Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Chase Hooper explains why he moved up to lightweight, plans to drag Nick Fiore into "deep waters"
Cole Shelton - May 16, 2023
Chase Hooper is finally making the move up to lightweight. When Hooper entered the UFC he fought at featherweight, but as he started to get older and add size, the weight cut began getting harder and harder. Hooper had to stop eating food a week or two before the fight and instead only had protein shakes, which he says no doubt impacted his performance.
Bryan Battle says having hometown fight in the UFC is a "dream come true," believes he's a "step ahead" of Gabe Green
Cole Shelton - May 12, 2023
Bryan Battle is getting a homecoming of sorts. Battle is set for his fifth UFC fight after winning TUF 29 at middleweight and will be taking on Gabe Green at UFC Charlotte. Although the fight is in his hometown, he wasn’t booked on the card until he saw Jake Matthews pulled out of his bout with Gabe Green and asked his manager to get him that fight.
Gabe Green plans to pressure Bryan Battle early and often at UFC Charlotte to get stoppage win: "I've knocked out guys who have never been knocked out before"
Cole Shelton - May 11, 2023
Gabe Green is just ready to fight. Green is coming off a decision loss to Ian Garry back at UFC 276 last July and since then, he’s taken some time off to add some size. He is a former lightweight that moved up to welterweight so he wanted to add some mass before his next bout. Unfortunately, once he had added the desired weight, he suffered an injury that kept him on the sidelines until now as he is finally set to return at UFC Charlotte.
Pro fighters make their picks for Anthony Smith vs. Johnny Walker
Cole Shelton - May 11, 2023
In the co-main event of UFC Charlotte, a light heavyweight bout goes down as Anthony Smith takes on Johnny Walker. Heading into the scrap, the fight is lined as a pick’em as both Smith and Walker are listed at -113 on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC Charlotte, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. Although the scrap is listed as a pick’em, the pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Smith gets the win by using his wrestling.
Cody Stamann expects to "submit" Douglas Silva de Andrade "early" at UFC Charlotte, eyes "someone big" next time out: "I don't want to be a gatekeeper"
Cole Shelton - May 10, 2023
Cody Stamann was hopeful to make a quick turnaround and he got his wish. Stamann went down to Brazil and picked up a decision win over Luan Lacerda in January at UFC 283. Given he didn’t take much damage he wanted another fight right away and he got his wish as he will face Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC Charlotte.
Matt Brown plans to make a "statement" with KO win over Court McGee at UFC Charlotte: "I'm going to show I could do many more whether I choose to or not"
Cole Shelton - May 9, 2023
Matt Brown will finally be back in action this weekend. Brown last fought at UFC Columbus in March of last year where he dropped a split decision to Bryan Barberena. It was a fight he thought he won, and since then injuries have kept him out of the Octagon. However, he is now back to full health and will fight at UFC Charlotte against Court McGee, which he is excited for.
Jairzinho Rozenstruik doesn't think Jailton Almeida brings "anything different to the table," vows to KO him at UFC Charlotte: "I touch him, the fight is over"
Cole Shelton - May 9, 2023
Jairzinho Rozenstruik has a ton of confidence heading into his UFC Charlotte main event fight against Jailton Almeida. Rozenstruik and Almeida were originally booked as the co-main event, but the UFC decided to promote them to headliner status. While Jairzinho isn’t sure why the switch was made, he is glad to be headlining another card as he knows it’s big for his career and star power.
Aung La NSang breaks down fight with Fan Rong: “I don’t see it going to the judges”
Zain Bando - May 5, 2023
Former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Aung La NSang will compete on U.S. soil for the first time in his ONE Championship career. La NSang returns to ONE for the first time since January, as he is coming off a first-round stoppage win against Gilberto Galvão, needing less than two minutes to get the job done.
Parker Porter plans to take Braxton Smith into deep waters at UFC 288 on the final fight of his contract: "This is absolutely do-or-die"
Cole Shelton - May 4, 2023
Parker Porter knows he’s fighting for his job on Saturday night at UFC 288. Porter fought back in February and suffered a first-round knockout loss to Justin Tafa and just three months later, he is already making his return. Although it may seem quick after the loss, he says he was fully cleared and ready to get the bad taste of two straight losses out of his mouth.
UFC 288 | Pro fighters make their picks for Belal Muhammad vs. Gilbert Burns
Cole Shelton - May 4, 2023
In the co-main event of UFC 288, a five-round welterweight bout goes down on short notice as Belal Muhammad takes on Gilbert Burns. Heading into the scrap, Burns is a -132 favorite while ‘Remember The Name’ is a +104 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC 288, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. All seven pros asked are picking Burns to get the job done on short notice, and many think it will be by decision, even though it is five rounds and both took it on short notice.
