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Dan Ige plans to shut Edson Barboza’s “lights out” to enter title conversation at featherweight
Dan Ige was ecstatic when he got the offer to welcome Edson Barboza to the featherweight division. On Saturday, Ige will battle Barboza on the main card in a very interesting fight. For the Hawaiian in Ige, he knows the stakes are high for this one. “It was super crazy, obviously a short notice fight […]
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Eryk Anders doesn’t believe Krzysztof Jotko will “be able to handle” his pressure at UFC Jacksonville
Eryk Anders is looking to extend his winning streak to three when he battles Krzysztof Jotko this Saturday in Jacksonville. The two were scheduled to fight at UFC Portland on April 11, but, the event was canceled leaving them to be rebooked for May 16. For Anders, he’s excited he gets the opportunity to compete […]
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Edson Barboza ready for a “new beginning” in featherweight debut against Dan Ige
Edson Barboza has been a perennial lightweight contender for years but on Saturday, he will make the move down to 145 pounds to take on Dan Ige. When Barboza announced he was going to make the move to featherweight, it was surprising for some. Yet, for the Brazilian, he says he needs some new challenges, […]
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UFC Jacksonville | Pro fighters make their picks for Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira
In the headliner of Wednesday’s UFC Jacksonville event, Anthony Smith returns after nearly a year-long injury layoff to take on perennial contender Glover Teixeira. Heading into the fight, the American is a -185 favorite, while the Brazilian is a +150 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions […]
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A.J. McKee sends message to Patricio Pitbull: “Let me get in there and whip your ass for this 145 pound belt”
A.J. McKee is not a fan of Patricio Pitbull. McKee and Pitbull are currently competing in the featherweight grand prix, where the undefeated contender in McKee predicts they will meet in the finals. Once there, McKee is confident he will not only beat the Brazilian, but finish him badly. “For me, I think it was […]
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Ryan Bader eyes light heavyweight title defense against Lyoto Machida if Vadim Nemkov can’t get into the States
Ryan Bader was expected to defend his light heavyweight title on May 9 against Russian contender, Vadim Nemkov. Yet, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic leaving Bader uncertain when he’ll defend his 205-pound strap next. Bader, who has not fought since September against Cheick Kongo in a controversial no-contest, is eager to […]
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Sam Alvey says UFC 249 fight against Ryan Spann is “do-or-die” for UFC career
Sam Alvey knows his UFC roster spot in on the line when he opens the stacked UFC 249 card against Ryan Spann. Alvey is currently on a three-fight losing streak where he lost by TKO to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Jimmy Crute and most recently dropped a decision to Klidson Abreu. Against Spann, “Smile’n Sam” […]
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A.J. McKee wants to box Floyd Mayweather after he becomes Bellator champ-champ
A.J. McKee is looking to become a champ-champ in Bellator and then go into boxing to challenge Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather has not boxed professionally since he defeated Conor McGregor in the summer of 2016. It was a highly-anticipated bout, and McKee thinks he can capture that same momentum. Currently, McKee is 16-0 in MMA and […]
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Pro fighters make their picks for Francis Ngannou vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik
On the stacked UFC 249 main card, Francis Ngannou takes on undefeated contender, Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Heading into this fight, Ngannou is a -275 favorite while “Bigi Boy” is a +215 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros believe the scrap ends […]
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Alexey Oleynik says UFC 249 fight with Fabricio Werdum is for “best motherf****r submission title”
Alexey Oleynik says there is a belt on the line when he takes on Fabricio Werdum at UFC 249. Oleynik will welcome Werdum back to the Octagon after a USADA suspension on the stacked UFC 249 card. The Russian is eager to share the cage with a ‘legend’ and says this fight is to see […]
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Pro fighters make their picks for Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz title fight
In the co-main event of UFC 249, Henry Cejudo is looking to defend his bantamweight title for the first time against former champion, Dominick Cruz. Heading into this fight, “Triple C” is a -225 favorite while the challenger is a +180 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get […]
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Michelle Waterson plans on knocking out Carla Esparza to put her in talks to fight for belt
Michelle Waterson believes her UFC 249 fight against former champion Carla Esparza has title implications on the line. Waterson will make her return to the Octagon after a decision loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk back at UFC Tampa last October. She says she learned a lot about herself in that fight and says it proves she […]
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UFC 249 | Pro fighters make their picks for Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje title fight
In the main event of UFC 249, Tony Ferguson is taking on Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title. Heading into the fight, “El Cucuy” is a -190 favorite while Gaethje is a +155 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The pros […]
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Jairzinho Rozenstruik plans to KO Francis Ngannou in “one of the best fights of 2020”
Jairzinho Rozenstruik is expecting to continue his knockout streak on Saturday night when he takes on Francis Ngannou at UFC 249. Rozenstruik and Ngannou were expected to headline UFC Columbus and then fight on April 18, but those events were canceled. Now, for Rozenstruik, he finally gets his wish of fighting Ngannou on May 9. […]
