Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - April 4, 2019

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) returns this Saturday with Artem Lobov and Jason Knight making their promotional debuts in the main event of BKFC 5. Although the two are set to headline the card, the pre-fight discourse has been dominated by Lobov and Paulie Malignaggi’s potential fight. With all the buzz surrounding a potential Lobov vs. Malignaggi fight, Knight thinks Lobov is looking past him and that this will be a mistake for Lobov.

Mike Pendleton - April 3, 2019

Coming off their respective wins at UFC London, Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal set themselves up for a potential fight. Although they could have just met in the cage, the two instead met backstage following their wins, and an altercation took place that saw Masvidal get his hands on Edwards, who is now looking for revenge. With the dust from their altercation settling, the UFC decided to move past the new rivalry and have been in talks to schedule a fight between Masvidal and Ben Askren this summer. While the UFC has made it clear they don’t have any current plans for Masvidal and Edwards to face each other, “Rocky” isn’t going to stop pursuing the fight.

Mike Straus - April 3, 2019

Fresh off his most impressive victory to date over the weekend, Sweden’s Jack Hermansson says he is ready to get right back to work. Hermansson made quick work of David Branch in the co-main event of UFC Philadelphia on Saturday night. “The Joker” needed only 49 seconds to submit the Renzo Gracie black belt with a brutal guillotine choke.

Cole Shelton - March 31, 2019

The future of the UFC’s flyweight division is murky. It was previously reported that the division was going to close down at the end of 2018. However, that was not the case. Rather, the division stayed on, and headlining the first card of 2019 was a flyweight title fight. Although the fight was considered a ‘superfight’ given TJ Dillashaw was moving down in weight to take on Henry Cejudo.

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019

In 2011, Filipino Wushu specialist Eduard Folayang was invited to headline the debut event from a brand new promotion called ONE Fighting Championship. Folayang was originally booked to fight fellow Filipino Ole Laursen on the card, but was later matched up with streaking Korean A Sol Kwon when Laursen was sidelined with a knee injury. Folayang prevailed despite the opponent change, winning a unanimous decision. Almost eight years later, Folayang has competed 14 more times for this promotion (which has since dropped the word “Fighting” from its name).

Cole Shelton - March 28, 2019

The UFC is heading back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for UFC on ESPN 2 this weekend. In the main event, Edson Barboza will be taking on Justin Gaethje in a matchup that has Fight of the Year written all over it. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions. Here’s what they had to say.

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2019

Yuya Wakamatsu is being counted out by almost everybody as he prepares to battle former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson this Sunday at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Japan. However, the 24-year-old Japanese fighter feels that he has some crucial advantages heading into this matchup with the MMA legend. One such advantage is his size.

Cole Shelton - March 28, 2019

The UFC’s lightweight division will hopefully get a little more organized come UFC 236. In the main event, featherweight champion Max Holloway will move up in weight to take on Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight championship. However, some fans aren’t thrilled about this matchup, as they thought Tony Ferguson or another lightweight contender deserved the opportunity to fight for gold. American Top Team owner Dan Lambert is not one of those people.

Mike Pendleton - March 27, 2019

With a vacant bantamweight title up for grab, Aljamain Sterling is calling for his chance. The “FunkMaster” is currently on a three-fight winning streak which has seen him beat the likes of Brett Johns, Cody Stamann, and Jimmie Rivera. Now that he finds himself at the top of the division, Sterling wants his chance at the UFC title. While the UFC seems pretty set on making Marlon Moraes vs Henry Cejudo as the next bantamweight title fight, Sterling continues to push and call out for a title fight.

Mike Pendleton - March 27, 2019

If the UFC is preparing to make a bantamweight title fight between Marlon Moraes and flyweight champion Henry Cejudo as Dana White said they were, Aljamain Sterling will be looking for an opponent, and Pedro Munhoz might be the one. Munhoz most recently defeated former champion Cody Garbrandt at UFC 235 and finds himself on a three-fight winning streak, the same as Aljamain Sterling. With a potential title fight between Cejudo and Moraes possibly in the works, a matchup between Sterling and Munhoz makes sense for both sides.

Cole Shelton - March 27, 2019

At UFC 235, Tyron Woodley was put his title on the line when he took on Kamaru Usman, not Colby Covington like many expected. Ultimately, Usman dominated Woodley from bell to bell to become the new welterweight champion. Now, Colby Covington will apparently be getting the first crack at Usman. The two have had a feud going on for a while now and ‘Chaos’ believes Usman is actually an easier matchup than Woodley is.

Mike Pendleton - March 26, 2019

The recent news of TJ Dillashaw relinquishing his title due to an adverse finding in his drug test after his fight against flyweight champion Henry Cejudo sent a shockwave through the MMA world. Dillashaw faced Cejudo in attempt to become a two-weight world champion in a time where the future of the flyweight division was up in the air. Henry Cejudo put a halt to the plans of Dillashaw and the UFC potentially shutting down the flyweight division when he defeated Dillashaw in a quick first-round TKO. Now that Dillashaw has relinquished his title and left the bantamweight division and title up for grabs, many fighters of the bantamweight division are speaking up for their chance to get the vacant belt.

Tom Taylor - March 26, 2019

Earlier this month, on the main card of UFC London, top light heavyweight contenders Dominick Reyes and Volkan Oezdemir engaged in a razor close, three-round battle. In the end, Reyes emerged the victor of this fight with a split decision win. Not everybody, however, agreed with the scoring for this bout.

Tom Taylor - March 26, 2019

Artem Lobov will soon make his debut as a bare knuckle fighter, as he’s scheduled for a gloveless fight with fellow UFC veteran Jason Knight at BKFC 5 on April 6. Ahead of this debut, Lobov has not made any secret of his confidence. He expects to accomplish big things under the BKFC banner.

Cole Shelton - March 25, 2019

Colby Covington and Jon Jones have not gotten along of late, but the two UFC stars used to be roommates in college. And while Covington has made some pretty incendiary comments about Jones over the last few years, he’s now hoping to squash the beef and repair their relationship. Covington was actually hoping to get a chance to talk to Jones face-to-face and hash out their differences at UFC 235.

Tom Taylor - March 25, 2019

Retired boxer Paulie Malignaggi seems to absolutely detest UFC superstar Conor McGregor, but it doesn’t seem like he and McGregor will have the chance to settle their differences in the ring any time soon. The good news for Malignaggi is that he could soon have the opportunity to fight McGregor’s friend and chief training partner, Artem Lobov. Both Malignaggi and Lobov recently signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (BKFC), and depending on the outcome of Lobov’s April 6 fight with Jason Knight, they could soon be clobbering each other sans gloves in the BKFC ring.

Tom Taylor - March 24, 2019

Over the last few weeks, former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor has spent quite a bit of time in the United States. During his time on American soil, he’s gotten some training in at a number of notable gyms, including an American Top Team location in Atlanta, and Bas Rutten’s Elite MMA in California. McGregor’s training sessions at these gyms have led some members of the MMA community to speculate that he has parted ways with SBG, his long-time home in Dublin, Ireland, and that he is exploring the options for a new home base.

Tom Taylor - March 22, 2019

Bibiano Fernandes, arguably the most successful fighters in ONE Championship history, never expected to compete on the same card as his long-time friend and training partner Demetrious Johnson. When ONE Championship traded Ben Askren to the UFC in exchange for Johnson, however, it was suddenly a possibility. As luck would have it, Bibiano Fernandes and Demetrious Johnson are both set to compete at ONE: A New Era on March 31 in Tokyo — in back-to-back fights.