Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - November 18, 2018

Over the last few years, we’ve all been wondering when Nick and Nate Diaz will fight again. The brothers have been fan favorites for ages now, but both have taken years off when it seemed like their popularity and their skill was at an all-time high. While it now sounds as though Nick Diaz will return to action opposite Jorge Masvidal at UFC 235, has hasn’t fought since UFC 183 in 2015, when he took on Anderson Silva in a fight that was ruled a no contest when he tested positive for marijuana and Silva tested positive for drostanolone. Although his long absence is due in part to a suspension, his interest in competing has also been questioned.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2018

Earlier this month, in the co-main event of the UFC’s 25th anniversary show in Denver, Colorado, welterweight knockout artist “Platinum” Mike Perry stepped into the cage with long-time contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Unfortunately for Perry and his many fans, this fight didn’t go as planned. Instead, he was forced to tap to a Cowboy armbar in the first round. Heading into this fight, Mike Perry says he spent a lot of time sharpening his kickboxing arsenal with the elite coaches and training partners at JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque. Even though he didn’t get the result he wanted against Cowboy, he says he’s happy with the striking improvements he showed in the fight.

Cole Shelton - November 17, 2018

Jake Shields doesn’t know what his future holds. Shields most recently fought for PFL this year in which he lost to Ray Cooper III back in late October. Since the loss, Jake has been contemplating his future.

Cole Shelton - November 16, 2018

For most competitors on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) the goal is to win the show and earn a UFC contract. However, TUF 28 fighter Leah Letson didn’t have that worry. No matter how she did on the show, she was guaranteed to fight in the UFC. “Mine was a little bit of a different story, just because I am already signed to the UFC. My coaches called me and told ‘hey they are asking if you want to be on TUF, do you want to do it?” So it was more of a decision if I wanted to do it,” Letson said to BJPENN.com. “After I talked to my coaches we thought it was a great opportunity to get my name out there and get some exposure. And, get some ring rust off because it had been a year and a half since I fought. I knew the fights wouldn’t count on my record. I knew no matter how I did on the show I would still have my UFC contract. It was a win-win situation for me. It was a pretty cool opportunity that I got presented that I definitely wanted to take up.”

Mike Straus - November 16, 2018

Mike Trizano answered all the doubters last weekend when he defeated Luis Pena at the UFC’s 25th-anniversary show in Denver, Colorado. Trizano won season 27 of The Ultimate Fighter. Almost immediately after he was faced with some what-ifs. Mainly if “Violent Bob Ross” didn’t get injured, would Trizano still have won the show? Al the doubters got their answer last Saturday night.

Cole Shelton - November 15, 2018

When fighters get the call to say they are competing on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) it is a dream come true. The news means they are just three victories away from earning a UFC contract, while even the fighters that don’t win sometimes end up in the UFC. However, when fighters compete on The Ultimate Fighter, they are locked away in a house together with the other competitors. It can cause some awkward moments and has even resulted in scraps breaking out inside the house. TUF 28 fighters, Leah Letson and Maurice Greene now know all to well what the infamous TUF house is like.

Cole Shelton - November 14, 2018

Justin Frazier is ready to prove all the doubters wrong. On The Ultimate Fighter 28 (TUF), Justin Frazier left tryouts not knowing if he would be on the show. Ultimately, the UFC saw enough potential in him and decided to put him on the show. However, before competing on TUF, Frazier didn’t take his fighting career seriously. The heavyweight was overweight, and his cardio was not very good. Then, to top it off, Frazier was the last heavyweight taken when coaches Robert Whittaker and Kelvin Gastelum picked their teams.

Cole Shelton - November 13, 2018

The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is a place for fighters to try and reach their goal of fighting in the UFC. The rules are simple, win the season, get a UFC contract. Along with that, the fighters all live in a house together where arguments and drama often take place. But at times, the house has also created friendships. That’s just what happened this season as teammates Maurice Greene and Justin Frazier created a lifelong friendship inside the house. The two immediately bonded at tryouts where both of them believed they would be in the house together.

