - April 25, 2023
Luke Rockhold expects to surprise many people on Saturday night when he headlines BKFC 41. Rockhold announced his retirement from fighting following his decision loss to Paulo Costa at UFC 278. However, after some time off, he requested his release from the Ultimate Fighting Championship so that he could sign a lucrative one-fight deal with BKFC.
Zak Cummings says retiring at home in Kansas City was the "perfect” end to his career: "I don't think I could think of a better way to go out"
Cole Shelton - April 23, 2023
Zak Cummings figured UFC Kansas City would be his retirement fight and that ended up being the case. Cummings finally made his return to the Octagon last weekend, this after dealing with a bad back injury that left him unable to even pick up his daughter. It was a hard few months for Cummings but he finally was able to return at UFC Kansas City and got a third-round TKO win over Ed Herman. Although Cummings believed he would win, he was surprised by how dominant it was.
Christos Giagos believes he's fighting for his job at UFC Vegas 71, anticipates a "war" against Ricky Glenn: "This is do-or-die for me"
Cole Shelton - April 20, 2023
After a freak injury, Christos Giagos is finally ready to return. Giagos was supposed to face Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC Paris last September. Yet, just before the fight, as he was cleaning his house, he sliced his pinky open which forced him out of the scrap.
Ricky Glenn vows to finish Christos Giagos early at UFC Vegas 71 and prove he deserves "a top-15 guy" next
Cole Shelton - April 19, 2023
Ricky Glenn is finally healthy again and ready to be active. Glenn returned in June of 2021 after not fighting since 2018 and knocked out Joaquim Silva in 37 seconds. He then squared off with Grant Dawson that October and fought him to a draw after nearly finishing Dawson in the final round. He was then booked to face Drew Dober in March but just two weeks before the fight he tore a tendon in his groin that has kept him out for over a year.
Pro fighters make their picks for Sergei Pavlovich vs. Curtis Blaydes
Cole Shelton - April 19, 2023
In the main event of UFC Vegas 71, a battle of top-five heavyweights goes down as Sergei Pavlovich takes on Curtis Blaydes. Heading into the scrap, Pavlovich is a +134 underdog while the American is a -172 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe Blaydes will use his wrestling – similar to what Alistair Overeem did – to beat up Pavlovich and get a ground-and-pound TKO.
Rani Yahya says wrestling is key to success against Montel Jackson, expects to secure Cody Garbrandt fight with stoppage win at UFC Vegas 71
Cole Shelton - April 18, 2023
Rani Yahya is finally set to return to the Octagon. Yahya has not fought since November of 2021 when he beat Kyung-ho Hang by decision. He was then booked to fight Cody Garbrandt twice in 2022, but a neck injury forced him out of both fights. Now, after over a year away, he is finally set to return on Saturday at UFC Vegas 71.
Loopy Godinez "confident" she beat Cynthia Calvillo at UFC 287 but disappointed how "close" the fight was
Cole Shelton - April 13, 2023
Loopy Godinez is disappointed by how close her fight with Cynthia Calvillo was. Godinez entered the fight coming off a loss to Angela Hill last August, in what she admits was a disappointing fight for her. She was then booked to face Calvillo at UFC 287 in a fight Godinez thought she would dominate in.
Gillian Robertson explains decision to drop down to strawweight, expects to submit Piera Rodriguez early at UFC Kansas City: "I expect it to be over fast"
Cole Shelton - April 13, 2023
Gillian Robertson will be returning to the strawweight division. Before Robertson went on TUF and made her way into the UFC, she was competing at 115lbs but admittedly had a tough time making the weight. Once she signed with the UFC, she made 125lbs her home and went 8-5 inside the division. But, after really figuring out her diet, she believes the time is right to return to 115lbs.
Chris Gutierrez knows he has to fight "smart" against "dangerous" Pedro Munhoz at UFC Kansas City
Cole Shelton - April 12, 2023
Chris Gutierrez was hoping he’d get a top-10 opponent next and that is exactly what happened. Back in November, Gutierrez picked up the biggest win of his career as he knocked out Frankie Edgar in the former UFC champ’s retirement fight. After the win, Gutierrez wasn’t sure who would be next but was happy when he was offered Pedro Munhoz at UFC Kansas City.
Zak Cummings reveals Ed Herman scrap at UFC Kansas City will likely be his retirement fight: "I can't think of a better way to go out"
Cole Shelton - April 12, 2023
Zak Cummings says Saturday night at UFC Kansas City will be the final time he makes the walk to the Octagon. Cummings is finally set to return at UFC Kansas City after a back injury that left him bedridden for months. During that time, Cummings knew he had to get one more fight and when he found out the UFC was returning to his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri he knew he had to be on the card.
Billy Quarantillo eyes "viral" knockout over "legend" Edson Barboza at UFC Kansas City: "I'm not going in there to milk out a decision"
Cole Shelton - April 11, 2023
Billy Quarantillo is pumped to fight Edson Barboza in the co-main event of UFC Kansas City. After Quarantillo scored a TKO win over Alexander Hernandez back in December, he called out Barboza to be his next opponent. Although the callout garnered a lot of interest from fight fans, he wasn’t sure if the Brazilian veteran would actually accept. But when he found out that the fight was set, he was absolutely pumped.
Brandon Royval expects to "drown" Matheus Nicolau at UFC Kansas City, hopes to serve as backup for flyweight title fight
Cole Shelton - April 11, 2023
Brandon Royval was confident he would be fighting Matheus Nicolau next. After Royval was cleared from his hand injury, he called out both Nicolau and Kai Kara-France as he wanted a top-five opponent. But, once Kara-France told him he was still injured, he turned all of his focus to Nicolau.