Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2017

Riding high on a three-fight win-streak, rising welterweight Colby Covington has been looking for a step up in competition for some time. Unfortunately for him, finding a willing dance partner has proven incredibly difficult. Thankfully, after being turned down by former lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos, he’s now been booked for a scrap with Dong Hyun Kim at UFC Fight Night Singapore this June. Finding a willing dance partner, however, was not easy.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2017

Earlier this year, former UFC lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos announced his intention to move up to the welterweight division. Shortly after the former champ made this announcement, he began fielding callouts from a number of notable welterweights. Of all the welterweights to call Dos Anjos out, however, none did so with quite the same fervor or creativity as rising star Colby Covington. Unfortunately for Covington and his fans, Dos Anjos ultimately opted to sign on for a fight with former Strikeforce champ Tarec Saffiedine, which will go down when the UFC returns to Singapore on June 17.

Tom Taylor - April 5, 2017

This weekend, the UFC will touch down in Buffalo, New York with UFC 210. In this anticipated card’s co-main event, former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman will take on dangerous Dutchman Gegard Mousasi. The bout will mark Weidman’s opportunity to bounce back from two straight losses: a TKO against Luke Rockhold, which marked the end of his title reign, and a thudding, third-round knockout dealt by Yoel Romero. As Weidman’s shot at redemption looms on the horizon, his brother-in-law and training partner Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson spoke to BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor to discuss the former champ’s preparation for Mousasi.

Tom Taylor - April 5, 2017

Over the last few weeks, consensus-best female featherweight Cris “Cyborg” Justino has been campaigning for a  fight with UFC featherweight queen Germaine De Randamie. Cyborg is hoping to make this fight happen at UFC 214, which is scheduled for July 29 inside Anaheim’s Honda Center. Responding to BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor, Cyborg explained that at the moment, there’s no indication that her desired fight will occur at UFC 214.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2017

Late last month, UFC featherweight star Cris “Cyborg” Justino challenged former bantamweight champ and long-time rival Ronda Rousey to a showdown in the WWE ring. The featherweight did so on Twitter, after footage of her drilling pro wrestling maneuvers with wrestler Gabi Castrovinci surfaced on the web. See Cyborg’s original Tweet below:

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2017

In early March, in the main event of UFC 209, Stephen Thompson gave up a majority decision to welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Given that he fought Woodley to a draw back in November, this marked his second failed attempt to steal the champ’s spot on the throne. Having failed twice to capture the title, Thompson now finds himself in a bit of a tricky spot. In the past, we’ve seen other fighters in his position move up or down a weight class in search of a fresh start. In a recent interview with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor, Thompson weighed in on this possibility.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2017

Though Mackenzie Dern came up short on the mats last weekend, giving up a choke to three-time world champion Bia Mesquita in the absolute division of the IBJJF’s Rio Falls event, she remains one of the most talked-about names in the grappling world. Having gone 3-0 in the cage, she’s also emerging as one of the hottest prospects in mixed martial arts. While Dern’s recent focus has been on her Brazilian Jiu Jitsu roots, she is planning on a return to mixed martial arts competition at a to-be-determined date this summer. Contrary to recent statements and reports, however, her return to the cage will likely not mark her debut in the UFC’s Octagon. This news was first reported by BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor, who spoke to Dern’s manager.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2017

Cris “Cyborg” Justino, who has owned both the Strikeforce women’s featherweight title and the Invicta featherweight title, has long stood out as one of the best female fighters on the planet. As such, there has been a long-standing and widespread desire to see her test her mettle against the best female fighters in the UFC – particularly against Ronda Rousey, who enjoyed an incredible run of dominance as the UFC women’s bantamweight champion from early 2013 to late 2015. While the desire for a Cyborg vs. Rousey superfight was always present among fans, however, it was never made, as debates over the conditions of the fight – particularly the weight class it would occur in – served as an insurmountable hurdle.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2017

There is currently no bigger story in the world of combat sports than that of Conor McGregor‘s plans to challenge undefeated boxing great Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring. While this fight’s fruition is still far from a certainty, many members of the combat sports world are chiming in, giving their opinions on it. The latest to do so is our very own BJ Penn, who shared his thoughts on this possible boxing match in an interview with Chris Taylor. “I would think in a straight boxing match Floyd would have to have the advantage,” Penn said of this possible showdown. “But Connor is younger, bigger, and in his prime, and in combat sports all it takes is one punch. That’s the way I look at it.”

