Exclusive MMA Interviews News
UFC 271 | Pro fighters make their picks for Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 title fight
Cole Shelton - February 9, 2022
In the main event of UFC 271, Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight belt as he rematches Robert Whittaker. Heading into the fight, Adesanya is a -280 favorite while the former champ is a +225 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Adesanya has Whittaker’s number and will defend his belt again and continue his reign atop the middleweight division.
Renato Moicano says he no longer cares about rankings, only focused on making money ahead of UFC 271: "This is sad but this is true"
Cole Shelton - February 8, 2022
Renato Moicano says he no longer cares about fighting ranked opponents as all he cares about is making money. Moicano is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 271 against Alexander Hernandez in a really intriguing fight that he’s looking forward to.
Robert Whittaker believes "no one expects me to win" but says Israel Adesanya "looks beatable" ahead of UFC 271
Cole Shelton - February 8, 2022
Robert Whittaker says the pressure is off him for his UFC 271 main event title rematch against Israel Adesanya. Whittaker and Adesanya are set to run it back after “The Last Stylebender” scored a second-round TKO win back in 2019 to become the new champ. Since then, Whittaker has won three fights to earn the rematch and for him, he’s glad he had the chance to fight multiple times before running it back with Adesanya.
Julian Erosa says he "took more money off" Steven Peterson than his entire purse, eyes Alex Caceres or Hakeem Dawodu next
Cole Shelton - February 7, 2022
Julian Erosa made a lot more money than he expected on Saturday. Erosa opened up the UFC Vegas 47 main card against Steven Peterson in a highly anticipated bout. The fight exceeded expectations as the combatants went to war for the full fifteen minutes. In the end, it was Erosa who won the contest by split decision. Although the plan was for Erosa to be more technical, he is happy that the fight was entertaining.
Bryan Battle doesn't view Tresean Gore fight as real TUF finale, confident he'll finish him: "He's going to melt mentally and physically"
Cole Shelton - February 4, 2022
Bryan Battle doesn’t think his UFC Vegas 47 fight against Tresean Gore is the real TUF 29 finale. Battle and Gore were supposed to fight in the finals, but Gore suffered an injury and “Pooh Bear” ended up facing Gilbert Urbina instead. Battle won the fight to win TUF, but now as he finally faces Gore, he says this is just another fight.
Jack Hermansson praises "special" Khamzat Chimaev, wants to face him in grappling: "It will be a different story"
Cole Shelton - February 4, 2022
Jack Hermansson didn’t expect Khamzat Chimaev to be so strong. Back in November, Hermansson and Chimaev had a freestyle wrestling match which ‘Borz’ won. The two have trained together in the past and even though Hermansson fights a weight class higher, he says his fellow Swede was just as big and strong as him.
Jack Hermansson explains why he's "the biggest threat" to Israel Adesanya: "I'm the person that is going to dethrone him"
Cole Shelton - February 4, 2022
Jack Hermansson believes he is the biggest threat to Israel Adesanya at middleweight. Adesanya is the current middleweight champion and has been seemingly unbeatable at 185lbs. However, for Hermansson, he believes his grappling is the main reason as to why he poses the biggest threat to the champ.
Jason Witt expects to "break" Phil Rowe at UFC Vegas 47, wants a ranked opponent by the end of the year
Cole Shelton - February 3, 2022
Jason Witt believes he is a stylistic nightmare for Phil Rowe. Witt picked up his second UFC win last time out in a Fight of the Night performance against Bryan Barberena. After the fight, he was rewarded with a new contract and after discussing opponents, he and his team pushed for the Rowe fight.
Julian Erosa wants to be the first person to finish Steven Peterson in the UFC: "I don't want to risk half my paycheck on three judges"
Cole Shelton - February 2, 2022
Julian Erosa called out Steven Peterson and is glad he’s getting the fight. Erosa will face Peterson at UFC Vegas 47 in a very fun featherweight scrap. For Erosa, he says he called out Peterson to get a fight, but after the Fortis MMA product didn’t respond, he got mad and wanted to fight him even more.
