Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - February 17, 2021

Deiveson Figueiredo vs. Brandon Moreno 2 will happen later than expected. After Figueiredo and Moreno fought to a draw at UFC 256 in December, it was clear an immediate rematch was in order. However, the Brazilian was calling out Henry Cejudo and the Cody Garbrandt fight is still there. Yet, according to Wallid Ismail, who manages Figueiredo, the champ’s next fight will be against Moreno but they want it to be in June.

Cole Shelton - February 17, 2021

Chris Daukaus couldn’t have imagined he would be fighting the 10th-ranked guy in the world just six months after his UFC debut. Daukaus stepped up on short notice at UFC 252 in August and scored a first-round TKO win over Parker Porter. He followed that up with a 45-second TKO win over Rodrigo Nascimento in October and is now set to face Alexey Oleynik at UFC Vegas 19, which is an opponent he didn’t think he’d face in his third UFC appearance.

Cole Shelton - February 17, 2021

Drakkar Klose is frustrated with how the UFC is matchmaking fights. After Klose got knocked out by Beneil Dariush at UFC 248 in March of 2020, he did not get another fight for the rest of the year. It was a frustrating time for Klose who says he no longer cares about rankings and is just looking to make as much money as possible.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2021

Julian Marquez was making his long-awaited return to the Octagon at UFC 258 on Saturday night. Marquez was set for his first fight in 953 days after dealing with an injury. In the lead-up to the fight, “The Cuban Missile Crisis” said ring rust wouldn’t be a factor but admits his timing was a bit off early in the fight.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2021

Maycee Barber’s return to the Octagon did not go her way. In the co-main event of UFC 258, Barber fought Alexa Grasso in her first fight since she lost to Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246 in a fight she also tore her ACL. Entering the scrap, Barber didn’t think ring rust would be a factor but admits she had a hard time finding her timing in the first two rounds.

Cole Shelton - February 15, 2021

Charles Rosa is expecting to put on a show for fight fans on Saturday night. On the main card of UFC Vegas 19, Rosa is set to return to the Octagon against Darrick Minner. It’s a very intriguing matchup between two submission specialists and a fight Rosa is looking forward to.

Cole Shelton - February 15, 2021

Julian Marquez had an interesting callout after his win at UFC 258, as he requested for Miley Cyrus to be his Valentine. To some surprise, Cyrus responded with intetest but Marquez then supplied her with an ultimatum. That decision caused Daniel Cormier and most of the MMA community to say Julian blew his chance. However, Marquez doesn’t think that is true.

Cole Shelton - February 12, 2021

Anthony Hernandez knows people are counting him out. At UFC 258, Hernandez is the biggest underdog on the card at +325, as he faces undefeated grappling wizard, Rodolfo Vieira. Although not many people would want to face Vieira, Hernandez said this is a fight he is very interested in.

Cole Shelton - February 11, 2021

Ryan Hall’s return to the Octagon will be delayed a few months. Earlier on Thursday, BJPENN.com broke the news that Hall was forced to withdraw from the fight due to an injury. Shortly after the news became public, Hall revealed to BJPENN.com that he tore his hip flexor.

Cole Shelton - February 11, 2021

In the main event of UFC 258, Kamaru Usman is looking to defend his welterweight title for the third time as he battles Gilbert Burns. Heading into the fight the champ is a -275 favorite while the Brazilian is a +215 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The slight majority of pros believe we hear “And New” as Gilbert Burns gets it done.

Cole Shelton - February 10, 2021

When Julian Marquez makes the walk to the Octagon on the main card of UFC 258 it will be 953 days since his last fight. The middleweight contender last fought back in July of 2018 and lost a very controversial split decision to Alessio Di Chirico. However, what made the loss worse was during the fight, Marquez tore latissimus dorsi. The injury eventually led to two other surgeries that kept him out of action. He was then looking to fight in 2020 but a global pandemic and an opponent botching his weight cut kept the layoff even longer. But, on the main card of UFC 258, Marquez will return against Maki Pitlo, and despite the layoff, isn’t too worried about ring rust.

Cole Shelton - February 10, 2021

Jim Miller is set for another short-notice fight. At UFC 258, Miller is set to finally fight Bobby Green after they were supposed to meet in 2014 at UFC 172. Since then, both men have gone their own ways, but when the UFC told Miller three weeks ago he would be on UFC 258 he didn’t know who the opponent would be. Yet, just a week and a half before the fight, it was revealed it would be Green which Miller is excited about.

Cole Shelton - February 9, 2021

Maycee Barber plans to remind the world just how good she is. In the co-main event of UFC 258, Barber is set to return after her first career loss and a torn ACL to battle Alexa Grasso. It’s a very intriguing matchup but many fans are surprised this is the fight because both Barber and Grasso are two up and comer prospects.

Cole Shelton - February 5, 2021

Frankie Edgar and Conor McGregor were linked to one another a couple of times but for whatever reason, it never came to fruition. As McGregor was making his rise up the featherweight ranks, Edgar was a top contender and many figured they would fight. However, the Irishman faced Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo and then moved up in weight.

Cole Shelton - February 4, 2021

Mike Rodriguez is looking forward to putting the Ed Herman controversy behind him. At UFC Vegas 10 in September, Rodriguez landed a knee to the body of Herman that dropped him. Rodriguez would’ve needed a few punches to finish the fight, but the ref called time for a groin strike. However, video replay wasn’t used and Herman got five minutes to recover from a body shot and ended up submitting Rodriguez in the third.

Tom Taylor - February 4, 2021

Paige VanZant is days out from her Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) debut. The former UFC star will battle Britain Hart, sans gloves, at BKFC: Knuckle Mania this Friday in Lakeland, Florida. Ahead of VanZant’s imminent BKFC debut, we reached out to several experienced bare knuckle fighters to get their thoughts on how she’ll perform in the ring.

Tom Taylor - February 3, 2021

Italy is as sports-crazed as any country on earth, but so far, mixed martial arts has not caught on inside its famous, boot-shaped border. The Golden Cage, an upstart MMA promotion based in Rome, is hoping to change that. TGC is the brainchild of President Luigi Perillo, a tax lawyer and the president of the Swiss MMA Federation, and Steve Dapper, a music industry executive and expert in linguistics. After two successful events in 2017 and 2018, the TGC team will promote its third this Saturday in Rome. The card, which will feature 10 pro bouts and 10 amateur bouts, will mark the promotion’s debut on UFC FIGHT PASS.

Cole Shelton - February 3, 2021

In the main event of UFC Vegas 18, Alistair Overeem is looking to continue his final run to a heavyweight title shot as he battles Alexander Volkov. Heading into the fight, Overeem is a +155 underdog while the Russian is a -190 favorite. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. Maybe to some surprise, nearly all the pros have Overeem edging it out as he will mix in his striking and wrestling.