Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - October 19, 2021

Tim Johnson says it is still surreal to think he is fighting Fedor Emelianenko in Russia, in what could be the Russian’s final fight. When Bellator announced Emelianenko would be fighting back home in Russia, many thought he would be fighting a fellow legend. Yet, that wasn’t the case as instead, he will be fighting Johnson at Bellator 269, who has a theory as to why Emelianenko picked him.

Cole Shelton - October 19, 2021

Grant Dawson was supposed to get his shot to enter the lightweight rankings back on October 2 against Diego Ferreira, but Ferreira was forced out of the fight. After Dawson heard the news that Ferreira was out of the fight, he admits it was frustrating and disappointing. However, he made it clear to the UFC he still wanted to fight in October and he got his wish as he will face Ricky Glenn at UFC Vegas 41.

Drake Riggs - October 15, 2021

PHOENIX — Corey Anderson is rather familiar with each fighter competing for the UFC light heavyweight crown at UFC 267 on Fight Island. The current Bellator 205-pound contender saw his last defeat come against the current titlist in Jan Blachowicz when squaring off in February 2020 – his final bout with the UFC. Two wins prior, Anderson scored a unanimous decision nod against Blachowicz’s upcoming challenger in Glover Teixeira.

Cole Shelton - October 15, 2021

Casey O’Neill is currently the 14th-ranked flyweight, but she is in no rush to move up the ranks. O’Neill is 3-0 in the UFC and coming off a TKO win over Antonina Shevchenko, which was her third UFC win, with all of them coming by finish and happening this year. Although she has had a mediocre rise, she says it’s still surreal to think about.

Drake Riggs - October 15, 2021

PHOENIX — Ryan Bader is known as “Darth” when entering the cage. However, the current Bellator heavyweight champ has hoped to use another nickname. Bader is 13-2 (1 no contest) in his last 16 bouts overall putting him on the most dominant stretch of his career by capturing titles in two weight classes. Therefore utilizing the nickname of “The Master” seems fitting… until piecing it all together.

Drake Riggs - October 14, 2021

PHOENIX — Julia Budd is making the move to the PFL after a championship run with Bellator. The first and former women’s featherweight champion in Bellator history suffered a single defeat in her run with the promotion when facing Cris “Cyborg” Justino in January 2020. Budd (15-3) rebounded with two wins over Jessica Miele and Dayana Silva.

Cole Shelton - October 14, 2021

Damon Jackson is happy with his win over Charles Rosa but is a tad disappointed he didn’t get the finish. Jackson dominated the majority of the fight as he controlled Rosa on the ground and had a few submission attempts. However, Rosa fought out of it and went 15 minutes with Jackson.

Cole Shelton - October 14, 2021

Bibiano Fernandes is excited to finally make the walk to the cage once again. Fernandes hasn’t fought since October of 2019 where he submitted Kevin Belingon to defend his bantamweight title. It was his third straight fight against Belingon, where Fernandes won the final two fights. Since the win, however, COVID-19 and a contract dispute kept Fernandes out of the cage.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2021

Casey O’Neill knew she would be able to finish Antonina Shevchenko in their UFC Vegas 38 fight. O’Neill was 2-0 in the UFC with two finishes but early on, Shevchenko had success. She had O’Neill in a troubling spot but the 24-year-old was able to get out of it and then take over the round. In the second round, she dominated it and eventually got the stoppage win.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2021

Demetrious Johnson didn’t have any hesitation when he got the call to have a special rules fight against Rodtang. At ONE X in December, Johnson and Rodtang will fight in a special rules bout. The first and third rounds will be muay Thai will the second and fourth will be MMA. The rounds will also be three minutes and for Johnson, he’s super excited for the fight.

Cole Shelton - October 7, 2021

Jared Vanderaa didn’t expect his next opponent to be Alexandr Romanov. After Vanderaa picked up his first UFC win back in May against Justin Tafa, Vanderaa wasn’t sure who would be next for him. However, when he was offered Romanov he was surprised but he did immediately accept it.

Cole Shelton - October 6, 2021

Charles Rosa believes he has finally put everything together ahead of his UFC Vegas 39 fight against Damon Jackson. After Rosa returned to the win column in June against Justin Jaynes, he said he wanted to return in October or November and he got his wish.

Cole Shelton - October 5, 2021

Mackenzie Dern had a feeling her next fight would be a main event. Dern submitted Nina Nunes in the first round back in April. After that, she was offered two short-notice main event fights. However, they never came to fruition but Dern had a feeling once Rodriguez beat Waterson she would headline a card opposite the Brazilian.

Cole Shelton - October 5, 2021

Randy Brown wanted to get another fight in this year and he jumped at the chance to take a fight at UFC Vegas 39 against Jared Gooden. Brown is coming off a submission win over Alex Oliveira at UFC 261 and many thought he would get another high-profile name. Yet, that isn’t the case as he will battle Jared Gooden in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 39. For Brown, he says he just wanted to fight and this was a chance to get back in there.

Drake Riggs - October 1, 2021

FORT LAUDERDALE — Claressa Shields is fully committed to forging a strong and viable MMA career. The former three-division 11-0 boxing champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist joined MMA as a PFL lightweight in 2021. The tournament formatted promotion currently has Shields on the outside looking in as she keeps gaining experience after successfully debuting in June with a third-round TKO against Brittney Elkin.

Drake Riggs - October 1, 2021

FORT LAUDERDALE — Kayla Harrison is as dominant of a force as anyone in MMA in 2021. But with great success comes great detractors – or at least several in abundance. Beginning her run in June 2018 and now 11-0 in her professional MMA career, the Judo master has found the fans to be a lot more vocal than she’d experienced prior.

Cole Shelton - September 30, 2021

Joe Solecki didn’t think Jared Gordon would be his next opponent but he is eager for the challenge he presents. Solecki is 3-0 in the UFC and coming off a decision win over Jim Miller. After the win, many thought he would be near the rankings but for Solecki, he says he’s in no rush and will fight anyone the UFC offers him and that continues with Gordon at UFC Vegas 38.

Cole Shelton - September 30, 2021

Petr Yan wasn’t surprised when he heard Aljamain Sterling pulled out of their rematch at UFC 267. Yan and Sterling were supposed to have their highly-anticipated rematch in Abu Dhabi at UFC 267 in an intriguing matchup. They first fought back at UFC 259 in March where Sterling became the new champion due to Yan throwing an illegal knee and being DQ’d.