Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2018

Earlier this week, ONE Championship featherweight contender Christian Lee hopped on a plane to Singapore to support his sister Angela in her ONE: HEART OF THE LION main event showdown with Xiong Jing Nan. Unfortunately, the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion was forced out of this main event battle with an injury while her brother was making his transpacific journey. Christian Lee was understandably quite disappointed to hear that his sister would not be able to compete in the ONE: HEART OF THE LION main event as planned. In a strange twist of fate, however, his sister’s bad break ultimately resulted in an interesting opportunity for him.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

ONE Champion is welcoming Eddie Alvarez to its roster in style, having recently announced that the former UFC and Bellator lightweight titleholder will make his promotional debut as part of a wild, eight-man Lightweight Grand Prix. Like most combat sports fans, Eddie Alvarez was thrilled to learn about this upcoming tournament.

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

The end is nigh for the UFC flyweight division. Earlier this week, FloCombat reported that the promotion will soon be pulling the plug on its lightest mens’ division, and that many of the fighters on the promotion’s flyweight roster will not be given the chance to move up to the bantamweight division. Shortly thereafter, UFC flyweights such as Jose Torres, Jared Brooks and Justin Scoggins all reported that they have been released from their contracts.

Cole Shelton - November 7, 2018

Jarred Brooks and many other UFC flyweights got the call today. That call would be that their services would no longer be needed in the UFC. The promotion is going about shutting down the division. It is a tough pill to swallow and now leaves about 25 fighters or so out of a job. “Nobody called me from the UFC, they let my manager know,” Brooks told BJPENN.com when discussing the news, “I was just working out and actually, my coach called me. My coach and my manager are really tight, he said ‘yeah news is they are cutting the 125-pound division’ and Justin Scoggins and I were getting cut.”

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

At a Wednesday afternoon press conference in Singapore, ONE Championship announced plans for a Flyweight Grand Prix. This intriguing flyweight tournament is expected to feature stars such as reigning ONE flyweight champ Geje Eustaquio, former champions Adriano Moraes and Kairat Akhmetov, rising contender Danny Kingad, and of course, new ONE Championship athlete Demetrious Johnson. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp3qsDKhUCi/

Mike Straus - November 6, 2018

Emmanuel Sanchez has a chance to realize a dream more than 10 years in the making on November 15, when he takes on Patricio Freire for the featherweight title at Bellator 209 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Timing is everything. For Sanchez, the timing of his title fight with Patricio Freire couldn’t be any more advantageous. “El Matador” just received his BJJ black belt a few weeks ago. His hard work is starting to pay off.

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2018

Reigning ONE bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes and former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson are two of the biggest stars on the ONE Championship roster. That being said, we’ll never see the pair fight, as they’re long-time friends and training partners under Matt Hume at AMC Pankration in Kirkland, Washington. While Bibiano Fernandes and Demetrious Johnson will never share the ONE cage, it sounds like we will see a bit of friendly competition between them going forward. Speaking on the latest episode of BJPENN.COM Radio, Fernandes divulged that he plans to best Johnson’s record of 11-straight title defenses.

Tom Taylor - November 6, 2018

At ONE: HEART OF THE LION, which goes down on November 9 in Singapore, five-time EBI Grappling Champion Garry Tonon will look to improve to 3-0 in the mixed martial arts arena as he takes on South Korea’s Sung Jong Lee. Tonon, as always, has done his research heading in to this fight. And having reviewed Lee’s tape, he feels there’s a good chance the South Korean will actually try to drag the fight to the mat — something that many other fighters would likely to find unthinkable, given Tonon’s incredible submission ability. Lee has submitted three of his six opponents (all with heel hooks), and Tonon believes he might look to do the same in Singapore.

Tom Taylor - November 4, 2018

ONE Championship heavyweight kingpin Brandon Vera is once again set to defend his title. The Filipino-American striking specialist will do so on November 23 in Manila, The Philippines, where he will battle Cage Warriors heavyweight champion Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli. Given the skill of his upcoming opponent, Brandon Vera knows that victory is not a certainty. What he is certain of, however, is that the bout will be thrilling, and that it could end at any second. For that reason, he urges his fans to save their bathroom breaks for after the fight.

Tom Taylor - November 4, 2018

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal in the cage, but he’s been staying plenty busy outside of it. Masvidal just wrapped up a stint on a Spanish reality television show called Exatlón Estados Unidos.

Cole Shelton - October 31, 2018

Ask any professional fighter where they would like to fight, and one of the most common answers you’ll get back is going to be “Madison Square Garden.” On Saturday, when the UFC takes over the hallowed New York City arena with UFC 230, many fighters will get the chance to do just that.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2018

If former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson does indeed migrate to ONE Championship as expected, he’ll receive a warm welcome from two familiar faces. His long-time head coach Matt Hume is ONE Championship’s Vice President of Operations, while Bibiano Fernandes, arguably the most crucial training partner of his illustrious career, is the promotion’s reigning bantamweight champion. Bibiano Fernandes, who has become one of ONE Championship’s biggest stars, believes that Demetrious Johnson would be a perfect fit for the promotion. ONE, Fernandes reminds, places far more value on performances than it does on things like trash talk and showmanship.

Christopher Taylor - October 25, 2018

Cain Velasquez (14-2 MMA) is considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time. The former UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez, has not competed inside the octagon since July of 2016, where he defeated Travis Browne via first-round TKO at UFC 200.

Cole Shelton - October 25, 2018

Canadian lightweight John Makdessi has called the UFC home for years. He has been fighting for the promotion since 2010. Since he joined the UFC, however, the top Canadian fighter in the Octagon was always Georges St-Pierre. Now that St-Pierre is competing so much less, Makdessi believes the UFC is really trying to push him as the next big Canadian fighter. He has fought inside the Octagon 15 times, and 10 of them has been fights in Canada.

Chris Taylor - October 24, 2018

Josh Thomson is no stranger to testing the free agent market, having competed under the PRIDE, Strikeforce, UFC and Bellator banners during his illustrious career. With that said, the former Strikeforce lightweight champion, Josh Thomson (22-9 MMA), has never experienced being traded by a promotion.

Tom Taylor - October 24, 2018

It’s no secret that UFC welterweight contender Siyar Bahadurzada hits hard. The 13 knockout victories on his record are all the proof of that fact that’s required. If you’re still not convinced of the Afghan-born Dutchman’s punching power, however, just ask legendary JacksonWink MMA coach Greg Jackson for his thoughts on the matter. Speaking on episode 102 of BJPENN.COM Radio, Siyar Bahadurzada divulged that Greg Jackson has referred to him as the hardest hitter he’s ever worked with.

Cole Shelton - October 23, 2018

Amanda ‘ABC’ Cooper is ready to get back to her winning ways. Cooper got her start in the UFC by competing on season 23 of The Ultimate Fighter. She would win her way to the finals before losing to Tatiana Suarez. Also on that season was Cooper’s next opponent, Ashley Yoder. The fight will take place at UFC Denver on November 10.

Tom Taylor - October 23, 2018

ONE middleweight and light heavyweight champion Aung La N Sang is a hero to the people of Myanmar. When he fights in the country — as he has in his last four bouts — it has the feeling of a national event. The Burmese champion draws nationwide media attention and unfailingly packs Yangon’s Thuwunna Indoor Stadium to the rafters. His next fight, which will pit him against the undefeated Mohammad Karaki in the main event of ONE: Pursuit of Greatness this Friday, will be no different.