Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Sodiq Yusuff expects to finish Arnold Allen and put the featherweight division on notice: "The winner is getting a top-five opponent"
Cole Shelton - April 6, 2021
Sodiq Yusuff is eager to get back into the Octagon in the co-main event of UFC on ABC 2. After Yusuff beat Andre Fili at UFC 246 in January of 2020, the Nigerian expected a big fight next time out. However, due to the pandemic, Yusuff couldn’t get a fight booked.
Vicente Luque believes he "sent a message to the division" with his "decisive" win over Tyron Woodley
Cole Shelton - April 5, 2021
Vicente Luque was pleased with his win over Tyron Woodley at UFC 260. In the co-main event of the pay-per-view card, Luque knew he had to beat Woodley in order to prove he’s a future title challenger. Although the former champ was on a three-fight losing streak and wasn’t throwing many punches, Luque expected a very aggressive Woodley and that is exactly what he got.
Alonzo Menifield knew he would submit Fabio Cherant, eyes June return
Cole Shelton - April 2, 2021
Alonzo Menifield knew there was a lot of pressure on him entering his UFC 260 fight. Originally, Menifield was set to face William Knight but just three days before Knight was out of the fight due to testing positive for COVID-19. When Menifield found out the news, he was disappointed as he thought he wouldn’t get the chance to fight.
Mike Hamel expects to derail the hype of Usman Nurmagomedov: "I'm going to clip him"
Cole Shelton - April 1, 2021
Mike Hamel had a feeling he’d be the one to welcome Usman Nurmagomedov to Bellator. When Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s cousin, signed with Bellator, Hamel started researching the 11-0 fighter. After spending some time looking into him, he started telling his coaches and teammates he will end up fighting. Then, weeks later, Hamel got offered to fight Nurmagomedov at Bellator 255, which is exciting for him.
Emmanuel Sanchez expects to put on a "dominating performance" and finish Patricio Pitbull to become the new champ
Cole Shelton - March 31, 2021
Emmanuel Sanchez is eager to show how much he improved since November 15, 2018. On that date, Sanchez lost a decision to Patricio Pitbull for the featherweight title. It was a back-and-forth fight with both men hurting the other. Since the fight, both men have gone undefeated with Pitbull winning the lightweight title as well. But, in the main event of Bellator 255, which serves as the semifinals of the featherweight grand prix, Sanchez is eager to exact his revenge.
Patricio Pitbull excited to "shut up" Emmanuel Sanchez and prove he's "the best fighter on the planet"
Cole Shelton - March 30, 2021
Patricio Pitbull knows he can’t just beat Emmanuel Sanchez in the main event of Bellator 255, but he has to finish him. Pitbull and Sanchez first met in 2018 with the Brazilian winning a decision. Since the fight, Sanchez has been campaigning for a rematch given he went the distance with the champ.
Adrian Yanez hopes he can fight at UFC 262 to make childhood dream come true, calls out Davey Grant
Cole Shelton - March 26, 2021
Adrian Yanez has put the bantamweight division on notice. Yanez entered his UFC Vegas 22 fight against Gustavo Lopez coming off a highlight reel KO in his UFC debut. The goal for Yanez was to get another viral KO, which he did, but it also came in the third round, which was a bonus for the surging contender.
Grant Dawson happy to show complete skillset against Leonardo Santos, defends Clay Guida callout: "He has a bigger name than I do"
Cole Shelton - March 25, 2021
Grant Dawson had no clue how the judges were scoring his fight against Leonardo Santos entering the third round. The fight was competitive through two rounds and after the second round, James Krause had a motivating speech to tell Dawson he needs to finish the fight in the third round. Although Dawson was controlling the fight, it appeared the fight was destined to go the distance. However, with 10 seconds left, Dawson started landing heavy ground and pound that knocked Santos out cold, which was a big relief for Dawson.
Gillian Robertson opens up on pulling out of UFC 258, expects to submit Miranda Maverick in a "statement" win
Cole Shelton - March 24, 2021
Gillian Robertson is glad she is fighting Miranda Maverick. At UFC 258, Robertson and Maverick were expected to fight in an intriguing matchup. However, on the day of the event, Robertson was forced out of the fight due to her being sick. She believes it was caused by food poisoning and not due to her weight cut or COVID-19.
