Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Mike Pendleton - March 25, 2020

After having his fight against Leon Edwards postponed, former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley had other potential opponents willing to step in on short-notice for a fight. Unfortunately, none materialized, as the UFC officially postponed the UFC London event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns both throwing their names into the hat to face Woodley, it seemed as though the former champion has moved on from Leon Edwards and shifted focus to facing Covington as the two have a long-standing rivalry between them.

Cole Shelton - March 24, 2020

Renato Moicano isn’t pleased with the way he handled himself following his win at UFC Brasilia. Moicano was moving up to lightweight after back-to-back losses and quickly submitted Damir Hazdovic in under a minute. Following the win, you could hear the Brazilain complaining on the broadcast as he wanted to fight longer given he was at home and wanted to really see how his body would do at lightweight.

Mike Pendleton - March 24, 2020

Francis Ngannou entered the UFC in 2015 just five fights into his professional career, and skyrocketed throughout the division due to his performances inside the Octagon. In just over two years upon entering the UFC, Ngannou would go on a six-fight winning streak which would lead him to get a title shot against Stipe Miocic. Although he would come up short in his attempt at UFC gold, Francis Ngannou showed he could still hang with the very best heavyweights in the world. Following his fight against Miocic, Ngannou would drop his second consecutive fight in a lackluster showing against Derrick Lewis, and then change followed shortly thereafter.

Cole Shelton - March 24, 2020

Gilbert Burns knew he would become just the second person ever to finish Demian Maia but he expected to do it by submission. In the co-main event of UFC Brasilia, Burns was battling Maia in a very important welterweight clash. There, he was fighting in front of no fans which he admits was quite hard to deal with.

Tom Taylor - March 20, 2020

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is one of countless sports organizations to be adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic that is currently sweeping the planet, having already been forced to postpone two events. Suffice it to say that it’s been a hectic few weeks for company president David Feldman, who is doing his best to guide the organization through these times of danger and uncertainty.

Cole Shelton - March 20, 2020

Jimi Manuwa is still interested in becoming a professional boxer. The former UFC light heavyweight retired last summer but recently said he is interested in a return to the Octagon. But, if that does not happen, the Englishman says he would like to box.

Cole Shelton - March 18, 2020

Jimi Manuwa is happy that the UFC’s light heavyweight division has “come alive” in recent months. Manuwa has been in the UFC since 2012, where he saw Jon Jones become the promotions light heavyweight champion and defend his belt several times. Jimi believes the division was stagnant when “Bones” first dealt with his USADA and personal issues.

Cole Shelton - March 18, 2020

It appears Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes 2 will not happen next, according to UFC light heavyweight, Sam Alvey, a training partner of Reyes’. Jones and Reyes fought in the main event of UFC 247 where it was “Bones” who won a very close decision. Yet, for many fighters and fans, they thought Reyes did enough and should have been awarded the belt.

Cole Shelton - March 16, 2020

Jimi Manuwa doesn’t think his retirement is permanent. Following Manuwa’s knockout loss to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC Stockholm, which was his fourth in a row, he decided to call it a career. Yet, since then, he has been pondering the idea of ending his retirement and returning to the UFC.

Cole Shelton - March 13, 2020

Johnny Walker is confident he’ll get back into the win column at UFC Brasilia this Saturday when he battles Nikita Krylov. Last time out, Walker was getting a big step up in competition where he fought Corey Anderson at UFC 244. Many thought the Brazilian would score another highlight-reel knockout but that was not the case. Instead, it was Anderson who scored a first-round TKO.

Tom Taylor - March 13, 2020

This Saturday’s UFC Brasilia card has been closed to the public, meaning the fighters on the bill will compete in an arena completely devoid of fans. This is an experience a number of ONE Championship fighters are already familiar with. Late last month, amid growing concerns surrounding the coronavirus, ONE Championship elected to convert its ONE: King of the Jungle card to a closed-door event—just as the UFC has decided to do with the UFC Brasilia card.

Cole Shelton - March 12, 2020

In the main event of the closed-door UFC Brasilia card, Kevin Lee is going into hostile territory when he battles Charles Oliveira. Heading into the fight, Lee is a -145 favorite while the Brazilian is a +115 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The slight majority believe Kevin Lee gets it done but many also believe this is a true pick’em fight.

Cole Shelton - March 11, 2020

Renato Moicano is looking to snap his two-fight losing streak when he moves up to lightweight at UFC Brasilia to battle Damir Hadzovic. In his last fight, he was knocked out by Korean Zombie in the main event of UFC Greenville in just 58 seconds. After a bad weight cut for that one, he realized it was time to move up.

Cole Shelton - March 10, 2020

Gilbert Burns is getting the biggest fight of his career in the co-main event of UFC Brasilia this weekend when he takes on Demian Maia. It was a fight Burns had wanted but he didn’t expect Maia to accept. When he found out the scrap was happening, he was ecstatic.

Alfredo Zullino - March 9, 2020

If you are a casual martial arts fan and you watch only UFC events, you probably haven’t heard of French featherweight Morgan Charriere. But what if we tell you that the Frenchman will probably be the next big thing in Europe’s MMA?

Cole Shelton - March 9, 2020

Patricio Freire believes he can cement his legacy during the Bellator featherweight grand prix. “Pitbull” already defeated Juan Archuleta in the opening round and will now take on Pedro Carvalho on Friday in the quarter-finals. It is a fight the Brazilian picked during the selection show but says he did it because of the date, not because of the opponent.

Alfredo Zullino - March 6, 2020

UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori isn’t only a legit contender in his division, he’s also one of the most outspoken fighters on UFC roster. The Italian juggernaut isn’t a rookie when it comes to having some beefs on the web, as he uses the internet to call out fighters via his social media accounts, from time to time. He did that with Eric Spicely, then with Andrew Sanchez and more recently with the former UFC welterweight title contender Darren Till.

Alfredo Zullino - March 5, 2020

Marvin Vettori, “The Italian Dream”, the quintessence of the self-confidence, the only hope for Italian MMA in his own words. You can tell the Italian is a real one just from looking at the beginning of his professional mixed martial arts career. Fighters usually start their path competing in their own backyards, cutting their teeth in a comfort zone, but that was not the case for Marvin Vettori.