Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Cole Shelton - July 26, 2023

In the main event of UFC 291, the vacant BMF title is up for grabs as Dustin Poirier takes on Justin Gaethje in a highly-anticipated rematch. Heading into the scrap, Poirier is a -162 favorite while ‘The Highlight’ is a +126 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Poirier will get the win in a rematch but most, to no surprise, are expecting it to be a potential Fight of the Year contender.

Cole Shelton - July 25, 2023

Jan Blachowicz wanted some time off after his last fight. Blachowicz last competed back in December and fought Magomed Ankalaev to a draw for the vacant lightweight title. After the fight ended, Blachowicz wanted some time off to heal for some injuries, and he said the plan was to return in the summer.

Cole Shelton - July 18, 2023

Jai Herbert will be fighting in London for the fourth straight time. Herbert will be taking on Fares Ziam at UFC London on Saturday and is coming off a draw against L’udovit Klein back in March. Prior to that, he beat Kyle Nelson in July and lost to Ilia Topuria by KO the previous March. Although this is Herbert’s fourth straight fight in London, he says he still is excited to fight at home and put on a show for his people.

Cole Shelton - July 14, 2023

Brandon Royval is hoping he is next in line for the flyweight title. At UFC 290, Alexandre Pantoja became the promotion’s next flyweight champion with a split-decision win over Brandon Moreno. Before the fight happened, Royval weighed-in as the backup fighter which he hoped secured him the next title shot.

Cole Shelton - July 13, 2023

Evan Elder knows his UFC Vegas 77 against Genaro Valdez is do-or-die for his career. Elder is 0-2 in the UFC, but last time out, he suffered a stoppage loss to Nazim Sadykhov due to a cut in a fight where he was up 20-18 on all three judges’ scorecards. Despite the disappointing result, Elder gained a lot of confidence from that fight.

Cole Shelton - July 11, 2023

Terrance McKinney is excited to show off his improvements. McKinney is coming off a KO loss to Ismael Bonfim back in January at UFC 283 and after the defeat, he decided to change camps. Terrance McKinney decided to go down to Texas and start training with Kevin Holland which he says has been a major benefit to him.

Cole Shelton - July 7, 2023

Kamuela Kirk is finally back in action. Kirk has not fought since March of 2022 when he suffered a submission loss to Damon Jackson in his second UFC fight. In his debut, he beat Makwan Amirkhani after stepping up on short notice. After the loss, Kirk realized it was time to move to lightweight. Once he made the move, he was booked to face Esteban Ribovics at UFC 285 in March.

Cole Shelton - July 7, 2023

Shannon Ross is looking to prove to the doubters that he belongs in the UFC. Ross suffered a TKO loss to Vinicius Salvador on the Contender Series, but it was revealed he fought with appendicitis, so Dana White signed him. In his debut, he suffered a 59-second knockout loss to Kleydson Rodrigues and wasn’t sure what would be next after the setback.

Cole Shelton - July 6, 2023

In the featured fight of UFC 290, a middleweight title eliminator goes down as Robert Whittaker takes on Dricus Du Plessis. Heading into the fight, Whittaker is a sizeable -400 favorite while the South African is a +300 underdog. Ahead of the fight at UFC 290, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are in favor of the odds as they are unanimous in thinking Whittaker gets the job done.

Cole Shelton - July 6, 2023

Dricus Du Plessis is fully focused on Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 but knows a matchup against Israel Adesanya would be massive. Du Plessis is set to take on Whittaker in a title eliminator bout with the winner expected to face Adesanya in September. Although it is a quick turnaround, Dricus Du Plessis says if the fight plays out as he expects he will be ready to fight Israel Adesanya for the belt in Australia. He also knows if that is the matchup, it will be a massive fight for the UFC.

Cole Shelton - July 5, 2023

Brandon Royval is more than ready to fight for UFC gold on Saturday night at UFC 290. In the co-main event of UFC 290, Brandon Moreno is looking to defend his flyweight title as he takes on Alexandre Pantoja. The two have fought twice – with Pantoja winning both, although one was on TUF so it was ruled an exhibition.

Cole Shelton - July 5, 2023

In the co-main event of UFC 290, Brandon Moreno looks to defend his flyweight title as he rematches Alexandre Pantoja. It’s technically the third fight as they fought on TUF but it was an exhibition so it doesn’t count, but Pantoja has won both of them. Heading into the fight, Moreno is a -205 favorite while the Brazilian is a +158 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC 290, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros are split in this one but the slight majority lean towards Moreno getting his hand raised and defending his belt.

Cole Shelton - July 4, 2023

In the main event of UFC 290, the featherweight title is up for grabs as Alexander Volkanovski looks to defend his strap against Yair Rodriguez. Heading into the fight, Volkanovski is a massive -400 favorite while the Mexican is a +285 underdog on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC 290, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. To no surprise, the pros are unaninmous in picking Volkanovski to defend his belt as they believe he is too good at featherweight.

Cole Shelton - June 28, 2023

Grant Dawson is quite familiar with his UFC Vegas 76 opponent Damir Ismagulov. Dawson is coming off a submission win over Mark O. Madsen back in November and since then, he has been trying to get a fight. However, Dawson says multiple top-15 opponents have turned him down which has been frustrating as he wants to be more active.

Cole Shelton - June 27, 2023

Max Griffin is ready to make a statement. Griffin is coming off a decision win over Tim Means back in October and was hoping to return much sooner. However, he wasn’t offered a fight until he was booked against Michael Morales at UFC Vegas 76. When Griffin got the fight offer, he admits he felt a bit disrespected by the UFC.

Cole Shelton - June 22, 2023

Modestas Bukauskas wasn’t happy with the way he fought last Saturday. Bukauskas was taking on Zac Pauga at UFC Vegas 75 and entering the fight, he was confident he would be able to finish him. He thought his striking would be too much for Pauga but that wasn’t the case as the scrap went the distance.

Cole Shelton - June 21, 2023

Gillian Robertson is making a quick turnaround. Robertson returned at strawweight back in April and submitted Piera Rodriguez in the first round. After the win, she called out Tabatha Ricci and was granted her wish as she will return just two months later at UFC Jacksonville.

Cole Shelton - June 20, 2023

Randy Brown took a chance and fought Jack Della Maddalena back in February and it didn’t go his way. Della Maddalena was someone not many people were eager to fight, but Brown is always up for the challenge, so he took the offer to fight him. Unfortunately, he suffered a first-round stoppage loss, and right away, he was asking the UFC to get him another fight.