Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Roxanne Modafferi on UFC 246 win over Maycee Barber: 'I was winning before her knee got hurt anyway'
Cole Shelton - January 22, 2020
Roxanne Modafferi was the biggest underdog on the entire UFC 246 card, entering the cage for her fight with Maycee Barber at +600. Yet the 39-fight veteran got the job done by unanimous decision winning, every single round including one 10-8 round on one judge’s scorecard.
Michael Chiesa says he 'loves' UFC Raleigh matchup but doesn't know why Rafael dos Anjos asked for it
Cole Shelton - January 21, 2020
Michael Chiesa wanted a ranked opponent after his win over Diego Sanchez but did not expect to get a top-five opponent in Rafael dos Anjos. Chiesa, who moved up to welterweight in 2018, is now 2-0 in the weight class and revealed it was dos Anjos who asked for the fight at UFC Raleigh.
Cris Cyborg: Bellator 238 fight against Julia Budd will be 'one of the greatest fights in WMMA history'
Cole Shelton - January 20, 2020
Cris Cyborg believes her upcoming fight against Julia Budd will be one of the best ever. In the main event of Bellator 238, Cyborg is making her promotional debut and challenging for the featherweight title. It will no doubt be a tough fight for Cyborg. Yet, she is eager for the challenge and the opportunity to headline the card.
UFC 246 | Pro fighters make their picks for Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone
Cole Shelton - January 16, 2020
In the main event of UFC 246, Conor McGregor makes his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon, where he will battle Donald Cerrone. Heading into the fight, the Irishman is a -325 favorite while “Cowboy” is a +250 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To some surprise, most are going with the underdog Cerrone to upset McGregor.
Timofey Nastyukhin is '100% ready to fight' and build on momentum of Alvarez win
Tom Taylor - January 15, 2020
Former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez was widely expected to blow through the competition in ONE Championship. Timofey Nastyukhin, the man tasked with welcoming Alvarez to the ONE cage back in March of 2019, didn’t get the memo. Instead, Nastyukhin disposed of the decorated MMA champion inside one round, shocking everybody but himself.
Maurice Greene confident he'll KO Alexey Oleynik: 'It's hard to do jiu-jitsu when you're getting punched and elbowed'
Cole Shelton - January 15, 2020
Maurice Greene is confident he will return to the win column at UFC 246 when he battles Alexey Oleynik. Last time out, Greene suffered his first loss inside the Octagon when he was knocked out by Sergei Pavlovich. Although he lost, he says it was a learning experience and knows what he has to do differently now.
Alexander Volkanovski prioritizing title defenses over super fights
Tom Taylor - January 14, 2020
There are a lot of dangerous fighters in the UFC featherweight top-10, and the division’s new champion Alexander Volkanovski is more than happy to fight them all. That, he says, is simply the duty of a UFC champion. “That’s how a champ should do it,” Volkanovski told BJPENN.com, adding that defeating his many featherweight rivals is the best way to cement himself as one of the best ever.
UFC 246 | Alexey Oleynik: 'I don't need to go to the ground' against Maurice Greene
Cole Shelton - January 14, 2020
Alexey Oleynik knows he will have a massive advantage on the ground when he takes on Maurice Green at UFC 246, but isn’t sure he will utilize it. Oleynik is on a two-fight losing streak, having recently been TKO’d by Alistair Overeem and then knocked out in 12 seconds by Walt Harris, and knows this fight is crucial. Yet he may not even use his best tool which is his jiu-jitsu.
Manager: Carlos Condit suffered 'common injury', will fight in 2020
Mike Heck - January 13, 2020
Carlos Condit was hoping to get back on track to end 2019 before an injury forced him to withdraw from his scheduled fight with Mickey Gall at UFC Washington, DC. While the exact reason for the withdrawal hasn’t truly been revealed, Condit’s manager Abe Kawa says that “The Natural Born Killer” didn’t suffer a serious injury and expects to make a full recovery.
