Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Pro fighters make their picks for Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega 2
Cole Shelton - February 22, 2024
Chris Duncan vows to KO Manuel Torres and "silence" the Mexican crowd at UFC Mexico City: "I'm hunting for the finish"
Cole Shelton - February 21, 2024
Chris Duncan is ready to silence the crowd at UFC Mexico City. Duncan is set to face Manuel Torres at UFC Mexico City on Saturday, in his first fight since July. He was supposed to return in October against Terrance McKinney but a visa issue knocked him out of their fight, which was heartbreaking for him.
Pro fighters make their picks for Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval 2
Cole Shelton - February 21, 2024
In the main event of UFC Mexico City, a rematch between top-three flyweights goes down as Brandon Moreno takes on Brandon Royval. Heading into the fight, Moreno is a -310 favorite while the American is a +230 underdog. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the flyweight main event. The pros believe Moreno will get his hand raised again as he beat Royval back in 2020, and with the fight being in Mexico they believe he will let the crowd go home happy on Saturday night.
Max Griffin wants to "finish" his career in the UFC after fighting out his deal, hopes for a quick turnaround
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2024
Max Griffin is ready to re-sign with the UFC. Griffin fought out his contract at UFC Vegas 86 against Jeremiah Wells and he earned a hard-fought split decision win. Going into the fight, Grifin knew there was pressure on him to get the victory, but he believed that same pressure would prove to be good motivation and make him perform at his best.
Dan Ige says KO of Andre Fili was "pretty gangster," eyes return at The Sphere against any ranked featherweight
Cole Shelton - February 20, 2024
Dan Ige returned to the win column in a big way at UFC Vegas 86. Ige was fighting in the co-main event as he took on short-notice replacement Andre Fili. The Hawaiian was originally supposed to fight Lerone Murphy, but the Brit was forced out of the bout. Fili ended up being the replacement opponent, which was tough for Ige as he says the two are friends and have trained together in the past.
UFC 298 | Pro fighters make their picks for Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa
Cole Shelton - February 15, 2024
In the co-main event of UFC 298, a pivotal middleweight bout between Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa goes down on Saturday in Anaheim. Heading into the fight, Whittaker is a -265 favorite while the Brazilian is a +200 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the fight at UFC 298. The pros are expecting Whittaker to return to the win column in a big way as the fighters think he’s too technical for Costa.
Geoff Neal wants a "slobber knocker" of a fight against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 298
Cole Shelton - February 14, 2024
Geoff Neal is looking to cause chaos at UFC 298 and make his fight against Ian Machado Garry a wild one. Neal is set to face Garry in a rescheduled bout after the two were supposed to fight back in August. Neal was forced to pull out of their initial booking with an injury, and according to ‘Handz of Steel’ the Irishman wasn’t originally keen on rebooking the fight.
UFC 298 | Pro fighters make their picks for Alexander Volkanovski vs Ilia Topuria title fight
Cole Shelton - February 14, 2024
In the main event of UFC 298, the featherweight title is up for grabs as Alexander Volkanovski looks to defend his belt when he takes on Ilia Topuria. Heading into the fight Volkanovski is a slight -128 favorite while the challenger is a +100 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to make their picks for the title fight at UFC 298. Although Volkanovski is coming off the KO loss at lightweight, but despite the loss and the close odds, the pros are actually unanimous in thinking the Aussie remains the featherweight king on Saturday in Anaheim.
Robert Whittaker excited to go out and "hurt" Paulo Costa at UFC 298: "I'm coming for violence"
Cole Shelton - February 13, 2024
Robert Whittaker is glad he and Paulo Costa will finally fight. Whittaker and Costa have been scheduled to fight one another twice previously, including last February, but both times the Brazilian was the reason for the proposed contest falling apart. Despite that, when Whittaker was offered to face Costa at UFC 298 in Anaheim, he jumped at the chance to do so.
Devin Clark planning for a "dominant" win over Marcin Prachnio on last fight of his deal at UFC Vegas 86
Cole Shelton - February 8, 2024
Devin Clark knows he could be fighting for his job on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 86. Clark hasn’t fought since May of last year when he suffered a submission loss to Kennedy Nzechukwu. After that, he was hoping to fight one more time in 2023, but he decided to spend time with his family and get his mindset right for his next fight.
