Exclusive MMA Interviews News
David Onama says UFC Vegas 58 fight "wasn't one of my best performances" but believes he put the featherweight division on notice
Cole Shelton - July 15, 2022
David Onama was worried he wasn’t going to fight at UFC Vegas 58. Onama was booked to face Austin Lingo, but his opponent was forced out of the fight due to an injury. After that, Onama says a couple of fighters turned him down before Garrett Armfield – who he fought as an amateur – agreed to take the fight which Onama is grateful for.
Pro fighters make their picks for Brian Ortega vs. Yair Rodriguez
Cole Shelton - July 14, 2022
In the main event of UFC Long Island, a pivotal featherweight scrap headlines the card as top-three featherweights collide as Brian Ortega takes on Yair Rodriguez. Heading into the fight, Ortega is a -180 favorite while the Mexican is a +140 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of pros are leaning towards Ortega getting his hand raised and likely doing it by submission.
Felice Herrig explains why she ended retirement to sign with BKFC, reveals they "tripled my UFC contract"
Cole Shelton - July 13, 2022
Felice Herrig ended her retirement rather quickly. After Herrig suffered a submission loss to Karolina Kowalkiewicz in June she announced her retirement from MMA. Yet, she recently signed with BKFC, and according to Herrig, she retired from MMA, not from fighting.
Cody Brundage says KO win over Tresean Gore proves "I don't have to just wrestle"
Cole Shelton - July 13, 2022
Cody Brundage was happy to shut up Tresean Gore. Leading up to his UFC Vegas 58 fight, Brundage heard all the trash talk Gore was saying, and that included throughout fight week. However, Brundage just put his head down as he had all the confidence in the world he would beat Gore and was surprised the former TUF competitor didn’t come out more aggressive.
Michelle Waterson reveals she used to train with Amanda Lemos, hopes to earn "knockout of the night" at UFC Long Island
Cole Shelton - July 12, 2022
Michelle Waterson will be fighting a familiar opponent in the co-main event of UFC Long Island on Saturday. After Waterson was forced out of her Amanda Ribas fight at UFC Columbus in March, she said it might be a career-ending injury if she never took care of it. After rehabbing the injury, she is set to return against Amanda Lemos on Saturday.
Cody Brundage believes Tresean Gore is "a regional level fighter," confident he will find the finish at UFC Vegas 58
Cole Shelton - July 8, 2022
Cody Brundage is looking to extend his win streak to two when he faces Tresean Gore at UFC Vegas 58. Gore was supposed to face Josh Fremd who is Brundage’s teammate, but Fremd got hurt and was forced out of the bout. Once that happened, Brundage offered to step up and the promotion quickly made the fight.
Pro fighters make their picks for Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rafael Fiziev
Cole Shelton - July 7, 2022
In the main event of UFC Vegas 58, top-10 lightweights collide as Rafael dos Anjos takes on Rafael Fiziev. Heading into the fight, dos Anjos is a +186 underdog while Fiziev is a -245 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are leaning towards Fiziev getting the job done as many think his striking will be too much.
James Krause says he has "no intention or desire" to fight again but would "if the perfect scenario was put in front of me"
Cole Shelton - July 6, 2022
James Krause won’t say he is retired but says it is unlikely he will fight again. Krause has not fought since October of 2020 when he beat Claudio Silva by decision. He took that fight and the fight prior on short notice as he has been busy coaching. Although he has not officially retired he says it is unlikely he will step into the Octagon again.
Jared Vanderaa knows he's fighting for his job at UFC Vegas 58 but says Chase Sherman is a very "winnable fight"
Cole Shelton - July 5, 2022
Jared Vanderaa knows he’s likely fighting for his job at UFC Vegas 58. Vanderaa is on a three-fight losing streak and coming off a submission loss to Aleksei Oleinik. However, he has taken the majority of his fights on short notice and this is no different as he will take on Chase Sherman on two weeks’ notice.
