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UFC 247 | Pro fighters make their picks for Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes title fight
In the main event of UFC 247, Jon Jones is looking to defend his light heavyweight belt once again when he battles Dominick Reyes. Heading into the fight, the champion is a -500 favorite while the undefeated challenger is a +350 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get […]
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Leon Edwards makes prediction for Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal fight
Leon Edwards is not a fan of Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal’s altercation at Radio Row during Super Bowl week. The two were doing radio shows to talk about what’s next for them when they saw each other and got into a verbal altercation. Immediately, it went all over social media and UFC president Dana […]
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Ilir Latifi says he’s coming for the heavyweight division and it starts with Derrick Lewis
Ilir Latifi always wanted to fight Derrick Lewis and now he has gotten his wish. On the main card of UFC 247, Latifi will move up in weight to battle Lewis. When the fight was announced many were confused as to why it was happening. The Swede is on a two-fight losing streak and not […]
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Mirsad Bektic looking to put losses and injuries behind him in 2020: ‘It was a very dark time for me’
Mirsad Bektic admits after losing to Josh Emmett in July it was hard for him mentally. Bektic made his return to the Octagon for the first time in over a year after multiple injuries and a canceled fight to Renato Moicano at UFC 231. After the loss, Bektic started to reflect on the past year […]
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Kevin Lee plans to remind Charles Oliveira that he’s in ‘the big leagues now’ in UFC Brasilia main event
Kevin Lee did not expect to be fighting Charles Oliveira next but is excited about the scrap. In the main event of UFC Brasilia on March 14, Lee will look to make it two in a row when he battles the local favorite Oliveira. “The Motown Phenom” says fighting a Brazilian in Brazil is something […]
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Montel Jackson explains inspiration behind memorable UFC Raleigh walkout
While there were two big events in the MMA world on Saturday night — UFC on ESPN+ 24 and Bellator 238 — Montel Jackson may have won the entire weekend before his fight with Felipe Colares even began. Prior to his unanimous decision win over Colares in Raleigh, NC, Jackson walked to the Octagon to […]
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After brief retirement, UFC veteran Ryan LaFlare looking to sign with PFL and fight Rory MacDonald
Ryan LaFlare is looking to end his retirement. LaFlare went 7-3 in UFC and headlined a card against Demian Maia and had a notable win over Santiago Ponzinibbio. Yet, he had to end his MMA career after a knockout loss to Anthony Rocco Martin at UFC 229 due to his injuries. “I didn’t retire because […]
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Kevin Lee says Islam Makhachev can ‘still get it’ after he fights Charles Oliveira
Kevin Lee has made it clear he is looking to sign two bout agreements at once. Lee is set to headline UFC Brasilia against Charles Oliveira on March 14, yet many expected him to fight Islam Makhachev. After Lee knocked out Gregor Gillespie, he and the Russian went back-and-forth and agreed to fight one another […]
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Ilir Latifi believes teammate Alexander Gustafsson will fight again ‘very soon’
Ilir Latifi expects Alexander Gustafsson to fight again soon. Shortly after Gustafsson was submitted by Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC Stockholm he announced his retirement. Yet many thought the Swede would come back and a few months later he revealed he is considering a return. Now, his teammate in Latifi says Gustafsson […]
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Sodiq Yusuff says UFC 246 win over Andre Fili made him a top guy at featherweight
Sodiq Yusuff is now a perfect 4-0 inside the Octagon, and ranked in the featherweight top-15. At UFC 246, Yusuff competed in the biggest fight of his career when he took on Andre Fili. The Nigerian-American knew it was going to be a tough fight but was confident he would get his hand raised. That […]
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Diego Ferreira says best is yet to come after UFC 246 win, eyes Al Iaquinta or Felder-Hooker winner next
Diego Ferreira knows the best is yet to come. At UFC 246, Ferreira picked up the biggest win of his career when he submitted Anthony Pettis in the second round. The victory got the Brazilian a spot in the UFC rankings, and it also happened to take place on his birthday which he says was […]
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Kevin Lee declares himself the ‘uncrowned champion’ of the lightweight division
Kevin Lee believes he’s the true champion of the lightweight division. Lee recently returned to the win column with a massive knockout win over Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244. Following the win, “The Motown Phenom” is set to headline UFC Brasilia against Charles Oliveira. He then plans to fight Islam Makhachev in Russia. For him, […]
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Thiago Alves explains decision to sign with BKFC
After 14 years and 27 fights with the UFC, Thiago Alves found himself longing for a fresh start. So, when the promotion offered him a new deal after a pair of losses to Laureano Staropoli and Tim Means, he respectfully declined, and signed an exclusive contract with upstart bare knuckle promotion Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship […]
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UFC Raleigh | Pro fighters make their picks for Curtis Blaydes vs. Junior dos Santos
