Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2017

Angela Magana, a veteran of MMA’s women’s strawweight division, is well acquainted with her haters. While she’s got a legion of loyal followers, her outspoken attitude assures she receives plenty of backlash too. That said, Magana has never let her haters get to her. Believing that she’s just a bit misunderstood, she chooses instead to dismiss them and keep being herself.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2017

On January 20, when the UFC touches down in Boston, Massachusetts with UFC 220, Swiss light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir will attempt to topple the division’s champion Daniel Cormier. Ahead of this fight, the two fighters’ advantages are quite clear. Oezdemir, of course, has established himself as one of the light heavyweight division’s most venomous punchers. Cormier, meanwhile, is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the division – and in MMA, period.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2017

Last weekend, on the undercard of UFC 218, Angela Magana came up short against Amanda Bobby Cooper, succumbing to second-round punches. Unfortunately, Magana feels as though the fight might have been stopped a little early by referee Keith Peterson. “I feel like the fight was stopped early,” Magana explained on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “I remember my corner saying 28 seconds, and there were less than 30 seconds. Yes, [Cooper] was bashing the shit out of me, but I was fully with it. I was fully aware of what was going on. As soon as it stopped I was over with the referee just seeing the replay. I put my hands out like what the hell? But that’s his decision. You have to respect his decisions. I felt like if I could have got a third round, and my corner said, ‘whatever you do, don’t go to the ground, stand up [with her].’ I might have pulled something out of somewhere, I don’t know, to be able to win it. Who knows, but it was stopped a bit early. I feel like that’s the thing with women’s MMA. That they always stop us early in comparison to the men.”

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2017

Last month, in the lead-up to the UFC’s latest stop in Sydney, Australia, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum had a run-in with surging welterweight contender Colby Covington, during which Werdum ultimately threw a boomerang at Covington. Shortly thereafter, news surfaced that Covington planned to press charges against Werdum. Unsurprisingly, Werdum – and many members of the testosterone soaked MMA community – felt that Covington had violated some kind of unspoken code by going to the police. In the opinion of Chael Sonnen, however, it was Werdum, not Covington, that violated a code.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

Do not count Chael Sonnen among Colby Covington’s haters. No, “The Bad Guy” has actually become a big fan of his fellow Oregonian, and thinks that other fighters should be taking notes when Covington does his thing. “I think people can learn from Colby,” Sonnen said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “He’s going to be in that pool by himself, because all these crybabies can’t stand to hear anybody boo them. He’s just being himself and it’s what all fighters should do. We’ll see these fighters come out. They want to act like some religious angel or they’re the world’s nicest guy, when they’re nothing more than a dirty rotten cage fighter.”

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

Back in early November, Michael Bisping surrendered the UFC middleweight title to Georges St-Pierre, succumbing to a rear-naked choke after absorbing quite a bit of punishment. In an effort to bounce back from this loss as quickly as possible, Bisping then accepted a short notice fight with the cinderblock-fisted Kelvin Gastelum, replacing former champion Anderson Silva. While some people applauded Bisping for this get-up-and-go attitude, others scolded him (and the UFC) for booking the fight so soon after his concussive loss to St-Pierre. If you’re one of the people who criticized Bisping for taking this risk, Chael Sonnen has a message for you. He gave his take on the situation on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Chris Taylor - November 30, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley does not understand the logic behind Michael Bisping’s decision to make a quick turnaround and fight Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Shanghai. Just three weeks after being choked unconscious by Georges St-Pierre in the main event of UFC 217, former champion Michael Bisping was back in the octagon staring down dangerous middleweight Kelvin Gastelum.

Tom Taylor - November 30, 2017

In 2018, Bellator MMA will crown a heavyweight champion by way of an action-packed heavyweight Grand Prix. This headline-dominating tournament will kick off on January 20, when three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen takes on former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Then, in the subsequent months, we’ll witness matchups between Roy Nelson and Matt Mitrione, Fedor Emelianenko and Frank Mir, and lastly, Ryan Bader and Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal. In the opinion of Chael Sonnen, any one of these dangerous competitors has a real shot at winning it all.

Chris Taylor - November 29, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will not be fighting Nate Diaz or any other opponent at December’s UFC 219 event in Las Vegas. The Diaz vs. Woodley bout was first reported to be in the works earlier this month. Unfortunately, Nate’s financial demands for the fight proved to be too much and the proposed bout was eventually scrapped entirely.