Cole Shelton - November 12, 2018

On The Ultimate Fighter 28 (TUF) the biggest rivalry on the show is not between coaches as past seasons have shown. Rather, it is between Maurice Greene and Juan Espino. The two went back-and-forth with verbal attacks all season long. Every episode Greene and Espino seemed to be close to fighting each other, whether it be at the gym or at the house. However, it wasn’t always like that according to Greene. As he mentioned during an episode, Espino and him were cool at tryouts. But once they got into the house and were on opposite teams, that is when everything changed.

Cole Shelton - November 11, 2018

Currently, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is in season 28, where heavyweights and women featherweights are competing. The coaches for the season are Kelvin Gastelum and Robert Whittaker. However, one of the more popular people on the show isn’t a coach, rather a competitor, in Maurice Greene. Greene had an unconventional path to MMA. He used to be over 300 pounds and never trained a day of MMA in his life until he decided he wanted to. Since then, Greene lost a lot of weight, and quit his full-time job in hopes of fighting for the UFC. Well, he appears to be close after getting a call to go on TUF.

Tom Taylor - November 10, 2018

On Friday night in Singapore, (Friday morning in North America), in the main event of ONE: HEART OF THE LION, Filipino spitfire Kevin Belingon ended the reign of longstanding ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes with a thrilling split decision victory. For Belingon, who lost his first encounter with the champion Fernandes by first-round submission, this title victory was a huge moment.

Tom Taylor - November 9, 2018

Miesha Tate is the latest high profile mixed martial arts star to sign with Singapore’s ONE Championship — but she will not be fighting for the promotion. Instead, the former UFC bantamweight champion will be working as a ONE Championship executive and color commentator. Tate was in attendance at ONE Championship’s ONE: HEART OF THE LION card in Singapore on Friday, and despite having just arrived in the city and being plagued by jet-lag, graciously fielded a few questions from the media in attendance.

Cole Shelton - November 8, 2018

At UFC 230 Jared Cannonier stepped in on short notice to face top 10 middleweight David Branch. It would be Cannonier’s toughest fight to date. Making it even harder was the fact that it was Cannonier’s middleweight debut and he was riding a two-fight losing streak. To beat Branch by knockout in the second round and look as good as Cannonier did was impressive, to say the least. Although the win was impressive, it was an important win for Cannonier who did not want to go on a three-fight losing streak.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

In the span of just a few weeks, Singapore-based martial arts promotion ONE Championship has added former UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson and former UFC lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez to its roster, and brought on former UFC bantamweight champ Miesha Tate as one of its Vice Presidents. Needless to say, these are tremendously exciting times for the promotion. ONE Championship’s top fighters, as you can probably expect, are feeling that excitement, and are thrilled about the promotion’s deepening talent pool.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

On Friday night (Friday morning in North America), in the main event of ONE: HEART OF THE LION in Singapore, ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes will attempt to unify his undisputed title with the interim title currently owned by Kevin Belingon. As this challenge bears down, the dominant ONE Championship bantamweight king is dialed in on the task at hand.

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is now a ONE Championship fighter, and it’s becoming clearer and clearer that he’s a perfect fit for the promotion. Mere weeks into his time as a ONE Championship fighter, he’s already being pushed by the full muscle of the promotion’s substantial marketing department. Given that he occasionally felt a little under-promoted by the UFC, he’s very excited about this. “It feels good,” Demetrious Johnson told BJPENN.COM in Singapore this week. “I think with the UFC, their model is different than ONE Championship’s is. They’re looking for the next big star and trying to push out that next pay-per-view. And that’s what the North American audience wants. They want to see confrontation.”

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

ONE Champion is welcoming Eddie Alvarez to its roster in style, having recently announced that the former UFC and Bellator lightweight titleholder will make his promotional debut as part of a wild, eight-man Lightweight Grand Prix. Like most combat sports fans, Eddie Alvarez was thrilled to learn about this upcoming tournament.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

The end is nigh for the UFC flyweight division. Earlier this week, FloCombat reported that the promotion will soon be pulling the plug on its lightest mens’ division, and that many of the fighters on the promotion’s flyweight roster will not be given the chance to move up to the bantamweight division. Shortly thereafter, UFC flyweights such as Jose Torres, Jared Brooks and Justin Scoggins all reported that they have been released from their contracts.