Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Thomas Taylor - January 24, 2019

In April of 2015, at ONE: Global Rivals, Hawaii’s Lowen Tynanes improved to an impressive 9-0 with a unanimous decision defeat of respected Japanese veteran Koji Ando. The future looked very bright for the young Hawaiian, as a ONE Championship lightweight title shot seemed to be just around the corner. Unfortunately, he has not fought since.

Cole Shelton - January 24, 2019

Bellator is about to wrap up their heavyweight grand prix on Saturday. The main event will see Ryan Bader, Bellator’s light heavyweight champion take on MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. If Bader is to come out on top he will be the first ever two-division champ in Bellator. Meanwhile, if Emelianenko wins, he cements his legacy even more and may very well be considered the greatest heavyweight of all-time.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2019

Jon Jones is once again the UFC light heavyweight champion, but his work is far from over. Having reclaimed the title, he can now look forward to fights with a new wave of ferocious contenders like Anthony Smith, Jan Blachowicz, Thiago Santos, Corey Anderson, and perhaps the most dangerous fighter of the bunch, Dominick Reyes. While Dominick Reyes is currently booked for a high-stakes UFC London fight with Volkan Oezdemir, he has long had his crosshairs set on a fight with Jon Jones. And while he recognizes that the seemingly unbeatable Jones would be an incredibly difficult test, he’s confident he’s got the goods to defeat him.

Tom Taylor - January 24, 2019

Former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington was recently mentioned as a potential opponent for Darren Till — that was before Till was booked to fight Covington’s training partner Jorge Masvidal. Covington, however, was not interested in this fight, maintaining that, as the recent interim champion, he has earned a title shot against undisputed champ Tyron Woodley.

Tom Taylor - January 23, 2019

At long last, Jorge Masvidal is set to return to the cage. The fan favorite welterweight contender will battle former title challenger Darren Till in the main event of the anticipated UFC London card on March 16. Speaking on the latest stacked episode of BJPENN Radio, Jorge Masvidal explained how he envisions this UFC London fight with Darren Till playing out— and interestingly enough, it all ends with him slapping another UK MMA star in Michael Bisping.

Cole Shelton - January 23, 2019

All the hype surrounding UFC 229 was about Conor McGregor taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, the co-main event fight between Anthony Pettis and Tony Ferguson was also a highly touted affair. It appeared the winner of Ferguson vs Pettis would be getting the next title shot against the winner of Nurmagomedov-McGregor. Ultimately, Ferguson defeated Pettis by corner stoppage after the second round. However, that had a lot to do with Pettis breaking his hand.

Mike Pendleton - January 22, 2019

In a sport based on individual performance, managers are one of the most important aspects to fighters that don’t get talked about nearly enough. While not every fighter needs a manager, those that find themselves at the top of the sport can likely be found with a great manager and agency behind them. One of the leading agencies in all of sports, especially combat sports, is First Round Management (FRM).

Mike Pendleton - January 22, 2019

Two-weight UFC champion Amanda Nunes made some headlines last week when she said that she was ‘done’ fighting at featherweight after she defeated former champion Cris Cyborg in 51 seconds at UFC 232 to become the UFC’s first ever two-weight women’s champion. While Nunes stated that many knew the featherweight division was only made for the arrival of Cyborg, another featherweight, Megan Anderson took exception to Nunes’ comments and called for her to be stripped of the title. As the division’s future is up in the air, one person close to Nunes believes she won’t fight again at featherweight.

Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019

Riding high on an impressive defeat of Chas Skelly in his UFC debut, red-hot featherweight prospect Bobby Moffett is eager to get back into the cage. And as it turns out, he knows exactly who he’d like to fight and where he’d like to do it. He’s eyeing a fight with fellow prospect Bryce Mitchell, ideally on the UFC’s March 23 return to Nashville, Tennessee.

Tom Taylor - January 21, 2019

After being deprived of his promised shot at the UFC welterweight title, top contender Colby Covington has had plenty to say about UFC President Dana White of late. Of course, Covington isn’t the only person to make negative comments about the polarizing UFC boss recently. Retired boxer turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya has also gone back and forth with Dana White over the last few weeks, even challenging the UFC President to a fight on the undercard of the next Canelo Alvarez pay-per-view.

Cole Shelton - January 21, 2019

Anthony Pettis used to be the UFC lightweight champion, and also fought at featherweight in 2016. However, his first fight in 2019 will be at welterweight, where he will take on former title challenger, Stephen Thompson. For Pettis, moving up to 170 to fight ‘Wonderboy’ was an easy decision.

Cole Shelton - January 21, 2019

Elias Theodorou’s toughest fight is not against any UFC fighter. Rather, it is taking on the United States Anti-Doping Agency to get a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for medical cannabis which has been prescribed by his doctor. Although cannabis is legalized in Canada where Theodorou lives, it doesn’t matter to USADA.

Tom Taylor - January 18, 2019

On Friday morning, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw silenced many of his doubters and made weight for his flyweight title fight with Henry Cejudo. With his weight cut out of the way, the only remaining challenge is the fight itself. To say TJ Dillashaw is feeling confident would be an understatement. Despite the fact that he’s slimmed down quite a bit, he says he’s actually stronger than ever heading into this flyweight title fight.

Cole Shelton - January 17, 2019

In the main event of the UFC’s first card on ESPN+ this Saturday night, UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw will try to make history as the next two-division champion in the UFC, as he drops down to flyweight to challenge divisional champ Henry Cejudo. Ahead of the champion vs. champion fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions. Some had major question marks surrounding Dillashaw’s weight cut, while another fighter couldn’t even make a pick.

Thomas Taylor - January 15, 2019

At just 21 years old, Stamp Fairtex is already the ONE Super Series Kickboxing Atomweight World Champion. When she battles Janet Todd at ONE: Call to Greatness in Singapore on February 22, she’ll look to capture the ONE Super Series Muay Thai Atomweight Title and become the first two-sport champion in ONE Championship history. As this potentially history-making challenge towers on the horizon, Stamp has her nose to the grindstone.

Tom Taylor - January 15, 2019

On November 9, UFC veteran Isaac Vallie-Flagg stepped through the ropes of the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation (WBKFF) ring for a gloveless scrap with Corey Simpson. More than two months later, Vallie-Flagg and many other fighters who competed on the inaugural WBKFF card are still awaiting payment. When Vallie-Flagg drew attention to his outstanding WBKFF payment on Twitter last week, he received a response from MMA legend Bas Rutten, who was appointed as WBKFF president ahead of the November card. Rutten assured Vallie-Flagg that his payment is coming soon, allegedly once WBKFF founder Tomasz Stankiewicz receives the pay-per-view revenue for the card.

Cole Shelton - January 14, 2019

Allen Crowder, who didn’t fight at all in 2018, will return to the Octagon against a controversial figure in Greg Hardy this Saturday night on ESPN+. Hardy who was a former pro-bowler in the NFL, was involved in an alleged domestic violence case which got him kicked out of the league. Now, he will be making his UFC debut against Crowder. And Crowder is ready.

Cole Shelton - January 13, 2019

When MMA fans think of the top gyms in the sport, some of the first to come to mind are JacksonWink, American Top Team, and of course, American Kickboxing Academy (AKA). There is no question that AKA is one of the top gyms in the sport, with the likes of Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, and Khabib Nurmagomedov all training under its roof.