Devin Clark say his real UFC 288 opponent is coach Sayif Saud, expects to finish Kennedy Nzechukwu and face a ranked fighter next: "After I'm in the top-15, I'll start talking my shit"
Cole Shelton - May 3, 2023
Devin Clark has an interesting wrinkle ahead of his UFC 288 fight against Kennedy Nzechukwu. Clark is coming off an upset win over Da Un Jung in February and will now face Nzechukwu in an intriguing light heavyweight fight. Clark is well aware of how dangerous Nzechukwu can be, but he believes the Fortis light heavyweight is overlooking him.
UFC 288 | Pro fighters make their picks for Aljamain Sterling vs. Henry Cejudo title fight
Cole Shelton - May 3, 2023
In the main event of UFC 288, the bantamweight title is up for grabs as Aljamain Sterling looks to defend his belt against former champion Henry Cejudo. Heading into the scrap, Sterling is -111 while ‘Triple C’ is -115 on FanDuel, making the fight to be a pick’em. Ahead of the fight at UFC 288, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The majority of pros believe Sterling will get it done as many think the time off will be too much for Cejudo to overcome.
Khaos Williams expects to add to his highlight-reel with KO win over Rolando Bedoya at UFC 288: "He's going to get put out, it's that simple"
Cole Shelton - May 2, 2023
Khaos Williams will finally be making the walk to the Octagon again. Williams hasn’t fought since May of last year when he suffered a split decision loss to Randy Brown. After the defeat, Williams says the plan was to take time off and just improve on his game, which is exactly what he did.
Brady Hiestand "not surprised" the ref stopped his fight against Batgerel Danaa, eyes Christian Rodriguez at UFC 289: "He didn't even protest the stoppage"
Cole Shelton - April 28, 2023
Brady Hiestand knew he had the cardio advantage over Batgerel Danaa and thought the longer the fight went, the better it was for him. Entering the fight at UFC Vegas 71, Hiestand was the underdog but was confident he had all the tools to win. In the first round, Hiestand thought he had a lot of success and went to his corner thinking he won the opening round. In the second round, Danaa dropped him and dominated the round, so Hiestand thought it was 1-1 but still wasn’t going to leave it to the judges so knew he needed to get a stoppage.
Luke Rockhold open to UFC return to face "true champion" Israel Adesanya: "I think I present a lot of problems for Izzy"
Cole Shelton - April 28, 2023
Luke Rockhold isn’t ruling out fighting for the UFC again. Rockhold came back last August at UFC 278 after three years away and suffered a decision loss to Paulo Costa. It was his third defeat in a row and after the loss, he said he was retiring from fighting. Yet, after some time thinking, he asked for and received his UFC release, and will now be fighting at BKFC 41 against Mike Perry.
Christos Giagos believes he saved his UFC career with "flawless victory" over Ricky Glenn at UFC Vegas 71
Cole Shelton - April 27, 2023
Christos Giagos saved his job in a big way on Saturday night. Giagos entered his UFC Vegas 71 fight against Ricky Glenn on a two-fight losing skid and figured he was fighting for his job. He has been cut from the UFC before and even though he was the betting underdog, he had a ton of confidence as he thought he could catch Glenn with a big shot, but admits he was surprised it happened so soon.
Cody Brundage admits he was hesitant to accept Rodolfo Vieira fight again but is confident he'll TKO him at UFC Vegas 72: "I have more ways to win than Rodolfo does"
Cole Shelton - April 26, 2023
Cody Brundage wasn’t sure if he should accept a fight with Rodolfo Vieira again. Brundage and Vieira were supposed to fight last November, but just before Brundage was supposed to fly to Las Vegas the Brazilian pulled out with an injury. It was disappointing turn of events for Brundage, but he ended up taking a short-notice fight against Michal Oleksiejczuk in December and lost by first-round knockout.
Julian Erosa hopeful for an "all-out 15-minute brawl" at UFC Vegas 72 against Fernando Padilla: "He likes to stand and trade and I'm in the same boat"
Cole Shelton - April 25, 2023
Julian Erosa is expecting a Fight of the Night scrap against Fernando Padilla. Erosa is coming off a first-round KO loss to Alex Caceres back in December, which snapped his three-fight winning streak. It was also disappointing due to the fact Erosa felt like he didn’t do anything wrong, but simply got caught by a surprise kick that he didn’t see coming.