Steven Peterson expects to KO Julian Erosa in violent fashion: "You shouldn't have called me out, you should have kept your mouth shut"
Cole Shelton - February 2, 2022
Steven Peterson has violent intentions for Julian Erosa after he was called out by his fellow featherweight. Before Erosa’s fight against Charles Jourdain, he told BJPENN.com he wanted to fight Peterson and after the win, he said the same thing in the post-fight interview. After hearing that, Peterson assumed that would be his next fight and now they will meet at UFC Vegas 47.
Jack Hermansson expects to get an "early finish" against Sean Strickland and earn a title shot: "Just go in there and dominate"
Cole Shelton - February 1, 2022
Jack Hermansson wanted to fight someone ranked above him but is excited for the challenge of fighting Sean Strickland. Hermansson is coming off a decision win over Edmen Shahbazyan and will now headline UFC Vegas 47 against Strickland. ‘The Joker’ says he is glad the UFC is giving him an opportunity to headline another card.
Jasmine Jasudavicius says friend is getting a tattoo of her face after losing UFC bet, explains why she wants to fight Casey O'Neill
Cole Shelton - January 28, 2022
Jasmine Jasudavicius always knew she would get to the UFC and she made a bet to prove that. Jasudavicius was always considered one of the best Canadian prospects and at UFC 270 she made her UFC debut with a decision win over Kay Hansen. Although she got her hand raised, the Canadian admitted she did want a brawl but her coaches told her not to.
Darrion Caldwell expects to "break" Enrique Barzola and finish him in the first, confident he will get his belt back soon
Cole Shelton - January 26, 2022
Darrion Caldwell is eager to finally fight again. Caldwell last fought in May of 2021, suffering a split decision loss to Leandro Higo. It was his second defeat in a row and after the loss he said he wanted a quick turnaround, but that never happened.
Angela Lee responds to opponent Stamp Fairtex's 'idol' comments
Andrew Whitelaw - January 26, 2022
Angela Lee will defend her atomweight title against Stamp Fairtex at ONE: ‘X’ on March 26th. The Thai earned her shot at the champ by winning the ONE Women’s Atomweight world Grand Prix in December. The former ONE Muay Thai and kickboxing champion pulled off a big surprise when she submitted Ritu Phogat in the final. Currently 9-2, that was only Stamp’s second submission victory. She only had her first pro MMA fight in 2018 and her skillset has evolved rapidly. Like Stamp, Angela Lee won her first world title in ONE when she was still just a teenager. She took the atomweight crown with a unanimous decision win against Mei Yamaguchi when she was just 19.
Benson Henderson plans to test Islam Mamedov's durability at Bellator 273, says he's been promised a title shot with a win
Cole Shelton - January 25, 2022
Benson Henderson knows people are counting him out but he’s eager for the challenge of facing Islam Mamedov at Bellator 273. Henderson is set to fight Mamedov in the co-main event, and even though the former UFC champion is on a three-fight losing skid, he’s fighting the presumed number one contender. Although many were surprised by the fight booking, Henderson says he asked for the fight as he wants to get back in the title picture.
Matt Frevola ecstatic with UFC 270 win, reveals he fought out his contract and is open to testing free agency
Cole Shelton - January 24, 2022
Matt Frevola knew the stakes were high for his UFC 270 fight against Genaro Valdez. Frevola had entered the contest on the last fight of his current deal, and was hoping to snap a two-fight losing streak with a win. He knew people were counting him out but he was confident he would finish Valdez which is exactly what he did.
Matt Frevola plans to finish Genaro Valdez at UFC 270 "to remind the world who I am"
Cole Shelton - January 20, 2022
Matt Frevola is planning to remind the world just how good he is at UFC 270. Frevola had a rough 2021 as he went 0-2, losing a decision to Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 257 and suffering a seven-second KO loss to Terrance McKinney at UFC 263. However, he fought Tsarukyan on a days’ notice and took the McKinney fight on a couple of days’ notice as well.
Kay Hansen pleaded with Dana White to move her fight so she could compete at home for UFC 270
Cole Shelton - January 20, 2022
Kay Hansen was supposed to fight on January 15, but after hearing UFC 270 was the week after in Anaheim, she made it clear she wanted to be on that card. Hansen is from Anaheim and of course wanted to be a part of the card but her managers initial request to have the bout moved didn’t happen. However, she decided to take matters into her own hands and messaged Dana White herself to move the fight, and just a day later she got her wish.