Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Brian Maxwell eyes stoppage win over Chad Johnson to become an "instant superstar"
Cole Shelton - June 3, 2021
Brian Maxwell never thought he would ever be boxing on a Floyd Mayweather undercard, or boxing former NFL star, Chad Johnson. On Sunday in Miami, Maxwell will have an exhibition boxing match against six-time NFL Pro Bowler in Chad Johnson aka Chad Ochocinco. The retired NFL star is now 43-years-old but has been training boxing for years and will finally take a fight and Maxwell never thought he would be his opponent.
Marcin Tybura eyes KO win over Walt Harris at UFC Vegas 28 to earn top-five opponent
Cole Shelton - June 2, 2021
Marcin Tybura had a phenomenal 2020 and is looking to build off of that on Saturday. After being TKO’d by Shamil Abdurakhimov in April of 2019, he returned in September of that year and was knocked out in just 59 seconds by Augusto Sakai. After the losses, he had a new mindset for fighting and went 4-0 in 2020 with wins over Sergey Spivak, Maxim Grishin, Ben Rothwell, and a TKO win over Greg Hardy.
Miesha Tate talks motherly motivation, 'I really want to make my kids proud'
Drake Riggs - June 1, 2021
Miesha Tate is headed back into the Octagon. A lot has changed since “Cupcake’s” initial run in the sport. For her personally, she’s now a mother of two.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik eager to right the wrong of his last fight with a "great performance" against Augusto Sakai
Cole Shelton - June 1, 2021
Jairzinho Rozenstruik wasn’t happy with the way he fought his last fight. In the main event of UFC Vegas 20, Rozenstruik suffered a decision loss to Ciryl Gane in a very lackluster fight. Both men rarely threw and for Rozenstruik he says he was disappointed in his performance and is glad to be making a quick turnaround.
Montana De La Rosa expects to "dominate" Ariane Lipski on the ground en route to stoppage win
Cole Shelton - May 31, 2021
Montana De La Rosa knows she has a clear path to victory over Ariane Lipski on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 28. De La Rosa is making a quick turnaround after her draw against Mayra Bueno Silva in February. For the 26-year-old, she still thinks she won the fight but wanted a quick turnaround after the result.
Jared Vanderaa happy with "fun ass fight" against Justin Tafa, in no rush to make move up heavyweight ranks
Cole Shelton - May 27, 2021
Jared Vanderaa was excited when he found out he was fighting Justin Tafa and the scrap lived up to his expectations. Although Vanderaa knew he had the grappling advantage, he wanted to get into a striking fight with Tafa to show off his striking. However, in the fight, Vanderaa suffered a cut in his hairline, but when he saw all the blood rushing down him, he was worried the cut would stop the fight.
Danny Sabatello expects bantamweights to duck him after his "dominant" win over Brett Johns
Cole Shelton - May 25, 2021
Danny Sabatello knew he would be able to beat Brett Johns and would do it with ease. At Bellator 259, Sabatello – a former Contender Series winner – stepped up on just five days’ notice to face Johns. Entering the fight, Sabatello told BJPENN.com he expected to dominate the fight and he believes he did just that.
Justin Tafa says he’s ‘coming for war’ against Jared Vanderaa at UFC Vegas 27
Andrew Whitelaw - May 22, 2021
Justin Tafa hasn’t been in the UFC long, but his no-nonsense style means he’s fast becoming a fan favourite. The 27-year-old lost a split decision to Carlos Felipe in his last outing. It was an action-packed affair and one which he felt should have gone his way.
Jared Vanderaa predicts "spinning wheel kick KO" over Justin Tafa at UFC Vegas 27
Cole Shelton - May 21, 2021
Jared Vanderaa is looking to get his first UFC win in a big way. On the main card of UFC Vegas 27, Vanderaa is set to return to the Octagon against Justin Tafa. In his promotional debut, Vanderaa suffered a TKO loss to Sergey Spivak, but before the fight, “The Mountain” says he was super nervous and nearly puked prior to walking out.