On last fight of deal Max Griffin excited to prove himself against "dog" Jeremiah Wells at UFC Vegas 86
Cole Shelton - February 8, 2024
Max Griffin is facing a do-or-die scenario at UFC Vegas 86. Griffin is coming off a disappointing decision loss to Michael Morales last July, in a fight where he didn’t think he fought up to his standards. After that, he wanted to return ASAP but that didn’t happen. Instead, he was held to just one fight in 2023, which frustrated Griffin.
Robert Whittaker won't comment on rumored injury before Dricus Du Plessis fight but admits his training camp "wasn't optimal"
Cole Shelton - February 6, 2024
Robert Whittaker won’t comment on the rumors he was dealing with a significant injury going into his UFC 290 fight against Dricus Du Plessis. Ben Askren and Daniel Cormier recently spoke on ‘DC’s’ YouTube channel and both mentioned they heard Whittaker had a serious ankle injury going into that fight. However, Whittaker says he won’t comment on if that was true, but does admit the training camp for his fight against Du Plessis wasn’t one he was happy with.
Jack Hermansson believes he has to "make a statement" against Joe Pyfer at UFC Vegas 86 to prove he's still a title contender
Cole Shelton - February 6, 2024
Jack Hermansson isn’t surprised people are overlooking him and doubting him going into his UFC Vegas 86 main event fight against Joe Pyfer. Hermansson hasn’t fought since December of 2022 when he suffered a TKO loss to Roman Dolidze. He was later booked to fight Brendan Allen in June, but an injury forced him to withdraw as he was out of action for all of 2023, which was frustrating for ‘The Joker’.
Bruce Buffer always knew the UFC would be one of "the biggest things in sports worldwide"
Cole Shelton - January 19, 2024
Bruce Buffer has seen it all throughout his time in the UFC. Buffer will have been the voice of the Octagon for 29 years next month, and when he first joined the company, MMA wasn’t very popular, and the UFC was struggling to stay afloat. However, Buffer had full confidence the UFC could become the biggest thing in combat sports, but also one of the biggest things in sports, period.
Jimmy Flick claims he's the reason Malcolm Gordon is in the UFC ahead of UFC 297 fight: "It's not going 15 minutes"
Cole Shelton - January 18, 2024
Jimmy Flick knows his UFC job is on the line this Saturday night in Toronto. Flick is set to face Malcolm Gordon in the first fight of the night at UFC 297. The flyweights are opening the card, which is thrilling for Flick who gets to fight in front of a crowd for the first time in his UFC career.
UFC 297 | Pro fighters make their picks for Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva title fight
Cole Shelton - January 18, 2024
In the co-main event of UFC 297 in Toronto on Saturday, the vacant women’s bantamweight title is up for grabs as Raquel Pennington takes on Mayra Bueno Silva. Heading into the fight, Pennington is a +136 underdog while the Brazilian is a -174 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to some pro fighters to make their picks for the title fight at UFC 297. The majority of the pros believe Pennington will leave Toronto as the bantamweight champ, and likely doing so by decision.
Gillian Robertson trained with UFC 297 opponent Polyana Viana in the past, eyes TKO victory in front of hometown crowd
Cole Shelton - January 18, 2024
Gillian Robertson is eager to fight back home in Canada. Robertson hasn’t fought in Canada since July of 2019 at UFC 240, where she scored a first round TKO victory over Sarah Frota. After missing out on the UFC’s return to Vancouver last June, Robertson was ecstatic when she found out she’d be on UFC 297 in Toronto.
Bruce Buffer very excited "to perform for the Canadians" at UFC 297: "The fans are rabid and they love the UFC"
Cole Shelton - January 16, 2024
Bruce Buffer was excited to see the UFC returning to Canada in 2024, and Toronto for that matter. Buffer has been to plenty of countries, where he has introduced several fighters inside of the Octagon. Buffer knows no matter where the UFC goes the crowd is always loud and electric, but the voice of the UFC says Canada, and especially Toronto, is always one of the rowdiest and loudest crowds of the year.
Marcus McGhee ready for a "three-round war" against Gaston Bolanos at UFC Vegas 84
Cole Shelton - January 12, 2024
Marcus McGhee is ready to build off of his success in 2023. McGhee made his UFC debut in April of last year where he scored a second-round submission win over Journey Newson. He then followed that up with a first-round knockout over JP Buys in August. Although McGhee went 2-0 with two Performance of the Night Bonuses and is becoming more known, he says that doesn’t add any pressure to him.