Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

Mike Perry entered mainstream MMA consciousness in a rather strange way. Though diehard fans had been aware of him for some time, his first steps into the limelight occurred at the UFC 202 weigh ins, when he faked a handshake with his opponent Hyun Gyu Lim, then pulled his hand away at the last minute, and screamed in Lim’s face. While this move certainly served to get the attention of the MMA community, it did so in a rather negative way, as Perry was immediately branded  by many as a bit of a hot-head.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

When Jimi Manuwa knocked out Corey Anderson in their March light heavyweight showdown, he established himself as one of the top contenders at light heavyweight. In fact, were it not for the looming return of former champion Jon Jones, Manuwa could well be looking at a shot at reigning champ Daniel Cormier right now. While Manuwa expects to have one more fight before he takes on the Cormier vs. Jones winner, he’s had plenty to say about both men over the last few weeks. Manuwa’s latest comments on these light heavyweight greats occurred on Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, when he discussed a possible showdown with Cormier.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

Last weekend, on the main card of the UFC’s latest trip to Nashville, Tennessee, rising welterweight “Platinum” Mike Perry scored a veritable knockout of the year contender over the veteran Jake Ellenberger. This win – which marks his first over a ranked UFC welterweight – sets him up for more big tests inside the UFC welterweight division. He’s got some ideas to that end.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

Shortly after his destruction of Corey Anderson, which occurred in mid-March, British UFC light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa made a surprise call for a boxing match with fellow Londoner David Haye. On Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, Manuwa explained the reason for this callout.

Tom Taylor - April 20, 2017

Having defended the welterweight title twice – albeit in two close fights with the same man – UFC welterweight titleholder Tyron Woodley is looking like he could emerge as a pretty dominant champion. We do, however, know that he can be beaten. Rory MacDonald was the most recent fighter to prove this. MacDonald beat Woodley in June of 2014, outworking him to a unanimous decision win. In the years since then, the two fighters have diverged on very different paths, with Woodley claiming UFC welterweight gold, and MacDonald departing from the UFC to set up shop under the Bellator MMA banner.

Tom Taylor - April 20, 2017

Though the UFC is the biggest and most popular mixed martial arts promotion in the world, it is often criticized for the way it treats its fighters. The promotion frequently catches flack for underpaying it’s athletes, and for its controversial outfitting deal with Reebok, which seems to pay fighters much less than they’d make if they pursued their own sponsorship. Lately, however, their seems to be cause for optimism on these fronts, as Bellator MMA is enjoying such a surge that it’s starting to look like legitimate competition for the UFC, and a legitimate alternative for unhappy UFC fighters.

Tom Taylor - April 20, 2017

To say UFC flyweight Ian McCall has been unlucky of late would be an understatement. Since he last fought in January of 2015, he has been scheduled to fight five separate times, and not one of these scheduled fights has come to fruition. Though several of these cancelled fights have been due to opponent injuries and other issues, many of them can also be attributed to bouts of illness on McCall’s side. Apparently, these bouts of illness are not just random bugs, but part of a larger health problem that seems to be thrown into overdrive by weight cuts.

Tom Taylor - April 20, 2017

Nate Quarry, who is a TUF veteran and former UFC middleweight title challenger, is involved in a class action lawsuit against the UFC, and stands out as one of the promotion’s most outspoken critics. One of the issues that gets the former fighter most fired up is the UFC’s outfitting deal with sports apparel giant Reebok, which pays fighters small sums to wear Reebok clothes in place of the sponsorship deals they would initially pursue themselves. At this stage, it’s been made quite clear that most fighters actually lost money as a result of this deal. According to Quarry, however, it’s worse than most of us can imagine. Quarry tore the UFC-Reebok deal to shreds on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Russell Ess - April 19, 2017

Rory MacDonald is set to make his Bellator MMA debut at Bellator 179 in the main event on May 19. The former UFC title challenger will have his hands full as he takes on the knockout specialist Paul Daley at the SSE Arena in London. MacDonald spoke with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor on Monday’s episode of Rapid Fire about a few topics including his recent fight schedule.

