Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - August 24, 2021

Anthony Taylor is glad he called out Jake Paul as the brash YouTuber turned boxer has given him a massive opportunity. Before Paul was set to fight Ben Askren, Taylor admits he wasn’t believing his skill and talked crap about him on social media. Paul’s coach then messaged Taylor to come and train and he impressed Paul and he has since been a main training partner of Paul and “The Problem Child” was the one who got him this boxing match against Tommy Fury on his undercard.

Cole Shelton - August 24, 2021

Kevin Lee just wanted to fight at UFC Vegas 35 on August 28 and he got his wish. Lee was supposed to face Sean Brady but the ranked welterweight was forced out of the fight with a foot injury. After that, “The Motown Phenom” began calling out several welterweights but it was Daniel Rodriguez who accepted the fight.

Cole Shelton - August 23, 2021

Giga Chikadze is excited to headline his first UFC show and knows his fight against Edson Barboza will be a fan-friendly one. Chikadze is coming off the biggest win of his career as he scored a first-round TKO over Cub Swanson. After that, he began calling for top-five opponents, but that didn’t happen, however, he did get a main event against Barboza which he is eager about.

Cole Shelton - August 19, 2021

Ramiz Brahimaj had a memorable UFC debut, although it didn’t go the way he wanted. Brahimaj finally made his Octagon debut against Max Griffin in November and lost the fight by TKO due to his ear nearly falling off. Despite the ending of the fight, Brahimaj says the way he fought Griffin and how it was competitive, proves he belongs in the UFC.

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2021

Vinc Pichel is excited to show off how much better he has gotten since changing camps to Factory X. Pichel has been training in California for years now, but he recently decided to move to Colorado and train at Factory X. For Pichel, he says he immediately clicked with head coach, Marc Montoya and the team.

Cole Shelton - August 18, 2021

BBrian Kelleher wasn’t too surprised he is fighting Domingo Pilarte at UFC Vegas 34. After Kelleher lost a decision to Ricky Simon at UFC 258, he knew he would have to fight someone below him in the rankings. That is exactly what is happening as he is facing Pilarte, which is a rebooking as the two were supposed to fight one another at UFC 230 back in 2018.

Tom Taylor - August 18, 2021

ONE Championship atomweight star Bi Nguyen feels like she’s entering the prime of her fighting life. Nguyen fights Filipina prospect Jenelyn Olsim at ONE: Battleground III this Friday in Singapore. The Vietnamese-American striking specialist will enter the fight with arguably the biggest win of her career in the rear-view mirror: a hard-fought decision triumph over Indian wrestling sensation Ritu Phogat.

Cole Shelton - August 17, 2021

Chase Sherman is eager to return to the win column. Sherman suffered a decision loss to Andrei Arlovski back in April. He will now return at UFC Vegas 34 against Parker Porter. He was supposed to fight Porter on the same day in April but he was forced out and replaced by Arlovski.

Cole Shelton - August 16, 2021

Cheick Kongo still believes he should’ve gotten an immediate rematch against Ryan Bader. At Bellator 226 in September of 2019, Kongo fought Bader for the heavyweight title and the fight ended in a No Contest due to an eye poke. Since then, Kongo has only competed once losing a split decision to Tim Johnson last October.

Cole Shelton - August 13, 2021

Former UFC lightweight, Stevie Ray will be ending his retirement. Ray retired from MMA in September of 2020 which he said at the time was due to knee injuries. However, he told BJPENN.com this week that there was much more to it, and it was due to the UFC forcing him out of the organization and making him retire.

Cole Shelton - August 12, 2021

Stevie Ray announced his retirement from MMA in September 2020, which many thought was due to his knee injuries. However, there is much more to the story, which Ray has never spoken publicly about. Ray competed in the UFC from 2015 and had a 7-4 record where in his last fight, he picked up what he calls the biggest win of his career as he defeated Michael Johnson. He also fought the likes of Paul Felder, and Leonardo Santos as well as defeating Joe Lauzon and Ross Pearson among others. Yet, for quite some time, Ray had heard rumblings the UFC wanted him out of the organization, and that finally happened when they released him, but he covered it up with him announcing his retirement.

Cole Shelton - August 12, 2021

Ciryl Gane is hoping his heavyweight title unification fight against Francis Ngannou happens in Paris, France. Gane claimed the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265 with a TKO victory over Derrick Lewis. It was the Frenchman’s fourth fight since December of 2020 and now with his wife set to give birth, he is looking to take some time off but is interested in the fight happening late this year or early next.

Cole Shelton - August 10, 2021

Danny Sabatello doesn’t understand why he isn’t ranked in Bellator’s bantamweight division. Sabatello made good in his Bellator debut as he dominated Brett Johns for all three rounds to win a clear-cut decision. Johns was a high-profile signing for Bellator and after Sabatello dominated the scrap, he expected he would be ranked but that was not the case.

Cole Shelton - August 7, 2021

Kevin Lee vs. Sean Brady has been canceled for the second time. Multiple sources informed BJPENN.com that Brady suffered an undisclosed injury and his fight against Lee is off. MMAJunkie was first to report the news of Brady’s withdrawal. The two were supposed to fight at UFC 264 but a minor rib injury from Lee forced him off the card and they were pushed back to August.

Cole Shelton - August 6, 2021

Georgi Karakhanyan knew he shouldn’t have cut to featherweight anymore, and his eight-second KO loss to AJ McKee cemented that. Karakhanyan thought of moving up earlier but Bellator started the grand prix which made the 36-year-old stay at 145lbs. Unfortnately, in the opening round, he faced McKee and was knocked out in eight seconds. After the loss, he decided he would move up to lightweight and knows he is much better at that weight class.

Cole Shelton - August 5, 2021

In the main event of UFC 265, the interim heavyweight title is up for grabs as Derrick Lewis takes on Ciryl Gane. Ahead of the fight, Gane is a -380 favorite while “The Black Beast” is a +290 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of the pros believe it will be Gane being too technical for Lewis and winning a decision. However, they all still think Lewis is a live dog as he only needs to land one punch.

Cole Shelton - August 5, 2021

Jason Witt is pleased with his win over Bryan Barberena at UFC Vegas 33. Witt entered the fight coming off a 16-second KO loss to Matthew Semelsberger and had a chip on his shoulder. He had heard all the talk that he didn’t have a chin and Barberena would KO him early. Witt also entered the fight knowing if he lost, it likely would’ve been the final fight of his career.

Cole Shelton - August 4, 2021

Alonzo Menifield is excited to be getting the chance to fight Ed Herman and in front of a crowd. Menifield returned to the win column last time out with a submission win over Fabio Cherant. The victory snapped his two-fight losing skid and now, he gets a chance to fight Herman at UFC 265 in his home state of Texas which he’s ecstatic about.