Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021

XFC MMA is set for its first Young Guns event on March 27 and president, Myron Molotky couldn’t be more excited. When XFC re-launched last year, the first event was a success with the promotion airing on NBC as well. However, as the company was in the stages of re-launching, Molotky made it known he wanted to find the next superstar. To do that, he launched Young Guns, where he will have several fighters making their debuts or only a handful of fights into their career compete on the card as they look to get an official XFC contract.

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021

Adrian Yanez knows his entrance to UFC fans couldn’t have gone any better. Yanez earned his UFC contract with a 39-second KO over Brady Huang on the Contender Series. He followed that up with a first-round KO over Victor Rodriguez in October. Although he has two excellent finishes, he knows he still has work to do and that begins at UFC Vegas 22 against Gustavo Lopez who is an opponent Yanez has wanted for quite some time.

Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021

JP Buys will get to make his UFC debut alongside his wife, Cheyanne. On the prelims of UFC Vegas 22, JP Buys will face Bruno Silva while on the main card Cheyanne will face Montserrat Ruiz. They will also be looking to make history as the first married couple to both win UFC fights on the same card. Not only are they competing on the same card, but they will also corner one another.

Cole Shelton - March 18, 2021

Grant Dawson is finally making the move to lightweight. After Dawson missed the featherweight mark by 3.5 pounds against Darrick Minner and barely made weight for a 150-pound catchweight against Nad Narimani in July, he knew he needed to move up to 155lbs. The goal for Dawson was to make a quick turnaround but that was not the case. Finally, at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 22 event, Dawson will make his official UFC lightweight debut against Leonardo Santos.

Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021

Max Griffin believes Kenan Song is the perfect opponent for him to look good against. On the main card of UFC Vegas 22 on March 20, Griffin is set to return against Song. Although Griffin wanted to return sooner, the birth of his son forced him to postpone the contest from UFC 259 to this card.

Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021

Jan Blachowicz says he and Jon Jones still have unfinished business. After Blachowicz knocked out Corey Anderson last year in New Mexico, Jones promised Blachowicz a fight. However, “Bones” couldn’t come to terms with the UFC and he vacated the light heavyweight title with eyes on a move to heavyweight. Since then, Blachowicz became the new 205lbs champ with a TKO win over Dominick Reyes and he defended his belt against Israel Adesanya.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Antonio Carlos Junior didn’t think he was fighting for his job at UFC 257. Carlos Junior was making his return to the Octagon after over a year away against Brad Tavares. In the fight, the Brazilian was looking to get the fight to the ground but Tavares managed to keep the contest on the feet and outstrike him to win a decision. After the fight, it was revealed Carlos Junior was released which caught him by surprise.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2021

Jan Blachowicz knew the UFC had big plans for Israel Adesanya if he became a champ-champ at UFC 259. Entering the fight, Blachowicz said he would try to wrestle Adesanya early and stand with him late. However, the fight played out completely opposite as he stood and traded with Adesanya and in the championship rounds went to his wrestling to secure the win.

Cole Shelton - March 12, 2021

Alexis Davis didn’t know if she would remain a UFC fighter. After the Canadian lost to Viviane Araujo at UFC 240, which was her third loss in a row, she wondered if she would be released. The UFC ended up deciding to keep her on, but a shoulder injury kept her out until 2021 where she fought Sabina Mazo.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2021

Jonathan Martinez is confident he will extend his winning streak to three on Saturday night. At UFC Vegas 21, Martinez is set to fight Davey Grant, in a fight that was a surprise to many. Martinez is coming off a decision win over Thomas Almeida on short notice. After the win, Martinez and many fans thought he would’ve gotten a ranked opponent next.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 21, Leon Edwards is making his return to the Octagon as he takes on Belal Muhammad. Heading into the fight, Edwards is a -275 favorite while the Palestinian-American is a +215 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, the majority of pros have Edwards extending his winning streak to nine.

Cole Shelton - March 10, 2021

Eryk Anders is expecting a highly entertaining fight for the fans on Saturday night To open up the UFC Vegas 21 main card, Anders is set to face Darren Stewart. In the lead-up to the fight, Anders, the former D-1 football star at Alabama, left home to go to Arizona and train at Fight Ready. For Anders, he says he needed a change in order to improve.

Cole Shelton - March 9, 2021

Dan Ige was preparing to face someone else besides Ryan Hall. Ige was originally supposed to face Hall at UFC Vegas 21 on March 13. However, even as the fight drew closer, he had a feeling the grappling wizard would pull out which would be the case. After Hall pulled out, Ige made it clear he wanted to be on this card and will now take on Gavin Tucker.

Cole Shelton - March 8, 2021

Ray Rodriguez is confident he will get his first UFC win. At UFC Vegas 21, Rodriguez is set to return to the Octagon against Rani Yahya. Rodriguez made his UFC debut last September and suffered a 39-second submission loss to Brian Kelleher on short notice. It was a disappointing result for Rodriguez but he knew he’d get another well-known name and he gets his wish against former WEC bantamweight title challenger in Yahya.

Alfredo Zullino - March 8, 2021

Every person has a story. Some stories, though, are deeper than others and need to be told, like that of mixed martial artist Valeriu Mircea. Mircea has born in 1993 in Satul Topala, a 2000-person rural village in Moldova, situated in the district of Cimișlia. His family was not wealthy, to put it mildly. His mother, though, did everything she could to give her sons what they needed.

Cole Shelton - March 5, 2021

Kyler Phillips was surprised the UFC booked him against Song Yadong but is eager for the fight to happen. Both Phillips and Yadong are considered two of the top prospects at bantamweight so Phillips didn’t think the UFC would match them up against one another. However, when the fight was offered, it was an immediate yes from Phillips.

Cole Shelton - March 5, 2021

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship is looking to add Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem to their heavyweight roster. It was recently revealed both dos Santos and Overeem were removed from the heavyweight ranks. Shortly thereafter, it was reported both men were released from the promotion and they both confirmed the news on their social media.

Cole Shelton - March 4, 2021

Drew Dober always had his eye on Islam Makhachev. On the main card of Saturday’s stacked UFC 259 event, Dober is set to return against Makhachev. Although not many were interested in fighting the Russian, Dober was the one who asked for this fight.