Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Dusko Todorovic eager to hand Punahele Soriano his first loss and prove he's the better prospect
Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021
Dusko Todorovic was surprised with the name on his bout agreement. At UFC Fight Island 7, Todorovic, who is 10-0, will battle fellow undefeated prospect, Punahele Soriano. Although the fight was surprising to many fans, given both Todorvic and Soriano are top prospects, the Serbian no longer cares as he is now just focused on the task at hand and figured he would’ve fought Soriano eventually.
Matt Brown expects to be the first person to KO Carlos Condit in dominant performance
Cole Shelton - January 12, 2021
Matt Brown is eager to finally share the Octagon with Carlos Condit. In the co-main event of UFC Fight Island 7, Brown and Condit will finally fight one another after two previous bookings in 2013 and 2018 feel through due to Brown hurting his back and tearing his ACL.
Alessio Di Chirico expects to derail the hype of Joaquin Buckley and remain a UFC fighter
Cole Shelton - January 11, 2021
Alessio Di Chirico knows his UFC Fight Island 7 fight against Joaquin Buckley is do-or-die for his UFC career. Di Chirico is on a three-fight losing streak and many were surprised he was fighting Buckley who is on a winning streak. However, the Italian was excited when he got the call to fight Buckley.
Darina Mazdyuk plans 'to conquer Bellator' after becoming viral sensation
Drake Riggs - January 5, 2021
An unbelievable amount of ridiculousness ensued throughout 2020 the further along we all got in the year. To perfectly summarize 2020 with a capper, the MMA world provided us with an intergender openweight exhibition bout in November pitting Russia’s Darina Mazdyuk vs. the 500-plus pound YouTuber, Grigory Chistyakov (also known as Grisha Polnoe). Mazdyuk, 28, is a solid prospect who has competed in the 135-pound bantamweight and 145-pound featherweight divisions. However, up until her viral first-round TKO victory, the 4-1 pro was a virtual unknown outside of Russia’s regional scene.
Minowaman previews "explosively inspiring, wacky fight" at RIZIN 26
Tom Taylor - December 30, 2020
Minowaman, a legend among hardcore fight fans, is headed to the RIZIN Fighting Federation ring. The 44-year-old, who has competed in well over 100 mixed martial arts bouts and many pro wrestling matches, will take on jūryō-ranked sumo Tsuyoshi Sudario at RIZIN 26 inside the Saitama Super Arena on New Years Eve.
Coach: If Calvin Kattar doesn't get a title shot with a win over Holloway "there is superior politics going on"
Cole Shelton - December 29, 2020
Tyson Chartier believes Calvin Kattar will be fighting for a UFC title sometime in the middle of 2021. Entering 2020, Chartier and Kattar set out a goal of going 3-0 after a disappointing loss to Zabit Magomedsharipov in November. The hope was the New England Cartel member would get the hype behind his name back and everyone would forget about the loss. So far, that is exactly what has happened.
Rob Font wants TJ Dillashaw or Jose Aldo next after stopping Marlon Moraes in the first
Cole Shelton - December 28, 2020
Rob Font is now a top-five bantamweight. Entering UFC Vegas 17, Font had heard all the talk that he couldn’t win the big one. When the New England Cartel member got steps up in competition he faltered as evidence to the Raphael Assuncao and Pedro Munhoz losses. However, as he was getting ready to fight Marlon Moraes, his confidence and mental state were much different which was the key to getting his hand raised.
After "dominating" Carlton Minus on three days' notice, Christos Giagos looking for quick turnaround
Cole Shelton - December 23, 2020
Christos Giagos thought he wouldn’t get a fight in 2020. Giagos lost a close decision to Drakkar Klose at UFC 241 and since then, he was looking to fight. He was expected to fight in April but due to the pandemic, the event was canceled. Since then, he was bugging his manager for a fight, and out of blue, last Wednesday, he got a fight offer to fight on three days’ notice against Carlton Minus and took it.
