Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Bryan Battle explains why he is dropping to welterweight, doesn't expect Takashi Sato fight to go past the second round: "I'm looking to force him into mistakes"
Cole Shelton - August 5, 2022
Bryan Battle will be dropping down to welterweight after winning TUF 29 at middleweight. Battle won the show with a submission win over Gilbert Urbina, but that was after Tresean Gore had to pull out of the finale. Battle then fought Gore and beat him by decision and in the lead-up to that fight, he realized welterweight is where he belongs.
Jason Witt doesn't think Josh Quinlan "is anything special," believes his wrestling will be the difference at UFC Vegas 59
Cole Shelton - August 5, 2022
Jason Witt is looking to get back into the win column in a big way at UFC Vegas 59. Witt is coming off a KO loss to Phil Rowe back in February and will now return on Saturday against Josh Quinlan who’s coming off the Contender Series last year. Although knowing much about UFC newcomers is tough, Witt says he actually knows quite a bit due to the fact one of his teammates fought Quinlan on the regional scene.
Anthony Pettis recalls his favorite career moments in the UFC
Cole Shelton - August 4, 2022
Anthony Pettis is a former UFC champion and has fought the who’s who of the sport but two moments stick out to him over the rest. The big moment for Pettis, of course, is when he won the UFC lightweight title in his hometown of Milwaukee. Although winning the belt is something Pettis will always remember the other moment that sticks out to him is when he knocked out Stephen Thompson in Nashville.
Anthony Pettis says it's "pretty amazing" to see what Charles Oliveira has accomplished since they fought: "Oliveira will clear out the division after this one"
Cole Shelton - August 4, 2022
Anthony Pettis is pretty amazed by what Charles Oliveira has accomplished. Pettis and Oliveira fought in 2016 at featherweight and ‘Showtime’ ended up winning by submission. After the fight, Pettis said Oliveria’s striking was getting better but he didn’t think the Brazilian would turn his career around and eventually become the UFC lightweight champion.
Terrance McKinney plans to "shut the haters up" with stoppage win over Erick Gonzalez: "I guarantee I hit harder than Jim Miller"
Cole Shelton - August 3, 2022
Terrance McKinney wanted to return much sooner than this Saturday night. McKinney is coming off a TKO loss to Drew Dober in a fight where he nearly earned what would have been his sixth straight finish. Although he lost, he says that fight was a win-win as he learned what he needed to improve on.
Sam Alvey fighting out UFC contract against Michal Oleksiejczuk, plans to snap skid with KO win: "It could be the end of my UFC career"
Cole Shelton - August 3, 2022
Sam Alvey will be fighting out his contract on Saturday at UFC Vegas 59. Alvey, who’s on an eight-fight winless streak as he’s 0-7-1, has had a ton of bad luck with controversial decisions and short-notice fights. With that, after his last loss, the promotion decided to let him fight out his contract.
Geoff Neal plans to "throw down" with Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 59: "I do think I can knock him out"
Cole Shelton - August 3, 2022
Geoff Neal is excited for his UFC Vegas 59 co-main event fight against Vicente Luque. Both Neal and Luque are fan-favorites and are known to stand-and-trade with their opponents. With that, Neal always thought he would end up fighting Luque, however, he says he did want to fight Sean Brady.
Vicente Luque looking to create "a lot of chaos and a lot of violence" against Geoff Neal: "It's going to be a banger"
Cole Shelton - August 2, 2022
Vicente Luque is expecting a war when he faces Geoff Neal in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 59. Luque is coming off a five-round decision loss to Belal Muhammad and after the setback, he wasn’t quite sure what would be next. Yet, when he got the call to face Neal he was excited as he knows this is a very fun fight for the fans and one he expects will result in a lot of violence.
Jonathan Pearce says he "really wanted to hurt" Makwan Amirkhani at UFC London after he "disrespected” him before the fight: "All week this guy was bullying me and pushing me around"
Cole Shelton - August 1, 2022
Jonathan Pearce couldn’t wait to fight and beat up Makwan Amirkhani at UFC London. Throughout fight week, Pearce says he saw Amirkhani multiple times and when he did, the Fin would bully Pearce and not let him pass or size him up. After Amirkhani did it over and over again, Pearce says he couldn’t wait to share the Octagon with him and really hurt him.