In the main event of UFC Raleigh, Curtis Blaydes will look to extend his winning streak to three when he battles the former heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos. Heading into the fight, Blaydes is a -250 favorite while dos Santos is a +195 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters […]
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Roxanne Modafferi on UFC 246 win over Maycee Barber: ‘I was winning before her knee got hurt anyway’
Roxanne Modafferi was the biggest underdog on the entire UFC 246 card, entering the cage for her fight with Maycee Barber at +600. Yet the 39-fight veteran got the job done by unanimous decision winning, every single round including one 10-8 round on one judge’s scorecard. It was a performance nobody except Modafferi and her […]
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Michael Chiesa says he ‘loves’ UFC Raleigh matchup but doesn’t know why Rafael dos Anjos asked for it
Michael Chiesa wanted a ranked opponent after his win over Diego Sanchez but did not expect to get a top-five opponent in Rafael dos Anjos. Chiesa, who moved up to welterweight in 2018, is now 2-0 in the weight class and revealed it was dos Anjos who asked for the fight at UFC Raleigh. “This […]
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UFC 246 | Pro fighters make their picks for Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone
In the main event of UFC 246, Conor McGregor makes his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon, where he will battle Donald Cerrone. Heading into the fight, the Irishman is a -325 favorite while “Cowboy” is a +250 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the […]
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Nathaniel Wood wants Cody Garbrandt after John Dodson fight
Whether you are a connoisseur of European MMA or not, you probably know who Nathaniel Wood is by now. The former Cage Warriors title-holder made his UFC debut just less than two years ago and since then he has racked up three victories in three fights, all won by submission. “The Prospect” is now ready […]
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Maurice Greene confident he’ll KO Alexey Oleynik: ‘It’s hard to do jiu-jitsu when you’re getting punched and elbowed’
Maurice Greene is confident he will return to the win column at UFC 246 when he battles Alexey Oleynik. Last time out, Greene suffered his first loss inside the Octagon when he was knocked out by Sergei Pavlovich. Although he lost, he says it was a learning experience and knows what he has to do […]
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Alexander Volkanovski prioritizing title defenses over super fights
There are a lot of dangerous fighters in the UFC featherweight top-10, and the division’s new champion Alexander Volkanovski is more than happy to fight them all. That, he says, is simply the duty of a UFC champion. “That’s how a champ should do it,” Volkanovski told BJPENN.com, adding that defeating his many featherweight rivals […]
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UFC 246 | Alexey Oleynik: ‘I don’t need to go to the ground’ against Maurice Greene
Alexey Oleynik knows he will have a massive advantage on the ground when he takes on Maurice Green at UFC 246, but isn’t sure he will utilize it. Oleynik is on a two-fight losing streak, having recently been TKO’d by Alistair Overeem and then knocked out in 12 seconds by Walt Harris, and knows this […]
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Alexander Volkanovski responds to Korean Zombie callout: ‘It ain’t gonna be that easy’
Alexander Volkanovski is exactly one month into his reign as the UFC featherweight champion. While he’s still healing up from an arm injury sustained in his title-winning battle, a unanimous decision win over long-time champ Max Holloway, he’s beginning to look ahead to his first challenge as champion. The options for that challenge are plentiful. […]
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Manager: Carlos Condit suffered ‘common injury’, will fight in 2020
Carlos Condit was hoping to get back on track to end 2019 before an injury forced him to withdraw from his scheduled fight with Mickey Gall at UFC Washington, DC. While the exact reason for the withdrawal hasn’t truly been revealed, Condit’s manager Abe Kawa says that “The Natural Born Killer” didn’t suffer a serious […]
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UFC 246 | Diego Ferreira believes it will come down to ‘who wants it more’ against Anthony Pettis
Diego Ferreira is days out from arguably the biggest fight of his career. He will take on Anthony Pettis in the UFC 246 pay-per-view opener this Saturday in Las Vegas. With a win, the Brazilian might just enter the lightweight rankings. Although Pettis, who is the former WEC and UFC lightweight champion is a big […]
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Gilbert Burns believes welterweight division has become ‘stagnant’ like lightweight when McGregor was champ
Gilbert Burns believes the welterweight division has become stagnant, just like the lightweight division was when Conor McGregor was the champion. When that was happening, Burns had a hard time getting fights or ranked opponents. So, in 2019 he decided to move up to welterweight. Immediately, he got two short-notice fights against Alexey Kunchenko and […]
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Gilbert Burns says Demian Maia didn’t want to take fight, believes win puts career on ‘another level’
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 […]
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Promoter: Claressa Shields vs. Amanda Nunes ‘would be the biggest women’s sporting event of all time’
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 […]
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Devonte Smith using ‘lessons learned’ towards recovery, ‘winning’ 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, […]