Chris Taylor - November 26, 2017

Yoel Romero says he only thinks about the UFC belt and eyes a rematch with Robert Whittaker in early 2018. Top UFC middleweight contender Yoel Romero has a plan for when Georges St-Pierre announces that he will be vacating his newly obtained UFC middleweight title.

Chris Taylor - November 26, 2017

Mike Perry has a message for the UFC, “stack them up and I’ll knock them down!” The surging welterweight contender Mike “Platinum” Perry has been busy preparing for his upcoming fight with Santiago Ponzinibio which takes place December 16 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Chris Taylor - November 26, 2017

After being forced out of UFC 218 with an injury, UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta is currently unsure about his fighting future. “Raging Al” was expected to square off with Paul Felder at the highly anticipated pay-per-view event in Detroit, but was ultimately forced off the card with an injury.

Chris Taylor - November 26, 2017

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping suffered his second stoppage loss in just three weeks at yesterday’s UFC event in Shanghai, China. After being put to sleep by Georges St-Pierre in the main event of UFC 217 on November 4, “The Count” decided to make a quick turnaround and accepted a short-notice fight with Kelvin Gastelum for November 25.

Tom Taylor - November 23, 2017

Earlier this month, in the lead-up to the UFC’s recent show in Sydney, Australia, surging UFC welterweight contender Colby Covington had a run-in with former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum. Evidently angered by Covington’s controversial anti-Brazil comments, Werdum got physical with the welterweight, and ultimately threw a novelty boomerang at him. Speaking on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Mike Perry, who is one of Covington’s arch rivals at welterweight, sounded off on this whole ordeal. He assured that, had he been the one tangling with Werdum and his boomerang, things would have gone very differently.

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2017

This December 16, on the main card of the amazingly stacked UFC Winnipeg card, red hot welterweight contender “Platinum” Mike Perry will face the biggest test of his career in the division’s 10th-ranked fighter Santiago Ponzinibbio. If Perry is able to take out Ponzinibbio – which is assuredly no easy task – he’s got a few welterweight stars in mind for his next few fights. The Platinum one broke it down on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2017

Earlier this month, in the main event of the ridiculously stacked UFC 217, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre made his long-awaited return to the Octagon. While St-Pierre’s heyday occured at welterweight, however, his comeback fight occurred at middleweight, where he took on reigning champ Michael Bisping for the title. Despite the length of his layoff and his apparent size disadvantage, St-Pierre dazzled in this fight, battering his foe en route to a third-round submission win – his first stoppage win since 2009.

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2017

Over the last few months, Colby Covington has been sharpening his tools not just as a mixed martial artist, but as a pro wrestler. While it’s no surprise that his experience in MMA is translating well into the pro wrestling world, he’s also finding that his forays into pro-wrestling world could be beneficial to his MMA career. “Just slowing everything down,” Covington said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio when asked about the keys to success in pro wrestling. “When you’re out there, in front of a crowd, and you got a camera right in front of your face, you want to just go, go go. But, that’s not how you do it in the pro wrestling. That’s not how it works in that business. You have to be able to slow things down and really sell it. Like, if you’re doing a move, you know, you got to really sell it. You got to sell the expression and the emotion, so, just slowing things down, you know? And, I think that’s going to really help me out for MMA fighting in general, just to be patient and wait for your moment.”

Tom Taylor - November 20, 2017

While it’s possible that Nate Diaz will jump the line, the race for a shot at Tyron Woodley’s UFC welterweight title seems to come down to a handful of men: Colby Covington, Robbie Lawler, Rafael dos Anjos (Lawler’s upcoming opponent) and Stephen Thompson. In the opinion of Colby Covington, however, it’s pretty easy to chop Lawler and Thompson from that list. “I’m next in line at welterweight,” Covington said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “You know, I’m number three in the world. There’s only two guys ahead of me: Robbie Lawler and Stephen Thompson. Stephen Thompson, [Woodley] already fought twice. So, he’s not getting another shot. Robbie Lawler got knocked out [by Woodley] in under a minute or two minutes, so, you know, they’re not going to do re-do that fight. It doesn’t make sense. [Besides] I’ve already knocked out Robbie enough in the gym.”