Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - June 14, 2019

On Saturday, in the co-main event of ONE: Legendary Quest in Shanghai, China, Agilan Thani will look to spoil the ONE Championship debut of K-1 and UFC veteran Yoshihiro Akiyama — more widely known as “Sexyama.” This massive fight was first offered to Thani in April, at the ONE Elite Retreat, on the sun-soaked beaches of Thailand. At first, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but of course he could not turn the opportunity down.

Tom Taylor - June 14, 2019

Yoshihiro Akiyama is feeling the pressure. After almost four years of inactivity, the 44-year-old Japanese-Korean star is just hours away from the first fight of his comeback, and as the clock runs down, the tension is mounting.

Tom Taylor - June 12, 2019

On Saturday, June 15, in the main event of ONE: Legendary Quest in shimmering Shanghai, China, 18-year-old Muay Thai star Alma Juniku will take on champion Stamp Fairtex for the ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title. Ahead of this mammoth Muay Thai showdown, the Albanian-Australian talent had a quick chat with BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor.

Cole Shelton - June 12, 2019

Bellator returns to Madison Square Garden in New York City with the stacked Bellator 222 card this weekend. The card sees two titles on the line and an intriguing light heavyweight matchup between Chael Sonnen and Lyoto Machida. Ahead of the light heavyweight showdown, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions on this light heavyweight matchup. And, the consensus is that Sonnen will use his wrestling and grind out a win.

Cole Shelton - June 10, 2019

Aaron Pico is one of the most highly touted prospects on Bellator’s roster. And, ahead of his upcoming fight at Bellator 222, he changed camps from Team Body Shop to JacksonWink MMA in Albuquerque. The 22-year-old says there is a simple reason for this change.

Drake Riggs - June 9, 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsO88Wf8PLA The past month has treated Bellator featherweight, Cris ‘Sunshine’ Lencioni pretty kindly when it comes to the world of combat that he finds himself entrenched in.

Drake Riggs - June 6, 2019

Being the first to do something is always a special and memorable feat no matter the endeavor. There is an uncountable number of things that someone or something could be first at or first to do. As that’s the case when literally racing someone, it can turn everything else into metaphorical versions of it too. After a goal or objective is completed for the very first time, history more often than not will end up repeating itself at some point down the line. It just depends on how much. Perhaps it could even do so multiple times before the other beginnings can unfold in their own right.

Cole Shelton - June 6, 2019

In the main event of UFC 238, the vacant bantamweight title is on this line. Flyweight champion Henry Cejudo is moving up in weight to try and become a two-division champ, while top contender, Marlon Moraes will look to win his first UFC title. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight. Some believe Moraes’ explosivenesses will be too much, while others think Cejudo’s wrestling will make the difference.

Cole Shelton - June 4, 2019

Jessica Eye is undefeated at flyweight and is now set to fight for the title against champion Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event of UFC 238. When Eye got the call to say she was fighting for the title, it was a surreal moment for her and her team.

Cole Shelton - June 4, 2019

UFC 238 is set to go down on Saturday from Chicago, Illinois. The card is stacked top to bottom with two title fights closing out the night. But, also on the card is an intriguing lightweight matchup between Donald Cerrone and Tony Ferguson, the winner of which will most likely get a crack at the title. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions on this fight. They all agree it will be a great fight and a hard fight to call.

Cole Shelton - June 4, 2019

Calvin Kattar will partake in one of the biggest fights of his career when he takes on Ricardo Lamas at UFC 238. When the 15th-ranked featherweight got the call to fight Lamas he was ecstatic. He understands just what a win would do for his career and is excited to show he is a top featherweight in the world. “I was pumped, man. I’ve been trying to fight a bunch of big names for a while now,” Kattar said to BJPENN.com. “I’m ready to go out and show why I belong. I don’t want to be the 15th-ranked fighter without taking out a top-15 fighter. I want to earn that spot. A win over Lamas shows I belong in that spot and can compete with guys who can fight for the title. He previously fought Aldo, that is more exciting and appealing.”

Cole Shelton - June 3, 2019

Blagoy Ivanov got his first UFC win his last time out when he took on Ben Rothwell. Now, the 32-year-old is set to take on another ranked fighter in Tai Tuivasa on the main card of UFC 238 this Saturday. The Aussie Tuivasa is coming off of the first loss of his career and is ranked above Ivanov which made it an easy decision to accept the fight.

Cole Shelton - May 30, 2019

Gilbert Burns is looking to get into the top-15 of the UFC lightweight division, but that has been easier said than done. The Brazilian is riding a two-fight winning streak with wins over Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Mike Davis. However, the 32-year-old says many ranked fighters have simply turned down the contract to fight him. Burns wanted to fight Alexander Hernandez, Gregor Gillespie, and Charles Oliveira — among others. Unfortunately, he’s had no luck finding a willing dance partner.

Tom Taylor - May 30, 2019

Earlier this month, Brazilian striking expert Cosmo Alexandre derailed the ONE Championship debut of Sage Northcutt with a jaw-dropping first-round knockout. For those unfamiliar with Alexandre’s body of work, this outcome came as a shock. Yet it’s just the kind of outcome the Brazilian destroyer had envisioned for himself.

Cole Shelton - May 30, 2019

The Octagon returns to Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday with the fittingly titled UFC Stockholm card. The main event will be a battle of two top light heavyweights as Alexander Gustafsson will be looking to thwart Anthony Smith on home soil. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The majority believe the home crowd will play a factor and Gustafsson will win.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

Singapore-based martial arts organization ONE Championship has recently signed a host of high profile free agents, most notably Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Sage Northcutt. Among Western fans, many of whom grew familiar with these fighters during their time in the UFC, the widespread expectation was that all three would all be extremely successful in ONE. This has not been the case.

Drake Riggs - May 28, 2019

‘The greatest of all time’ is a label reserved strictly for only one specific component. Of course, when breaking down the category overall that the subject pertains to, there can be multiple different variants that make up the classification of a G.O.A.T. In the general sports world, this often can come in the forms of a team’s best player historically. However, in a singular athletic endeavor like a combat sport such as mixed martial arts, the closest comparison to a team’s G.O.A.T. would be that of a weight division’s.

Cole Shelton - May 28, 2019

In the co-main event of UFC Stockholm, Volkan Oezdemir will return to the Octagon to take on Ilir Latifi. There, the Swiss fighter will attempt to get back into the win column for the first time since UFC 214 in July 2017. His current skid includes losses to Daniel Cormier, Anthony Smith, and a controversial decision loss to Dominick Reyes in March. After these setbacks, Oezdemir just wanted to get back into the Octagon soon and get the bad taste of losing out of his mouth.