Tom Taylor - April 19, 2017

Back in November of 2015, Leo Kuntz touched down in his ancestral home of South Korea for a fight with South Korean star Tae Hyun Bang. The pair’s battle occurred on the undercard of UFC Fight Night 79. At a glance, the fight was pretty standard, as Bang emerged the victor with a hard-fought unanimous decision. While the fight itself was not especially memorable, however, it has earned a place in the MMA history books for a rather unfortunate reason. The bout marked the first verifiable case of fight-fixing in UFC history.

Tom Taylor - April 19, 2017

This weekend, when the UFC touches down in Nashville, Tennessee, fan favorite lightweight Joe Lauzon will take on Scotland’s Stevie Ray. The bout will mark Lauzon’s 24th fight under the UFC banner – an incredible run that has seen him earn a record 15 performance of the night awards. Ahead of his latest battle, Lauzon joined BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor to discuss his fighting future, and his inevitable retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts:

Tom Taylor - April 18, 2017

UFC 210 was steeped in controversy, as Pearl Gonzales was very nearly forced out of her fight with Cynthia Calvillo for having breast implants, and Daniel Cormier appeared to push down on his towel to make weight for his light heavyweight title fight with Anthony  “Rumble” Johnson. Of all the controversies attached to this card, however, none were quite as confusing as the one that occurred in the co-main event. In this co-main event, which pitted Gegard Mousasi against Chris Weidman, Mousasi seemed to land an illegal knee in the second round. The referee then paused the fight, while various doctors and other officials milled about the Octagon in confused chaos. For a moment, it looked as though the knees would be deemed illegal, which could have meant a Mousasi point deduction or even a Weidman disqualification win. In the end, however, a largely unknown policy called “referee polling” revealed that the knees were legal, which meant the dazed Weidman lost by TKO.

Chris Taylor - April 17, 2017

Tyron Woodley says his next fight will be in July Current UFC welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley claims he will be returning to the Octagon this July.

Chris Taylor - April 16, 2017

Yair Rodriguez is not like other fighters and vows to become a UFC champion this year Surging UFC featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez will take on former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar on the main card of next month’s stacked UFC 211 pay-per-view card in Dallas, Texas.

Chris Taylor - April 14, 2017

Yair Rodriguez promises to deliver on his mom’s premonition for UFC 211 fight with Frankie Edgar Surging UFC featherweight contender Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez will return to the octagon at next month’s UFC 211 pay-per-view event in Dallas, Texas where he will square off with former UFC lightweight champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.

Chris Taylor - April 13, 2017

Tyron Woodley: The last time GSP fought someone like me, he crawled into a cave for 3 years Current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is targeting UFC 213 on July 8 in Las Vegas for his octagon return.

Tom Taylor - April 13, 2017

Earlier this month, in the main event of Superior Challenge 15 in Sweden, UFC and Ultimate Fighter veteran Dylan Andrews knocked out Papy Abedi with a thunderous, second-round head-kick. It was his second knockout defeat of the Swedish fighter. With this win, Andrews rebounded from a three-fight losing streak, a disappointing release from the UFC, and a hiatus of almost two years. Yet the win was important to the Australia-based Kiwi for another reason. It represented his rekindled love for the sport of MMA – a love that devolved into downright hatred around the time of his UFC release.

Tom Taylor - April 13, 2017

Last weekend, the UFC touched down in Buffalo, New York with UFC 210. The event marked the promotion’s fourth show in the state, after stops in Manhattan, Albany, and Brooklyn. Nearly all of these shows have included some form of controversy, much of which can be attributed to the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC).  The commission is experiencing serious growing pains as it learns to sanction mixed martial arts, which was only recently legalized in the state. UFC lightweight Jim Miller has now fought twice in the state: first, against Thiago Alves at UFC 205 in Manhattan , then against Dustin Poirier at UFC 208 in Brooklyn. Both times he fought in the state, Miller has been seriously inconvenienced by the NYSAC. This, when coupled with the commissions many blunders at the recent UFC 210, have left him with little desire to fight in New York again. Miller shared his grievances on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.