Exclusive MMA Interviews News
David Onama proud to be first Uganda fighter to win in UFC, hopes to lead the way for more to join him
Cole Shelton - February 25, 2022
David Onama made history on Saturday night as he became the first fighter from Uganda to win in the UFC. Onama became the first fighter from Uganda to make it to the UFC last October, but at UFC Vegas 48 he scored a first-round KO win over Gabriel Benitez. It was a great performance from Onama but early on, Benitez punched him in the eye that Onama admits messed up his vision for a bit.
Kyle Daukaus eyes Krzysztof Jotko next after submission win over Jamie Pickett
Cole Shelton - February 25, 2022
Kyle Daukaus is glad to put the Kevin Holland controversy behind him now that he’s picked up another win. In the co-main event of UFC Vegas 48, Daukaus submitted Jamie Pickett in the first round. Kyle dominated the fight from start to finish and it’s a performance he is happy with.
Micheal Gillmore believes he'll have more success at welterweight after TUF stint: "I achieved a goal of getting to the UFC but the next step is to get a UFC win"
Cole Shelton - February 24, 2022
Micheal Gillmore always planned on dropping to welterweight. Gillmore competed on The Ultimate Fighter 29 where he was an alternate on the show. He quit his job to be an alternate and got his shot on short notice but suffered a stoppage loss to Gilbert Urbina. He then got a short-notice fight against Andre Petroski in his debut and suffered a submission loss.
Terrance McKinney plans to follow up 7-second KO with "something spectacular" against Fares Ziam at UFC Vegas 49
Cole Shelton - February 23, 2022
Terrance McKinney is looking to build off his seven-second KO win over Matt Frevola in his debut. Back in June at UFC 263, McKinney stepped up on short notice and scored the KO win. He was then booked to fight Fares Ziam in November, but after a cornerman tested positive for COVID-19 the fight was scrapped. He will now face Ziam on Saturday at UFC Vegas 49 where he’s expecting to finish the fight in spectacular fashion.
Chad Anheliger shares bold prediction for his UFC Vegas 48 fight with Jesse Strader: “There is no way he makes it 15 minutes”
Cole Shelton - February 18, 2022
Chad Anheliger is ready to finally make his UFC debut. The 36-year-old, Alberta native started his MMA career out 2-5 but has since rallied off nine wins in a row, including his last on the Contender Series. He will now make his promotional debut at UFC Vegas 48 against Jesse Strader which is a fight he’s excited about.
Jonathan Pearce is calling a first round finish over Christian Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 48: "The experience will be too much"
Cole Shelton - February 17, 2022
Jonathan Pearce plans to show Christian Rodriguez that there are levels to this game. Pearce was supposed to fight Austin Lingo at UFC Vegas 48. However, Lingo was forced to withdraw from the contest and the undefeated fighter in Rodriguez stepped up. Although Rodriguez is undefeated and even won the Contender Series, Pearce doesn’t think he’s on his level and he’ll show that with a first-round finish.
Parker Porter plans to take Alan Baudot into "deep waters" to get the finish, eyes rematch with Chris Daukaus in the future
Cole Shelton - February 16, 2022
Parker Porter thought about retiring before getting a call from the UFC and now he’s focused on entering the rankings. Porter made his UFC debut on just days’ notice at UFC 252 and suffered a first-round TKO loss to Chris Daukaus. Since then, however, he beat Josh Parisian and Chase Sherman by decision. He will now return at UFC Vegas 48 against Alan Baudot who’s 0-1 with one No-Contest in the UFC. Despite Baudot being on a skid, Porter says he isn’t surprised they are matched up with one another. He also likes the matchup for him.
Kyle Daukaus expects to finish Jamie Pickett early and earn a ranked opponent next: "I don't see him lasting very long"
Cole Shelton - February 15, 2022
Kyle Daukaus is glad he will still be fighting on Saturday at UFC Vegas 48. Daukaus was originally set to face Julian Marquez but less than two weeks out, he was forced to withdraw from the fight. After hearing of the news, Daukaus asked the UFC to find him a replacement and they did just that as he will now take on Jamie Pickett at UFC Vegas 48, but the bout will be a 195lbs catchweight.