UFC 246 | Diego Ferreira believes it will come down to 'who wants it more' against Anthony Pettis
Cole Shelton - January 13, 2020
Diego Ferreira is days out from arguably the biggest fight of his career. He will take on Anthony Pettis in the UFC 246 pay-per-view opener this Saturday in Las Vegas. With a win, the Brazilian might just enter the lightweight rankings. Although Pettis, who is the former WEC and UFC lightweight champion is a big name, this was not an opponent Ferreira expected to get. Instead, he originally asked for Alexander Hernandez, but is happy with the Pettis matchup.
Cynthia Calvillo heading to 125, expects UFC flyweight debut in April
Mike Heck - January 10, 2020
Cynthia Calvillo is officially done with the 115-pound weight division. After closing out 2019 fighting Marina Rodriguez to a majority draw — a fight in which she missed weight after her body began to shut down during her cut — Calvillo has made the decision to make the move up to the women’s flyweight division. The 32-year-old Calvillo will return to the division for the first time since her pro debut in August 2016.
Gilbert Burns believes welterweight division has become 'stagnant' like lightweight when McGregor was champ
Cole Shelton - January 10, 2020
Gilbert Burns believes the welterweight division has become stagnant, just like the lightweight division was when Conor McGregor was the champion. When that was happening, Burns had a hard time getting fights or ranked opponents. So, in 2019 he decided to move up to welterweight. Immediately, he got two short-notice fights against Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson, and he won both. But, now with a number beside his name, he feels it is hard to get fights at 170 pounds.
Gilbert Burns says Demian Maia didn't want to take fight, believes win puts career on 'another level'
Cole Shelton - January 8, 2020
Gilbert Burns got his wish as he will indeed fight Demian Maia in the co-main event of UFC Brasilia. Yet, the fight almost didn’t come to fruition. Burns, who is now 2-0 at welterweight with two short-notice wins over Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson says mutual friends between him and Maia said the Brazilian legend didn’t want to take the fight.
Promoter: Claressa Shields vs. Amanda Nunes 'would be the biggest women’s sporting event of all time'
Cole Shelton - January 8, 2020
Claressa Shields has made it known that she wants to fight Amanda Nunes in MMA and in boxing. If it happens, Shields’ promoter in Dmitriy Salita believes it would be the biggest women’s sporting event of all time. Shields is set to fight on Jan. 10 against Ivana Habazin. If she wins, she would become a three-weight champion.
Devonte Smith using 'lessons learned' towards recovery, 'winning' 2020
Mike Heck - January 7, 2020
To say Devonte Smith’s 2019 was chaotic would be a bit of an understatement. After starting the year off with a highlight reel first round KO win over Dong Hyun Ma at UFC 234 — in the first PPV prelim headliner in UFC history on ESPN — “King Kage” was on everyone’s radars. In fact, the 26-year-old lightweight standout would get matched up with a longtime UFC veteran in John Makdessi for UFC 241 in August.
Geoff Neal says Usman-Covington was 'entertaining' but technique wasn't good
Cole Shelton - January 6, 2020
Geoff Neal was surprised how the UFC 245 main event between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington played out. It was a battle between two high-level wrestlers, yet there was not one takedown attempt. Instead, they decided to stand and trade until Usman dropped Covington twice in the fifth and earned a TKO win to retain his belt.
Geoff Neal knew head kick would be there against Mike Perry, eyes anyone ranked above him
Cole Shelton - January 3, 2020
Geoff Neal picked up the biggest win of his career at UFC 245 when he knocked out Mike Perry in the first round. He was also the first person to knock out the fan favorite out in MMA. Neal was confident he would earn a finish but was surprised it happened so soon into the fight.
Claressa Shields says she will train with Jon Jones, make MMA debut in 2020
Mike Heck - January 3, 2020
Claressa Shields is looking to make a lot of history in 2020 — in the boxing ring, and in the world of mixed martial arts. Shields has the opportunity to become a three-division world boxing champion and do so faster than any fighter in history when she faces Ivana Habazin on Jan. 10 for the vacant WBC and WBO 154-pound titles. The event will take place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. and will air on Showtime.