Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - May 23, 2019

UFC veteran Jeremy Kennedy is set to make his PFL debut tonight when he takes on Luis Rafael after his initial opponent was pulled for missing weight. However, the opponent change isn’t impacting Kennedy, who is no doubt ready to fight and win all the same. This will be Kennedy’s first time competing in a tournament format. The 26-year-old is excited about the matchmaking integrity the tournament format ensures. He can let his fighting do the talking.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2019

Colby Covington and Mike Perry have exchanged plenty of trash talk over the last few years. Unfortunately, their respective positions in the welterweight rankings have made it difficult for the UFC to match them up with each other. Colby Covington believes he has a solution that could open the door to a massive grudge match with Mike Perry.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2019

Last year, Lance Palmer took his impressive MMA career to new heights, winning the featherweight playoffs in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and earning a gold belt and $1M prize for his efforts. This season, he’ll look to accomplish the same feat with a new team behind him. Ahead of his first PFL bout of the season, which will pit him against Alex Gilpin this very evening, Palmer has relocated to New Jersey where he is training under renowned coach Mark Henry.

Tom Taylor - May 23, 2019

Yesterday afternoon, it was reported that the UFC is working on finalizing a heavyweight fight between Juan Adams and controversial former NFL player Greg Hardy. This bout, which is being targeted for July 20 in San Antonio, is one Adams has been chasing for months, as he’s ceaselessly berated Hardy on social media and in interviews. Needless to say, he’s happy he’s finally gotten his wish.

Cole Shelton - May 17, 2019

Kevin Lee is set to move up to welterweight to take on Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC Rochester. Although Lee will weigh around 170 pounds, he was hoping by now he would be a part of a new 165-pound division. Lee and several other fighters have talked about why this division is so important for their health, and added that the UFC would benefit from the creation of another belt. However, UFC President Dana White has said there won’t be a 165-pound division for at least the next seven years — as long as he is in charge. But, “The Motown Phenom” is not buying that at all.

Cole Shelton - May 16, 2019

Kevin Lee is moving up to welterweight to take on the former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event of UFC Rochester this Saturday. Although “The Motown Phenom” is moving up in weight he is not done for good in the lightweight division. Instead, he has hopes of fighting a few lightweights in particular before his career is over.

Cole Shelton - May 16, 2019

In the main event of UFC Rochester, Kevin Lee is moving up in weight to make his welterweight debut against former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the fight.

Cole Shelton - May 15, 2019

Dustin Poirier has had a crazy road to get to a title shot. The 30-year-old had fought the very best of both the featherweight and lightweight divisions before getting an interim lightweight title shot against Max Holloway at UFC 236. Poirier would go on to defeat Holloway for the second time in his career that night in Atlanta. To see ‘The Diamond’ finally capture UFC gold was a surreal feeling for American Top Team owner, Dan Lambert.

Cole Shelton - May 14, 2019

At UFC 237, the strawweight title was on the line as Rose Namajunas was looking to defend the belt against Jessica Andrade. In the end, Andrade captured the belt in wild fashion, knocking Namajunas out with a slam. Before the title changed hands, the widespread belief was that the winner of Tatiana Suarez vs. Nina Ansaroff at UFC 238 would get the winner of Namajunas-Andrade. However, now that Andrade is the champion that plan may change given the fact former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has a win over Andrade.

Tom Taylor - May 14, 2019

This weekend, in the main event of ONE Championship: Enter The Dragon, Christian Lee will partake in the biggest fight of his career as he challenges Japanese legend Shinya Aoki for the ONE Lightweight World Title. While this matchup is taking up most of his focus at present, he believes there could be another big fight for the Lee family in the very near future: a rematch between his sister, ONE Atomweight champ Angela Lee, and ONE Strawweight champ Xiong Jing Nan. Angela Lee and Xiong Jing Nan first met in late March, at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, Japan. This bout, which stands out as one of the best of the year so far, saw Xiong emerge the victor by fifth round TKO. That being said, Lee very nearly finished the fight herself in the fourth round, as she had Xiong locked up in a bone-bending armbar until the round ended.

Cole Shelton - May 14, 2019

Sijara Eubanks had a whirlwind 10 days back in the fall. Initially, it was announced that she would headline UFC 230 in Madison Square Garden and fight for the vacant flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko. However, that plan did not come to fruition, and Eubanks was later booked for an undercard rematch with Roxanne Modafferi instead. Now, Sijara Eubanks is getting ready for another rematch, this time at bantamweight against Aspen Ladd. Eubanks lost her first fight against Ladd by decision.

Chris Taylor - May 13, 2019

Former two division UFC champion BJ Penn returned to the octagon for a lightweight fight with Clay Guida at Saturday’s UFC 237 event in Rio. After a good opening round for ‘The Prodigy’, Guida was able to turn the tide later in round two. ‘The Carpenter’ went on to get off the better volume of strikes in round three and was thus awarded a unanimous decision victory over Penn (29-28 x2, 29-27) after fifteen minutes of action.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2019

Ryan Spann is heading into enemy territory to take on Brazilian MMA legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, aka “Lil Nog,” this Saturday at UFC 237. Spann won his UFC debut by unanimous decision against Luis Henrique Barbosa de Oliveira. Following the fight, the Fortis MMA product wanted to fight “Lil Nog” and asked for the fight — something not many people do. The reason he wanted the fight is simple.

Drake Riggs - May 9, 2019

Travel four hours and 57 minutes north of Los Angeles and 36 minutes northeast of the ever-flowing Monterey Bay, and there lies the city of Gilroy. Every small town or city will usually have its handful of notable citizens that go on to do great things in a certain aspect of life. Gilroy is no different. And it’s not a ‘small’ area per se, but in comparison to your typical ‘name-city’ in California, it’s definitely not the biggest.

Cole Shelton - May 9, 2019

Diego Ferreira is ready for arguably the biggest fight of his career when he takes on Francisco Trinaldo in the pay-per-view opener of UFC 237. When the Brazilian first heard about the fight he was ecstatic as he knows a win over Trinaldo will most likely put him into the UFC lightweight rankings.

Cole Shelton - May 9, 2019

In the main event of UFC 237 on Saturday, strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will look to defend her title in Brazil against the country’s own Jessica Andrade. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions. Although Andrade is the slight betting favorite, Namajunas is the favorite to win according to the pros.

Tom Taylor - May 8, 2019

Christian Lee, the younger brother of ONE Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee, has spent the recent years of his career establishing himself as one of the top fighters in the ONE featherweight division. So, when he found himself on the receiving end of a respectful callout from ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki, he was a little surprised. “Initially, it came as a shock,” Lee told BJPenn.com. “I wasn’t expecting it — I’m sure no one was expecting it.

Cole Shelton - May 7, 2019

Renato Moicano will be returning to the Octagon on June 22 in the main event of the UFC’s first event in Greenville, South Carolina. When Moicano steps into the Octagon, standing across from him will be “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, who was not the Brazilian’s first choice of who he wanted to fight.