Ray Borg believes he will fight in UFC again, open to flyweight return: "I have unfinished business"
Cole Shelton - February 11, 2022
Ray Borg believes it’s only a matter of time until he fights in the UFC again. Borg fought in the UFC from 2014 to 2020 and went 7-5 including fighting Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight belt. However, Borg struggled to make it to the scale due to his son needing brain surgery which impacted his weight cuts. With that, the UFC released him for constantly pulling out of fights. He later announced his retirement but decided to end that shortly thereafter.
Jared Vanderaa eyes KO win over Andrei Arlovski at UFC 271, wants Tanner Boser next
Cole Shelton - February 10, 2022
Jared Vanderaa is ecstatic to get the chance to share the Octagon with Andrei Arlovski. Vanderaa was booked to fight Chris Barnett on the first card of 2022 but “Beast Boy” had to withdraw before it was made official. Shortly after, Arlovski agreed to step up on short notice to fight Vanderaa on January 15 but the promotion decided to move it to UFC 271 so they can fight in front of fans.
Kyler Phillips plans to "expose" a lot of Marcelo Rojo's "flaws and weaknesses" at UFC 271
Cole Shelton - February 10, 2022
Kyler Phillips sees a lot of holes in Marcelo Rojo’s game and he plans to expose that on Saturday night at UFC 271. Phillips is coming off a controversial decision loss to Raulian Paiva last July and will now face Rojo in what appears to be an all-action fight. For Phillips, he expects Rojo to come out swinging but doubts his foe will be able to keep up with him.
UFC 271 | Pro fighters make their picks for Jared Cannonier vs. Derek Brunson
Cole Shelton - February 10, 2022
At UFC 271, a potential number one contender bout at middleweight goes down as Jared Cannonier takes on Derek Brunson. Heading into the fight, Cannonier is a -160 favorite while the American is a +140 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are actually going with the underdog in Brunson to be able to outwrestle Cannonier to get the win.
Jon Jones will be "one of the scariest guys" at heavyweight, says former teammate Rashad Evans
Cole Shelton - February 9, 2022
Rashad Evans believes his former teammate Jon Jones will eventually make the move to heavyweight and will have success. Ever since Jones vacated his light heavyweight title he said he would be moving up to heavyweight. However, it has been two years and he has yet to do it but for Evans, he believes ‘Bones’ will move up and will have a ton of success at the weight class.
UFC 271 | Pro fighters make their picks for Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker 2 title fight
Cole Shelton - February 9, 2022
In the main event of UFC 271, Israel Adesanya is set to defend his middleweight belt as he rematches Robert Whittaker. Heading into the fight, Adesanya is a -280 favorite while the former champ is a +225 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are unanimous in thinking Adesanya has Whittaker’s number and will defend his belt again and continue his reign atop the middleweight division.
Renato Moicano says he no longer cares about rankings, only focused on making money ahead of UFC 271: "This is sad but this is true"
Cole Shelton - February 8, 2022
Renato Moicano says he no longer cares about fighting ranked opponents as all he cares about is making money. Moicano is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 271 against Alexander Hernandez in a really intriguing fight that he’s looking forward to.
Robert Whittaker believes "no one expects me to win" but says Israel Adesanya "looks beatable" ahead of UFC 271
Cole Shelton - February 8, 2022
Robert Whittaker says the pressure is off him for his UFC 271 main event title rematch against Israel Adesanya. Whittaker and Adesanya are set to run it back after “The Last Stylebender” scored a second-round TKO win back in 2019 to become the new champ. Since then, Whittaker has won three fights to earn the rematch and for him, he’s glad he had the chance to fight multiple times before running it back with Adesanya.
Rashad Evans unsure if he'll fight again after Eagle FC win: "I got the win I have been so desperate to get"
Cole Shelton - February 7, 2022
Rashad Evans always wanted to end his career on a win and he may have just done that. Evans ended his near four-year retirement to return at Eagle FC 44 where he fought Gabriel Checco. He entered the fight on a five-fight losing streak but he says the pandemic is a key reason as to why he even wanted to fight again.
Bryan Battle doesn't view Tresean Gore fight as real TUF finale, confident he'll finish him: "He's going to melt mentally and physically"
Cole Shelton - February 4, 2022
Bryan Battle doesn’t think his UFC Vegas 47 fight against Tresean Gore is the real TUF 29 finale. Battle and Gore were supposed to fight in the finals, but Gore suffered an injury and “Pooh Bear” ended up facing Gilbert Urbina instead. Battle won the fight to win TUF, but now as he finally faces Gore, he says this is just another fight.