Maycee Barber admits Michael Bisping’s comments following Modafferi loss stung a bit: “To me, he is a legend”
Cole Shelton - December 18, 2020
Maycee Barber has responded to Michael Bisping. After Barber suffered her first career loss to Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246, the 22-year-old grabbed the mic before Modafferi could speak. Barber also blamed her ACL tearing as the reason she lost. However, Bisping was not a fan of the way Barber handled her first career loss.
Khaos Williams expects to turn Michel Pereira into a wrestler "once I touch the chin"
Cole Shelton - December 17, 2020
Khaos Williams doesn’t expect Michel Pereira to strike with him this Saturday. At UFC Vegas 17, Williams is set to return to the Octagon just a month after scoring a highlight-reel one-punch KO over Abdul Razak Alhassan. Given he didn’t take much damage, Williams wanted to get one more in this year and that is what happened.
Maycee Barber reflects on 2020, confident she will "prove everyone wrong" in return fight
Cole Shelton - December 17, 2020
Maycee Barber’s 2020 did not go the way she envisioned. In January at UFC 246, Barber was looking to improve to 9-0 when she took on Roxanne Modafferi. The goal for the 22-year-old was to beat Modafferi, get another win in the summer and fight for the belt at year’s end. Unfortunately for her, she lost the fight by decision and tore her ACL which has kept her out of action for the remainder of the year.
Pro fighters make their picks for Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal
Cole Shelton - December 17, 2020
In the main event of the UFC Vegas 17 which is the final UFC event of 2020, Stephen Thompson returns to the Octagon against rising contender, Geoff Neal. Heading into the fight, Neal is a -120 favorite while “Wonderboy” is a -110 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority of pros believe it will be Thompson getting the job done and remaining a top-five welterweight.
Rob Font expects to put the bantamweight division on notice with a KO win over Marlon Moraes
Cole Shelton - December 16, 2020
Rob Font didn’t expect to be fighting Marlon Moraes in his return fight. Font is on a two-fight winning streak but has not fought since last December when he defeated Ricky Simon by decision. Rob has been sidelined with injuries but at UFC Vegas 17 he will return to the Octagon against Moraes.
Marlon Vera expects to KO Jose Aldo and "let the division know I’m going to be a world champion"
Cole Shelton - December 16, 2020
Marlon Vera is expecting to get into a slugfest on Saturday night. In the co-main event of UFC Vegas 17, Vera is set to battle Jose Aldo in a fight that was supposed to happen at both UFC 255 and 256. However, due to visa issues, the fight was delayed but for “Chito” he is just glad the fight got made.
Stephen Thompson believes UFC views him as a gatekeeper, eyes KO win over Geoff Neal
Cole Shelton - December 15, 2020
Stephen Thompson thinks the UFC views him as a gatekeeper now. For the second-straight fight, Thompson will fight a rising welterweight contender, but this time he will be the main event as he battles Geoff Neal. It is a very intriguing matchup but for “Wonderboy” he knows why the UFC made this fight and that is them wanting to push Neal up the rankings.
Geoff Neal expects to finish Stephen Thompson and earn welterweight title shot
Cole Shelton - December 15, 2020
Geoff Neal didn’t expect Stephen Thompson to accept the fight. After Neal was forced to pull out of his fight against Neil Magny in August, he wasn’t sure if he would get a ranked opponent in his return. However, he was then offered Thompson and was surprised “Wonderboy” accepted it.
Peter Barrett expects to KO Chase Hooper in the first: "He blocks punches with his face"
Cole Shelton - December 11, 2020
Peter Barrett believes the UFC and Chase Hooper made a mistake by taking this fight. At UFC 256, Hooper is set to return to the Octagon after his first career loss to battle Barrett, who lost his promotional debut earlier this year. However, for the 34-year-old in Barrett, he believes the UFC is rooting for Hooper to win as they have high expectations for him.
Conor McGregor will KO Dustin Poirier in the first round again, according to Artem Lobov
Cole Shelton - December 11, 2020
Artem Lobov believes Conor McGregor will beat Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 the same way he did at UFC 178. Back in 2014, McGregor was making his rise up the featherweight division and scored a first-round KO over Poirier. The Irishman said he would do exactly that, but at UFC 257 they are rematching at lightweight with many believing it will be a more competitive fight.