UFC 260 | Pro fighters make their picks for Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou 2 title fight
Cole Shelton - March 24, 2021
In the main event of UFC 260, Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou are set to rematch three years after their first fight. Heading into the bout, Miocic is a +100 underdog while the challenger is a -120 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The pros are torn on this but the slight majority believe Ngannou beats Miocic this time around.
Khama Worthy believes he will pick apart Jamie Mullarkey, confident he has "a few ways to finish"
Cole Shelton - March 23, 2021
Khama Worthy is confident he will return to the win column on the main card of UFC 260. Worthy is coming off a first-round knockout loss to Ottman Azaitar last September and he was hoping to return to the Octagon much sooner. However, the UFC had different plans and was offered to fight Jamie Mullarkey at UFC 260, who is 0-2 in the UFC.
Vicente Luque expecting a "dangerous" Tyron Woodley, but expects to finish him at UFC 260
Cole Shelton - March 23, 2021
Vicente Luque is eager to share the Octagon with Tyron Woodley. On the main card of this Saturday’s UFC 260 pay-per-view, Luque is set to face another top-10 opponent as he looks to climb the welterweight ranks. After he came up short against Stephen Thompson, he rallied off back-to-back wins over Niko Price and Randy Brown, and after his last win over Brown, Luque thought the Woodley fight made sense.
Myron Molotky looking to build XFC into top-tier MMA promotion: "We are not a feeder league for anybody"
Cole Shelton - March 22, 2021
XFC MMA is set for its first Young Guns event on March 27 and president, Myron Molotky couldn’t be more excited. When XFC re-launched last year, the first event was a success with the promotion airing on NBC as well. However, as the company was in the stages of re-launching, Molotky made it known he wanted to find the next superstar. To do that, he launched Young Guns, where he will have several fighters making their debuts or only a handful of fights into their career compete on the card as they look to get an official XFC contract.
Adrian Yanez eyes first-round KO over Gustavo Lopez to put the bantamweight division on notice
Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021
Adrian Yanez knows his entrance to UFC fans couldn’t have gone any better. Yanez earned his UFC contract with a 39-second KO over Brady Huang on the Contender Series. He followed that up with a first-round KO over Victor Rodriguez in October. Although he has two excellent finishes, he knows he still has work to do and that begins at UFC Vegas 22 against Gustavo Lopez who is an opponent Yanez has wanted for quite some time.
JP Buys eager to corner and share card with wife Cheyanne, expects to finish Bruno Silva to earn a "statement" win
Cole Shelton - March 19, 2021
JP Buys will get to make his UFC debut alongside his wife, Cheyanne. On the prelims of UFC Vegas 22, JP Buys will face Bruno Silva while on the main card Cheyanne will face Montserrat Ruiz. They will also be looking to make history as the first married couple to both win UFC fights on the same card. Not only are they competing on the same card, but they will also corner one another.
Grant Dawson expects to submit BJJ black belt Leonardo Santos, plans to call out Clay Guida
Cole Shelton - March 18, 2021
Grant Dawson is finally making the move to lightweight. After Dawson missed the featherweight mark by 3.5 pounds against Darrick Minner and barely made weight for a 150-pound catchweight against Nad Narimani in July, he knew he needed to move up to 155lbs. The goal for Dawson was to make a quick turnaround but that was not the case. Finally, at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 22 event, Dawson will make his official UFC lightweight debut against Leonardo Santos.
Max Griffin expects to finish Kenan Song: "I will thrash this guy"
Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021
Max Griffin believes Kenan Song is the perfect opponent for him to look good against. On the main card of UFC Vegas 22 on March 20, Griffin is set to return against Song. Although Griffin wanted to return sooner, the birth of his son forced him to postpone the contest from UFC 259 to this card.
Jan Blachowicz says Jon Jones still needs to fight him, plans to knock him out
Cole Shelton - March 17, 2021
Jan Blachowicz says he and Jon Jones still have unfinished business. After Blachowicz knocked out Corey Anderson last year in New Mexico, Jones promised Blachowicz a fight. However, “Bones” couldn’t come to terms with the UFC and he vacated the light heavyweight title with eyes on a move to heavyweight. Since then, Blachowicz became the new 205lbs champ with a TKO win over Dominick Reyes and he defended his belt against Israel Adesanya.