Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - January 9, 2020

Claressa Shields is looking to make history on Jan. 10 when she battles Ivana Habazin for the vacant WBC and WBO light middleweight titles. Should she win, the two-time Olympic gold medalist would become a three-weight world champion. Not only would Shields become a three-weight world champion like Canelo Alvarez, Vasyl Lomachenko, Bud Crawford, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao among others, but she would be the fastest to do so. This is only Shields’ 10th professional fight.

Cole Shelton - January 8, 2020

Gilbert Burns got his wish as he will indeed fight Demian Maia in the co-main event of UFC Brasilia. Yet, the fight almost didn’t come to fruition. Burns, who is now 2-0 at welterweight with two short-notice wins over Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson says mutual friends between him and Maia said the Brazilian legend didn’t want to take the fight.

Cole Shelton - January 8, 2020

Claressa Shields has made it known that she wants to fight Amanda Nunes in MMA and in boxing. If it happens, Shields’ promoter in Dmitriy Salita believes it would be the biggest women’s sporting event of all time. Shields is set to fight on Jan. 10 against Ivana Habazin. If she wins, she would become a three-weight champion.

Mike Heck - January 7, 2020

To say Devonte Smith’s 2019 was chaotic would be a bit of an understatement. After starting the year off with a highlight reel first round KO win over Dong Hyun Ma at UFC 234 — in the first PPV prelim headliner in UFC history on ESPN — “King Kage” was on everyone’s radars. In fact, the 26-year-old lightweight standout would get matched up with a longtime UFC veteran in John Makdessi for UFC 241 in August.

Mike Heck - January 3, 2020

After losing the UFC welterweight title to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235, many began to question the motivation of Tyron Woodley. Was he taking on too much? Has he gone “too Hollywood”? Does he still want to fight? All of these questions have been asked by the MMA community. Those questions didn’t just make Woodley more motivated, it’s made him angry heading into 2020, according to his manager Abe Kawa.

Cole Shelton - January 3, 2020

Geoff Neal picked up the biggest win of his career at UFC 245 when he knocked out Mike Perry in the first round. He was also the first person to knock out the fan favorite out in MMA. Neal was confident he would earn a finish but was surprised it happened so soon into the fight.

Mike Heck - January 3, 2020

Claressa Shields is looking to make a lot of history in 2020 — in the boxing ring, and in the world of mixed martial arts. Shields has the opportunity to become a three-division world boxing champion and do so faster than any fighter in history when she faces Ivana Habazin on Jan. 10 for the vacant WBC and WBO 154-pound titles. The event will take place at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. and will air on Showtime.

Mike Heck - January 2, 2020

Whether he was your pick for 2019 Fighter of the Year, or at least in your top-3, no one had a bigger surge over that 12-month stretch than Jorge Masvidal. After losing back-to-back fights in 2017, and not competing at all in 2018, “Gamebred” took the UFC by storm with highlight reel knockouts over Darren Till and Ben Askren before headlining UFC 244 against Nate Diaz, and capturing the created “BMF” title. While 2019 was a banner year for Masvidal, the plan is to enhance the momentum even further throughout 2020.

Cole Shelton - December 27, 2019

In the main event of Bellator 237, which goes down in Tokyo, Japan, two Pride legends in Fedor Emelianenko and ‘Rampage’ Jackson square off. Heading into the fight, Emelianenko is a -135 favorite while the former UFC champion is a +105 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros lean towards Fedor Emelianenko but know anything can happen between these two heavyweights.

Cole Shelton - December 24, 2019

Petr Yan is not a fan of Henry Cejudo, to say the least. After Yan beat Urijah Faber at UFC 245, many thought the Russian would be next in line for a title shot at Henry Cejudo. Yet “Triple C” instead called for a bout with Jose Aldo who is 0-1 at bantamweight, and on a two-fight losing streak.

Alfredo Zullino - December 23, 2019

African mixed martial arts is definitely on the rise. Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman just defended his UFC welterweight title against Colby Covington, and fellow countryman Israel Adesanya unified the middleweight title by defeating Robert Whittaker just two months ago. Now, Italian-Cameroonian Simon Biyong (6-1 MMA) will look to continue that trend of success in his Rizin Fighting Federation debut on New Year’s eve in Tokyo, Japan.

Cole Shelton - December 20, 2019

Petr Yan has been running through the UFC’s bantamweight division and at UFC 245, he was opened the pay-per-view card against Urijah Faber. It was the biggest fight of his career, and the perfect opportunity to make a statement. Ultimately, that is what Yan did. He looked impressive throughout the fight, dropping Faber numerous times with vicious elbows, knees, and punches.

Cole Shelton - December 17, 2019

Ilima-Lei MacFarlane is set to defend her Bellator women’s flyweight title at home in Hawaii for the second straight year. She takes on Kate Jackson this Saturday. Last year, she submitted Valerie Letourneau in Hawaii, and it was an emotional night for her. MacFarlane cried during her walkout, and the 29 year old expects to do so again at Bellator 236.

Cole Shelton - December 12, 2019

Ian Heinisch has violent intentions for Omari Akhmedov. Heinisch is taking on the Dagestani fighter at UFC 245 this weekend. The American is looking to return to the win column after a disappointing performance against Derek Brunson at UFC 241.

Cole Shelton - December 12, 2019

At UFC 245, Amanda Nunes will look to defend her bantamweight title once again when she takes on Germaine de Randamie. The contest will be a rematch of a 2013 fight, which Nunes won by first-round TKO. Heading into the fight, the Brazilian champion is a -300 favorite while the challenger is a +230 underdog.

Cole Shelton - December 11, 2019

Ilima-Lei MacFarlane is not happy about how the way the UFC released her friend and teammate Liz Carmouche. The two-time UFC title challenger Carmouche was released while she was in Washington D.C. doing promotional work for the company.

Cole Shelton - December 11, 2019

In the co-main event of UFC 245, Max Holloway will look to defend his featherweight title against Alexander Volkanovski. Heading into the fight, the Hawaiian champion is a -175 favorite, while the challenger is a +145 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get the predictions for the scrap. This time around, the majority believe Max Holloway’s cardio will be too much for Volkanovski, and that the champ will defend his throne.

Mike Heck - December 10, 2019

Saturday night’s UFC 245 fight card is absolutely stacked. With three title fights and two very intriguing bantamweight matchups making up the main card, along with a slew of fascinating preliminary fights, the organization’s year end pay-per-view is shaping up to be one of 2019’s best. In addition, a welterweight matchup between Ben Saunders and Matt Brown — veterans of over 40 combined Octagon appearances — has a chance to steal the show away from the fights on the marquee. Saunders and Brown will compete during the ESPN2 preliminary card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “Killa B” is looking to snap a three fight skid against a performance bonus magnet in Brown, who hasn’t competed since knocking out Diego Sanchez over two years ago and briefly retired from the sport.