James Krause believes it will take a "more well-rounded" fighter than Kai Kara-France to beat Brandon Moreno
Cole Shelton - July 5, 2022
Brandon Moreno will have a new head coach in his corner at UFC 277 and it will be James Krause. Moreno has spent the majority of his career at Entram Gym, including having them in his corner when he won UFC gold. Yet, he revealed he needed a change and decided to go to Glory MMA and train under Krause.
Mario Bautista says his finish of Brian Kelleher was "the biggest win of my career," believes he's one win away from top-15
Cole Shelton - June 30, 2022
Mario Bautista believes he made a statement with his first-round submission win over Brian Kelleher at UFC Vegas 57. Bautista entered the fight knowing Kelleher would be at his most dangerous in the first round. Yet, the plan was to also be aggressive early and force Kelleher to make a mistake, which is what happened. Just two minutes into the opening round, Bautista ended up sinking in a choke and got the first-round submission.
Chris Curtis eyes "a knockdown drag-out war" with Kelvin Gastelum next after win over Rodolfo Vieira: "It would be a really fun fight"
Cole Shelton - June 30, 2022
Chris Curtis is hoping to fight Kelvin Gastelum his next time out. Curtis improved to 3-0 in the Octagon at UFC Vegas 57, as he beat Rodolfo Vieira by decision in a fight that saw him defend 20 takedown attempts. Although Curtis got the win, he didn’t get the finish which is something he wanted.
Gabe Green plans to "bring the fight" to Ian Garry en route to a finish to derail his hype at UFC 276: "Ian might be a striker but he's going to be after my legs"
Cole Shelton - June 29, 2022
Gabe Green is excited to fight another highly-touted prospect. Green is set to face the undefeated Ian Garry at UFC 276 in a very intriguing matchup. Although Garry has had a lot of hype since he joined the UFC, Green says he wasn’t all that familiar with the Irishman.
Danny Sabatello "happy" with dominant win over Leandro Higo, confident he finishes "scared" Raufeon Stots: "He knows that I'm coming for him"
Cole Shelton - June 29, 2022
Danny Sabatello wanted to hurt Leandro Higo and he believes he did just that. Sabatello and Higo met in the quarter-finals of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix at Bellator 282. In the lead-up to the fight, Sabatello was vocal in his desire to beat up and hurt Higo and he did just that as he earned a clear-cut decision win.
UFC 276 | Pro fighters make their picks for Israel Adesanya vs. Jared Cannonier title fight
Cole Shelton - June 29, 2022
In the main event of UFC 276, the middleweight title is up for grabs as Israel Adesanya looks to defend his belt as he faces Jared Cannonier. Heading into the fight, Adesanya is a -480 favorite while the challenger is a +330 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Adesanya defends his belt with ease and will likely score a stoppage win at UFC 276.
Jalin Turner expects to turn Brad Riddell into a wrestler at UFC 276 but plans to "test" his durability: "I'm coming to finish the fight"
Cole Shelton - June 28, 2022
Jalin Turner wanted Brad Riddell next and was excited when he found out that was the fight. After Turner scored a second-round TKO of Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 272 in March, he wanted a ranked opponent next and thought Riddell made sense. Sure enough, the UFC booked the fight as the two will meet on Saturday at UFC 276.
Sean Strickland will use his wrestling to submit Alex Pereira, says teammate: "If he listens to everyone, he'll strangle him and get the title shot"
Cole Shelton - June 27, 2022
Chris Curtis wasn’t surprised when his longtime teammate Sean Strickland took the Alex Pereira fight. Strickland is set to face Pereira on the main card of UFC 276 in a highly-anticipated bout. It will serve as Pereira’s first-ranked opponent and the winner will likely get the next title shot and for Curtis, he says he wasn’t surprised that Strickland took this fight.
Cody Stamann says he's in the process of re-signing with the UFC after KO win over Eddie Wineland: "It's like getting a monkey off my back"
Cole Shelton - June 24, 2022
Cody Stamann knew there was a ton of pressure on him heading into his UFC Austin fight against Eddie Wineland. Stamann was on a three-fight losing streak and on the last fight of his deal and he knew he needed to get a big win. Heading into the fight, he had a lot of confidence that he wouldn’t just win, but would KO Wineland.