Tom Taylor - March 30, 2017

Later this year, UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping will attempt to defend his title against returning welterweight legend Georges St-Pierre – that is, unless Bisping decides to give the title shot back to Yoel Romero, or fight Tyron Woodley instead. Given that St-Pierre has never fought at middleweight before, his being given a title shot over legitimate contenders like Romero and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza was immediately controversial. Why the UFC went this direction, of course, is easy to understand. They’re trying to make some big money. At least, that’s what streaking welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal thinks.

Tom Taylor - March 30, 2017

Back in January, UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal scored a career-altering knockout win over the streaking Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. This win sent the American Top Team staple rocketing up the UFC welterweight rankings. In the wake of this win, Masvidal quickly began calling for a fight with top welterweight contender Demian Maia. While Maia initially seemed reluctant to accept this fight, stating that he would prefer to wait for a shot at the title, he eventually signed on the dotted line. The two welterweights will go at it on the main card of UFC 211 this May 13.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2017

John Kavanagh, who serves as the head coach for UFC stars like Artem Lobov, Gunnar Nelson, and of course, Conor McGregor, is famous for the expression “win or learn.” He even wrote a book with that title. The idea behind this expression is that, when a fighter enters the cage, there are two possible outcomes: they either win, or lose and learn from that loss. In the case of UFC welterweight knockout artist Mike Perry, this expression rings true. Late last year, Perry experienced the first loss of his pro career, losing a hard fought decision to a crafty Alan Jouban. With this first defeat in the rear-view mirror, the welterweight slugger is determined to learn from the experience. The main thing he hopes to learn from this loss his how to win a decision when the knockout fails to materialize.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2017

On April 22, when the UFC touches down in Nashville, Tennessee, “Platinum” Mike Perry will test his mettle against one of the welterweight division’s most experienced competitors: Jake Ellenberger. On Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, Perry weighed in on this looming scrap with Ellenberger. Though he acknowledged that Ellenberger has experience on his side, he doesn’t expect the veteran to give him any new looks.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2017

Jessica Aguilar, who is the former World Series of Fighting strawweight champion and the most experienced fighter in the UFC strawweight division, is looking for a fight – specifically, a fight at UFC 211, in her native Texas, on May 13. Unfortunately, the 13th-ranked strawweight has had an incredibly difficult time locking down an opponent for this card, and with the date drawing ever closer, she’s getting desperate.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2017

On April 22, fan favorite slugger “Platinum” Mike Perry will attempt to rebound from his first professional loss. His opponent in this effort will be brick-fisted welterweight veteran Jake Ellenberger. In advance of this fight, Perry joined host Kinch on BJ Penn Radio to give his take on Ellenberger as an opponent. Apparently, Perry had nothing against his upcoming foe until they appeared together on Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome Podcast, where Ellenberger let some trash talk fly.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2017

Jessica Aguilar is an unheralded pioneer of women’s mixed martial arts. The UFC strawweight contender’s career dates all the way back to 2006 – five years before Ronda Rousey made her pro debut. Over the course of this long career, she has amassed an impressive 19-5 overall record, which happens to be the longest record in the UFC strawweight division. Despite the experiential edge she has over her peers, however, she has struggled to gain a foothold in the division. Aguilar explained this difficulty to host Kinch on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Chris Taylor - March 20, 2017

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson suffered a majority decision loss to Tyron Woodley earlier this month at UFC 209 in Las Vegas. The loss marked Thompson’s second unsuccessful attempt to steal the title from Woodley, as the pair had battled to a majority decision draw at UFC 205 this past November in New York.

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2017

Things are suddenly looking pretty interesting in the UFC light heavyweight division. Champ Daniel Cormier and challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson are scheduled for an imminent title rematch. Pride legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is enjoying an unlikely, late-career resurgence, and appears to be poised for one last title run. England’s Jimi Manuwa has burst into title contention with destructive knockouts of top-10 foes in Ovince St. Preux and Corey Anderson. And all the while prospects like Tyson Pedro, Paul Craig, Volkan Oezdemir and Misha Cirkunov are working to earn their places in the light heavyweight ranks. All the action that occurs at light heavyweight, however, has a shadow cast over it by one man: former champion Jon Jones, who was stripped of the title after a litany of troubles outside the cage – several of which were drug-related.