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Israel Adesanya explains why he’s a bad matchup for “washed up” Jon Jones
UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya has made no secret of the fact that he intends to move up to the light heavyweight division to battle Jon Jones in the future. Speaking on the latest episode of BJPENN.COM Radio, Adesanya explained why he’s so confident he’d win this potential matchup. He points to the fact that […]
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Johny Hendricks reflects on Georges St-Pierre loss years later: “Not having a win over GSP hurt me”
Johny Hendricks says he doesn’t think about the Georges St-Pierre fight anymore. Back at UFC 167, St-Pierre was looking to defend his welterweight title against Hendricks. It was a back-and-forth fight but when the final bell rang, most fans and media, including UFC president Dana White thought Hendricks had won. But, the judges’ gave GSP […]
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Douglas Lima believes he could KO Kamaru Usman and “it wouldn’t take much either”
Douglas Lima hopes he and Kamaru Usman will fight each other one day. Currently, Lima is Bellator’s welterweight champion while Usman is the UFC’s 170-pound champion. Although a fight between them seems unlikely due to the lack of cross-promotional interest by Dana White, Lima hopes it can happen one day, but he isn’t holding his […]
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Israel Adesanya shares advice for young fighters: “Don’t be fake like Jon Jones”
UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts today, and many up-and-coming fighters are bound to try to emulate his success. Speaking on the latest episode of BJPENN.COM Radio, Adesanya shared some advice for young fighters that seek to follow in his footsteps. He emphasized the importance of […]
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Douglas Lima “disappointed” Rory MacDonald left Bellator but hopes trilogy happens down the line
Douglas Lima says he’s disappointed Rory MacDonald left Bellator as it ruined plans for a trilogy fight. MacDonald is the former Bellator welterweight champion but after losing his belt to Lima in the grand prix final, he left in free agency to PFL. Many were surprised as they figured the Canadian would re-sign to set […]
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Johny Hendricks explains how USADA played a role in his retirement from MMA
Johny Hendricks never failed a USADA test or took any performance-enhancing drugs in his career. But, he does say USADA played a big factor in why he retired in 2018. Hendricks claimed UFC gold back at UFC 171 where he defeated Robbie Lawler to win the vacant belt. He would then lose the title to […]
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Alain Ngalani finding new motivation in special rules bout with Vitor Belfort
Alain Ngalani has been given the momentous task of welcoming former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort to ONE Championship, and he relishes that challenge. In fact, it’s providing him with new motivation after a prolonged period of listlessness. Ngalani, who hails from Cameroon and now lives in Hong Kong, says the bout will most […]
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Johny Hendricks still open to a return to the UFC and MMA under one condition
Johny Hendricks says the door is still open for a return to the UFC. Hendricks is a former UFC welterweight champion who last fought in 2017 where he suffered a TKO loss to Paulo Costa. He announced his retirement from MMA in June of 2018 but had one bare-knuckle fight after. Since then, Hendricks has […]
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Douglas Lima sends message to Michael Page: “Get some better wins then we will fight”
Douglas Lima doesn’t believe Michael Page should get a title shot anytime soon. Page is riding a three-fight winning streak since suffering his first loss to Lima at Bellator 221. Since the knockout loss, he beat Richard Kiely, Giovanni Melillo, and Shinsho Anzai by knockout. With “MVP” on a winning streak he has called for […]
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Douglas Lima believes he’ll “finish” Gegard Mousasi to win middleweight belt and cement his legacy
Douglas Lima was disappointed he won’t get the chance to become a champ-champ on May 9. Lima, who is the current Bellator welterweight title was moving up in weight to battle Gegard Mousasi for the vacant middleweight strap. Yet, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which was disappointing news for Lima. “I […]
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Modestas Bukauskas recalls early pro days, eyes UFC debut on Fight Island
Being signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship is the dream of many fighters around the world. Modestas Bukauskas recently achieve that dream. Back in January, Bukauskas’ management announced his signing with the UFC. Since then, though, the Brit hasn’t been able to step foot into the Octagon. “I actually did have a fight booked”, Modestas […]
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Alessio Di Chirico discusses next UFC opponent, unveils potential location
A lot of MMA bouts have been canceled or postponed during the past few weeks, including one involving Italy’s Alessio Di Chirico. The Italian fighter was originally slated to compete on April 11 in Portland against Abu Azaitar. He was later rescheduled to fight Markus Perez on the same date, but the entire card was […]
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Felicia Spencer believes beating Amanda Nunes “legitimatizes” her career
Felicia Spencer is confident she has what it takes to beat Amanda Nunes. Spencer was expected to battle Nunes for the featherweight belt at UFC 249 on May 9. Yet, the fight was postponed after Nunes said she wouldn’t be fighting during the pandemic. The Canadian, Spencer, is now in a wait and see approach […]
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Angela Lee eyeing Denise Zamboanga, Xiong Jingnan bouts when pandemic subsides
ONE atomweight champion Angela Lee, like many other fighters, is currently playing a bit of a waiting game. While she was recently linked to a title defense opposite the undefeated Denise Zamboanga, that plan was put on ice when the coronavirus pandemic took hold. “Everything is up in the air,” Lee told BJPENN.com from her home […]