Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Randy Costa ecstatic to be fighting Journey Newson: "I’m expecting this to be a fan-friendly fight"
Cole Shelton - September 16, 2020
Randy Costa couldn’t be more excited when he found out he was fighting Journey Newson. Costa was set to fight in March but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the loyal Massachusetts native packed up and headed to Florida to train at American Top Team due to the restrictions Massachusetts had.
After getting back into the win column, Hunter Azure looking to turn around quickly and build up some momentum
Cole Shelton - September 15, 2020
Hunter Azure knew that he needed to beat Cole Smith back at UFC Vegas 9. Azure was entering the fight coming off a knockout loss to Brian Kelleher at 145-pounds. Although he is a natural bantamweight, due to the pandemic and the lack of training, his fight with ‘Boom’ was up a weight class.
Johnny Walker expects to finish Ryan Spann after having "one of the best camps ever" at SBG Ireland
Cole Shelton - September 15, 2020
Johnny Walker is on a two-fight losing streak and thus has made some career changes ahead of his upcoming fight. At UFC Vegas 11, Walker is set to take on Ryan Spann in a very intriguing matchup. Normally, Walker trains at Tristar in Montreal, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he could not get into Canada so he decided to send John Kavanagh a message to train at SBG Ireland.
Roosevelt Roberts says he "didn't show up" in loss to Jim Miller, plans to call for a rematch
Cole Shelton - September 11, 2020
Roosevelt Roberts is looking to rematch Jim Miller. Roberts and Miller met back on June 20, and heading into the fight, Roberts was a sizeable -265 favorite. He has been a hyped-up prospect and many thought he would be able to beat Jim Miller and have that name on his record. Yet, that didn’t happen as he was submitted in the first round.
Tyson Nam confident he will KO Matt Schnell at UFC Vegas 10: "I just have to land the right hand once"
Cole Shelton - September 10, 2020
Tyson Nam expects to earn another knockout win when he faces Matt Schnell at UFC Vegas 10. Nam is coming off his first UFC win as he scored a 32-second knockout win over Zarrukh Adashev back in June. For the Hawaiian, after the win, he was looking to make a quick turnaround and had his eye on Schnell.
Mike Rodriguez expecting a "three-round war" against Ed Herman at UFC Vegas 10
Cole Shelton - September 10, 2020
Mike Rodriguez wanted to get another fight this year but did not expect it to happen just three weeks following his latest contest. Rodriguez fought back on August 22 and scored a first-round knockout over Marcin Prachnio in what was the final fight on his contract. After the fight, the UFC made it clear they wanted to re-sign him and get another fight quickly. So, Rodriguez stayed in shape and when he got the call to fight Ed Herman, it was an immediate yes.
Roxanne Modafferi knows Andrea Lee is a "different fighter" but expects rematch to end in the same result
Cole Shelton - September 9, 2020
Roxanne Modafferi handed Andrea Lee her first professional loss back at Invicta FC 10 with a split decision win and expects the same result at UFC Vegas 10. Now, nearly six years later, the two will have their rematch in the UFC. Since they fought they have become friends. Although Modafferi would prefer to not fight someone she is close with, she knows this is a business and has to fight anybody the UFC tells her to.
Kyle Nelson doesn't believe Billy Quarantillo is a "killer", expects to KO him in the first round
Cole Shelton - September 9, 2020
Kyle Nelson isn’t impressed with Billy Quarantillo and his fighting style. Nelson, who has not fought since he knocked out Polo Reyes last September, didn’t have Quarantillo on his radar but is excited to fight him.
Michelle Waterson has a simple game plan for Angela Hill: "It's not going to be strategic, I’m going in there to fight"
Cole Shelton - September 8, 2020
Michelle Waterson is on a two-fight losing streak but her confidence hasn’t wavered one bit. In the main event of UFC Vegas 10 this Saturday, Waterson is set to battle the rising contender in Angela Hill. It is a very intriguing matchup but one that was delayed from August 22. So, for Waterson, she is glad Hill was okay with the delay as she is looking forward to sharing the Octagon with her.
