Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - December 17, 2018

Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley are the two halves of arguably the most heated rivalry in MMA today. The two top welterweights, who used to share a training space at American Top Team, are now sworn enemies. Yet there is one thing they can agree on: they want to fight each other next. Covington and Woodley’s mutual desire to be locked in the cage together is particularly pertinent lately, given that the UFC has recently moved to give Kamaru Usman the next shot at Woodley’s title. Usman has even received a bout agreement for the fight.

Chris Taylor - December 15, 2018

Former two-time UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson was expected to square off with former division champion Robbie Lawler in early 2019. Unfortunately, that fight was scrapped in favor of booking “Ruthless” against undefeated promotional newcomer Ben Askren at UFC 235.

Thomas Taylor - December 14, 2018

On November 9, UFC veteran Isaac Vallie-Flagg stepped into the ring to battle Cory Simpson on the undercard of the debut event from World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF). Vallie-Flagg won this fight by second-round TKO, and absolutely loved the experienced of fighting sans gloves.  Unfortunately, he still hasn’t been paid for his work.

Cole Shelton - December 14, 2018

When UFC veteran Damien Brown steps into the RIZIN ring with Daron Cruickshank at RIZIN 14 in Tokyo, Japan, on New Years Eve, he’ll be crossing an item off his bucket list. The Australian lightweight has long been interested in fighting for RIZIN in Japan, and on this card that also features massive names like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Tenshin Nasukawa, Kyoji Horiguchi, and Darrion Caldwell, the timing couldn’t be better.

Cole Shelton - December 13, 2018

Sodiq Yusuff’s UFC debut was supposed to be an enjoyable time for him. He worked his entire life to get the pinnacle of the sport and was being flown out to Australia to fight at UFC Adelaide. However, Yusuff found out his brother had passed away a week before his UFC debut. Yet even in the midst of this heartbreaking news, Yusuff never thought about dropping out of the fight and going back home. Instead, he was focused on the fight and making his childhood dreams come true.

Tom Taylor - December 13, 2018

Eduard Folayang is once again the ONE lightweight champion. The Team Lakay representative recaptured the title with a thrilling decision defeat of Amir Khan, which went down in front of his legions of Filipino faithful in Manila in late November. With the belt once again slung over his shoulder, Folayang is looking ahead to his first challenge as champion. That being said, it’s a little difficult to say who will provide that first challenge.

Mike Pendleton - December 12, 2018

After getting a UFC contract following his win on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series over Shawn Teed in July, heavyweight Juan Adams is finally ready to make his official UFC debut. Adams will face Chris De La Rocha at UFC on FOX 31 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this Saturday and he has set some high goals for himself in his UFC debut. ‘The Kraken’ Juan Adams spoke about making his promotional debut, wanting to send his opponent into retirement, and extending a personal streak of his.

Cole Shelton - December 12, 2018

English MMA veteran Brad Pickett spent many years as a WEC and UFC bantamweight contender before retiring in 2017. During the height of his career, when the UFC was still owned by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, there was much less of a focus on the “money fights” and “super fights” we hear so much about today. Instead, fighters generally had to earn their title shots and big paydays the old fashioned way: with wins. That’s the way Brad Pickett liked it. He didn’t need to trash talk to gain fans or move up the rankings. All he needed to do was win.

Cole Shelton - December 11, 2018

Ricky Bandejas has his next fight booked. The former CFFC interim bantamweight champion will return on January 26 at Bellator 214 against top contender Juan Archuleta. Bandejas confirmed the news with BJPENN.com after an initial report by FloCombat.

Drake Riggs - December 10, 2018

Growing up can be a very difficult task to be faced with. What may be easy to some can be tougher for others for various reasons. All experiences are different but similarities can and most likely will still exist. No one wants to get old, however, it happens to everyone, and as time goes on, us and the world around us changes. And dealing with the changes shapes us into who we are.

Cole Shelton - December 10, 2018

After a long career as a WEC and UFC bantamweight contender, Brad Pickett retired in 2017 and is now focusing on coaching and managing fighters. Picket always knew he would get into coaching. While he was a UFC fighter he loved helping out the younger fighters improve and show them what it takes to make it to the UFC. Although he was helping the fighters back then, he says it’s been different to focus exclusively on coaching.

Mike Straus - December 10, 2018

Originally not scheduled to compete this weekend, Milwaukee’s own Zak Ottow is beyond excited to be fighting on the historical UFC on FOX 31 card. The UFC is returning to Milwaukee for the first time since 2013. Despite lobbying for the Octagon to return, Ottow wasn’t apart of the UFC’s original fight night line up. However, it pays to stay ready as “The Barbarian” explains.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2018

Combate Americas is one of the fastest-growing MMA promotions in the world. In fact, according to WWE legend and Combate Americas announcer Alberto Del Rio, the Hispanic MMA powerhouse now regularly rivals the UFC in terms of Spanish language viewership. “Our numbers are fantastic,” Alberto Del Rio said of Combate Americas on episode 107 of BJPENN.COM Radio. “Like in numbers, we are just right behind the UFC. We are the most seen MMA company in Spanish around the world and I know that the language we speak here in America is English, but we do better numbers when it comes to the broadcasting in Spanish than the big companies or the biggest company you see. We do the same in Spain and we’re crushing any other company in Mexico.

Mike Pendleton - December 6, 2018

Once the UFC opened up the women’s flyweight division many thought it’d be a great opportunity for some of the women in the strawweight and bantamweight divisions to perform at their peak. Such was the case for former strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and former bantamweight title challenger, Valentina Shevchenko. Fittingly enough, Jedrzejczyk and Shevchenko are meeting at UFC 231 for the vacant flyweight title in a rivalry that has already experienced three Muay Thai fights for the two women. Shevchenko has three wins over Jedrzejczyk in Muay Thai but both women have put those fights behind them leading up to their title fight. Jedrzejczyk has said she believes a win over Shevchenko, which would make her a champion in a second weight class, would give her legendary status for her career.

Cole Shelton - December 6, 2018

After being cut by the UFC in 2014, Canada’s Jesse Ronson was set to make his return to the promotion to take on Diego Ferreira at UFC 231 this Saturday. The 32-year-old was stepping in on just 10 days notice to fight Ferreira. Unfortunately, this fight won’t be happening after all, as the Canadian was pulled from the card for being too heavy ahead of the weigh-ins.

Cole Shelton - December 6, 2018

This Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 231, streaking UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway will attempt to defend his title against undefeated challenger Brian Ortega. Heading into this fight, fans are divided in their predictions. As it turns out, professional fighters are also treading both sides of the fence.

Mike Pendleton - December 5, 2018

When Eryk Anders steps into the Octagon at UFC 231 against Elias Theodorou — a fight that he’s been chasing for some time — he’s looking to make a statement to the entire middleweight division. Coming off a loss to Thiago Santos, which he took on short-notice and in the unfamiliar light heavyweight division, Anders is looking to use lessons learned to help propel him in the middleweight division. In an interview with BJPenn.com, Eryk Anders opened up about what he’s looking to do against Theodorou, why he’s happy this fight is finally happening, and what he learned from his fight against Thiago Santos.

Mike Straus - December 4, 2018

After a brutal knockout and a series of unfortunate events, Josh Emmett is back training with Team Alpha Male. Heading into UFC on FOX 28 earlier this year Emmett was coming off the most impressive performance of his career. Unfortunately, he ran into a buzzsaw named Jeremy Stephens in Orlando, Florida, and that’s where Emmett’s troubles began.