Maycee Barber "not impressed" by Miesha Tate's flyweight debut, but "would love to fight her" in the future
Cole Shelton - July 29, 2022
Maycee Barber is hoping to share the Octagon with Miesha Tate in the future. At UFC 276, Barber picked up the biggest win of her career as she beat Jessica Eye by decision. Just two weeks later, Tate made her flyweight debut against Lauren Murphy at UFC Long Island. Unfortunately for ‘Cupcake’, the fight did not go her way as she dropped a decision to ‘Lucky’.
Orion Cosce wanted to "rebook" Blood Diamond fight, plans to "take him down and get the sub or ground and pound" finish at UFC 277
Cole Shelton - July 28, 2022
Orion Cosce wanted to rebook the Blood Diamond fight after the Kiwi being forced out of their scheduled contest at UFC 275. Cosce and Diamond were booked to fight at UFC 271 but ‘Galaxy’ was forced out of the fight due to COVID-19. Diamond ended up facing Jeremiah Wells and lost by submission.
UFC 277 | Pro fighters make their picks for Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France 2 interim title fight
Cole Shelton - July 28, 2022
In the co-main event of UFC 277, Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France are set to rematch for the interim flyweight title. Heading into the fight, Moreno is a -235 favorite while the Kiwi is a +180 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Moreno will win the rematch and become the new interim flyweight champion.
UFC 277 | Pro fighters make their picks for Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes 2 title fight
Cole Shelton - July 27, 2022
In the main event of UFC 277, Julianna Pena is looking to defend her bantamweight title for the first time as she rematches Amanda Nunes. Heading into the fight, Pena is a +230 underdog while the challenger is a -310 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros actually believe Pena will defend her belt as they think she has Nunes’ number and can outlast the Brazilian to get another finish.
Alex Morono planning to "put on a show" against Matthew Semelsberger at UFC 277: "I'm looking for an entertaining fight"
Cole Shelton - July 26, 2022
Alex Morono is hoping to put on a fan-friendly fight when he competes in his home state of Texas on Saturday at UFC 277. Morono is set to fight for the first time in 2022 as he will take on Matthew Semelsberger. Although it is a later start than what the Fortis MMA product is used to, Morono says this is the perfect time to return after a very active 2020 and 2021 that saw him have six fights.
Maycee Barber entered Jessica Eye fight with a rib injury, wants Andrea Lee next
Cole Shelton - July 26, 2022
Maycee Barber was pleased with her UFC 276 win over Jessica Eye. Barber stepped up on short notice to take the fight against Eye after beating Montana De La Rosa by decision. However, she entered the De La Rosa fight, and subsequently the fight after with Eye dealing with a rib injury. Although she entered the fight with some issues, Maycee says she came out of her UFC 276 fight against Eye relatively healthy.
Jimi Manuwa believes he will end retirement to fight again after watching UFC London: "It gives me more enthusiasm to get up and train and come back"
Cole Shelton - July 25, 2022
Jimi Manuwa believes he will fight again. Manuwa retired from MMA following his KO loss to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Stockholm in June of 2019. That setback had marked his fourth in a row and prompted ‘The Poster Boy’ to hang up his gloves. However, since announcing his retirement, Jimi has always flirted with the idea of making a comeback.
Jimi Manuwa explains why he slapped "disrespectful" Aleksandar Rakic at UFC London: "I had to give him what he deserves for acting like a troll"
Cole Shelton - July 24, 2022
Jimi Manuwa wants to make it clear that he did not sucker-punch Aleksandar Rakic, but slapped him over some comments the Austrian made. Back in June of 2019 at UFC Stockholm, Manuwa and Rakic fought and it was the Austrian who won by head kick KO in just 42-seconds. Since the loss, Manuwa says Rakic has been disrespectful as he has been DM’ing him asking if the Brit needs money given Rakic earned 50k for his KO win.
Dustin Jacoby says Da Un Jung win "was one of the best performances of my career," eyes Volkan Oezdemir next
Cole Shelton - July 22, 2022
Dustin Jacoby was very happy with his UFC Long Island win over Da Un Jung. Jacoby entered the fight knowing it would be a tough test and the pressure was on him given the fact he was defending his spot in the rankings. He knew the fight would be tough but he landed a massive shot that dropped Jung and stopped the fight which Jacoby was pleased with.