Ovince Saint Preux believes former foe Jon Jones will have success at heavyweight: "He can definitely pick them apart"
Cole Shelton - September 4, 2020
Ovince Saint Preux believes his former opponent, Jon Jones will have success at heavyweight if he does end up moving up in weight. Saint Preux and Jones fought at UFC 197 in 2016 for the interim lightweight title. It was “Bones'” first fight back from USADA suspension and was able to get the decision win.
Jalin Turner ready to live up to the hype, expects to exploit and then KO Thiago Moises
Cole Shelton - September 3, 2020
Jalin Turner believes the UFC wants to push him up the lightweight rankings and is ready to live up to the hype. Turner made his UFC debut on short notice up a weight class at UFC 229 and suffered a knockout loss to Vicente Luque. He then got his first UFC win by TKO over Callan Potter but couldn’t build off of it as he suffered a loss to Matt Frevola in his next fight. In February, he returned to the win column with a TKO win over Joshua Culibao.
Pro fighters make their picks for Alistair Overeem vs. Augusto Sakai
Cole Shelton - September 3, 2020
In the main event of UFC Vegas 9, Alistair Overeem is looking to continue his winning streak when he battles a surging contender in Augusto Sakai. Heading into the fight, Overeem is a -160 favorite with the Brazilian being a +130 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their prediction for the scrap. The majority believe Overeem’s experience will be the difference as he will get his hand raised.
Cole Smith changing approach to fighting after first career loss: "I just want to have fun"
Cole Shelton - September 2, 2020
Cole Smith is changing his approach to fighting. Last September at UFC Vancouver, Smith was set for his second UFC fight against Miles Johns in his home city of Vancouver. It was a big stage for him but unfortunately, the Canadian suffered a split decision loss. After the fight, Smith realized he was putting too much pressure on himself to win and is now just focused on winning fights.
From drug dealer, robber to MMA fighter: the incredible story of Walter Pugliesi
Alfredo Zullino - September 1, 2020
Who are mixed martial artists? A group of men and women punching each other for money. But who are they once they get home, or who were they before? They might have been a math teacher, a real estate agent, a model, an office worker. They also might be a drug dealer. That’s the story of Walter Pugliesi.
After moving to Team Elevation, Montana De La Rosa looking for "a dominant win" over Viviane Araujo
Cole Shelton - September 1, 2020
Montana De La Rosa made a big career change ahead of her UFC Vegas 9 fight against Viviane Araujo. For the majority of her career, Montana and her husband, Mark, were training in a small gym in Fort Worth, Texas. Yet, ahead of her UFC Vegas 9 fight, Montana decided she needed a change. That change was going to Colorado to train at Team Elevation.
Jeff Monson wants Gordon Ryan superfight
Andrew Whitelaw - August 31, 2020
Jeff Monson would like a grappling super fight against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu superstar, Gordon Ryan. Monson is one of the most highly-decorated grapplers in MMA.
Bruce Buffer reveals the UFC fight he is most looking forward to this year
Cole Shelton - August 28, 2020
The fourth quarter of 2020 appears to be a good one for the UFC and Bruce Buffer has his eye on one fight. The promotion will see massive fights like Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje, Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa, and possible title defenses of Kamaru Usman and Petr Yan.
Zak Cummings expects to finish Alessio Di Chirico, get ranked opponent next time out
Cole Shelton - August 27, 2020
Zak Cummings was surprised when he found out he would be fighting Alessio Di Chirico. Cummings will be returning this Saturday at UFC Vegas 8 after dropping a decision to Omari Akhmedov last September at UFC 242. The hope for Cummings was to make a quick turnaround. Yet, he was turned down a couple of times and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit leaving Cummings not being able to fight in nearly a year.