Yancy Medeiros knows UFC Vegas 27 fight is do-or-die for his UFC career, wants Michael Johnson next
Cole Shelton - May 20, 2021
Yancy Medeiros is returning to the Octagon on Saturday for the first time in over a year. Medeiros enters his UFC Vegas 27 scrap against Damir Hadzovic on a three-fight losing streak and on the last fight of his contract. After the Hawaiian lost to Lando Vannata, he realized he needed to make some changes to his team and that is exactly what he did.
Pro fighters make their picks for Rob Font vs. Cody Garbrandt
Cole Shelton - May 20, 2021
In the main event of UFC Vegas 27, Rob Font and Cody Garbrandt are set for a pivotal bantamweight fight. It’s an evenly matched fight and the odds have it as a pure pick’em as both men are -110. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe Cody Garbrandt gets the job done by KO to extend his winning streak to two.
Darrion Caldwell expects to finish Leandro Higo again, plans to reclaim bantamweight title later this year
Cole Shelton - May 19, 2021
Darrion Caldwell is focused on reclaiming his bantamweight title. After Caldwell lost back-to-back fights to Kyoji Horiguchi for the RIZIN title and to lose his Bellator belt, he moved up to featherweight to take part in the grand prix. He beat Henry Corrales by decision and then submitted Adam Borics, but lost in the semis to AJ McKee.
Felicia Spencer eyes first-round stoppage over Noma Dumont, uncertain what her future holds in featherweight division
Cole Shelton - May 18, 2021
Felicia Spencer is just looking to fight and isn’t worried about what happens next. On May 22, Spencer returns to the Octagon against Norma Dumont after she was originally supposed to face Danyelle Wolf. Although she has an opponent change, there was never a time when she thought she wasn’t going to fight.
Rob Font plans to frustrate Cody Garbrandt and force him to make a mistake en route to a KO win
Cole Shelton - May 18, 2021
Rob Font is ecstatic to be headlining his first UFC show. In the main event of UFC Vegas 27 on Saturday night, Font is set to take on former UFC bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt. After Font knocked out Marlon Moraes in the first round in December, he called out TJ Dillashaw and Jose Aldo, as he thought Garbrandt would be going down to flyweight. But, when he was offered this fight, it was an immediate yes for the New England Cartel member.
After being "disrespected" by Dana White, Danny Sabatello expects to "maul" Brett Johns and "make him quit"
Cole Shelton - May 17, 2021
Danny Sabatello thought he was for sure going to get a UFC contract after his dominant performance over Taylor Moore on the Contender Series in November. Sabatello landed three of four takedowns and had 14:06 of ground control and won the fight 30-24, 30-25, 30-26. It was a dominant performance and for the now 28-year-old he thought he was a shoo-in for the contract.
Austin Vanderford expects to drag Fabian Edwards into the "deep waters," believes a win puts him into title contention
Cole Shelton - May 17, 2021
Austin Vanderford is eager to share the cage with Fabian Edwards at Bellator 259 on Friday night. Vanderford is 10-0 and coming off a decision win over Vinicius de Jesus in his third fight in Bellator. Vanderford is currently the third-ranked middleweight while Edwards is ranked fourth. Although they are both up and comers in the division, Vanderford believes the fight makes sense now.
Beneil Dariush jokes he will try and "avoid" Justin Gaethje fight as long as possible like Darren Till did with Yoel Romero
Cole Shelton - May 14, 2021
Beneil Dariush has taken notice of what Darren Till said about Yoel Romero, and he believes he has the same thing going on with Justin Gaethje. In the lead-up to UFC 249 in May of 2020, Dariush was a big part of Gaethje’s training camp to prepare for Tony Ferguson. Since then, the two have become good friends and have trained together. However, the ninth-ranked lightweight, jokes he will be avoiding the Gaethje fight as long as possible.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk targets late August return, 'not interested' in Marina Rodriguez
Drake Riggs - May 13, 2021
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is excited to get back in the Octagon now that crowds are a reality once again. The UFC brought back full capacity events for UFC 261 on April 24. In the card’s co-main event, MMA fans around the globe saw the strawweight title once held by Jedrzejczyk (16-4) change hands once again.