Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - October 16, 2018

UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal is tired of all the drama. Ahead of his long-awaited return to action, which he’s hoping will occur at UFC 232 on December 29, he’s determined to usher in a new era of no-nonsense fighting. “I’m looking like I need to restore order in this sport, is what I’m gonna do,” Jorge Masvidal said on episode 101 of BJPENN.COM Radio. “Law and order. That’s what I’m telling you. I’m here to bring down the law and order. Good old fashioned ass whippings. No guns, no fucking Twitter wars, just these fists up your fucking nostrils. Just ass whooping. Good old fashion ass whooping, and I’m gonna bring a whole new community of people in there that are gonna appreciate that. They’re not gonna care so much for the talking. They’re just gonna wanna see people being violent with an art form to it.” 

Tom Taylor - October 15, 2018

At ONE: Heart of The Lion, which goes down on November 9 in Singapore, ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee (9-0) will attempt to follow in the footsteps of Aung La N Sang and Martin Nguyen and enter the history books as a ONE two-weight World Champion. In order to accomplish this mammoth feat, she’ll have to wrest the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title from the waist of fearsome champion Xiong Jing Nan. While Angela Lee recognizes that the task ahead will not be easy, she says she is currently enjoying one of the best training camps of her career. That, she explains, is due in part to the fact that she will be fighting Xiong at 125 pounds, rather than 115 pounds, where she normally competes.

Mike Straus - October 15, 2018

Despite going a perfect 4-0 in the UFC, middleweight fighter Jordan Johnson may be taking his talents elsewhere now that he has fought out his latest contract with the promotion. Johnson entered the UFC as a light heavyweight. He defeated Luis Henrique da Silva, Marcel Fortuna, and Adam Milstead despite a substantial weight difference. Johnson then moved down to middleweight for his fourth fight in the UFC. Although his division had changed the outcome was the same. Johnson got his hand raised for the 13th straight time (10-0 professional, 3-0 amateur).

Tom Taylor - October 15, 2018

Jorge Masvidal has not fought since November of 2017, when he gave up a decision to two-time UFC welterweight title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Since then, “Gamebred” has stayed busy by competing on a Spanish reality television show, but now that the show has wrapped, he’s ready to get back into the cage.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2018

Eryk Anders most recently fought back in September when he lost a tough fight to Thiago Santos. However, in his mind, that fight was just a bonus but the fight he really wanted is the one he is getting. At UFC 231 on December 8, Anders will be taking on Elias Theodorou who is currently ranked No. 13 in the middleweight rankings. It is a fight Anders has wanted for some time.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2018

Eryk Anders has had a busy year. The middleweight fought Lyoto Machida in the main event of UFC Fight Night 125 in Brazil in February. He then fought Tim Williams at UFC Fight Night 135 in August, and then accepted a quick turnaround for another main event fight against Thiago Santos in late September. Anders will also be fighting at UFC 231 in December against Elias Theodorou.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2018

Earlier this year, the UFC changed a card from Dublin, Ireland to Liverpool, England for one reason and one reason only: Darren Till. Till was on the rise to stardom after his stunning knockout win over Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone. Till would then take on top welterweight contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.

Cole Shelton - October 10, 2018

Bellator is getting back in the business of tournaments. With Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix in the semi-finals this weekend, the Welterweight Grand Prix just started the opening round. One of the eight fighters in the tournament is UFC veteran and former WSOF champion, Jon Fitch. Fitch will be taking on current Bellator 170-pound champion Rory MacDonald in the opening round of the tournament. If Fitch is to win, not only will he advance but he will become the new Bellator welterweight champion.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2018

On December 2, on the main card of UFC Adelaide, Australian light heavyweight prospect Tyson Pedro will step into the cage with a legend of the sport: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. As you can probably imagine, the opportunity to battle an MMA legend in front of his Australian fans is an opportunity that Tyson Pedro is thrilled about.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2018

Stephen Thompson has long stood out as one of the UFC’s premier welterweights. That being said, he’s failed to claim the divisional title in his two previous title shots, and at 35 years old, would seem to be running a little short on time in his hunt for UFC gold. Well, he doesn’t see it that way.

Cole Shelton - October 9, 2018

Interim UFC welterweight champion, Colby Covington has had a feud going on with the current welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley for quite some time. Covington believes Woodley is ‘ducking him’ and faking injuries to get out of fighting him.

Cole Shelton - October 9, 2018

The UFC’s biggest star is Conor McGregor, no question about it. The Irishman was the first-ever UFC fighter to hold two belts simultaneously. McGregor then got so big that he went to boxing to fight Floyd Mayweather.

Mike Straus - October 9, 2018

Fresh off his two-fight performance at last week’s (Oct 4, 2018) PFL 8, Lance Palmer is focused now more than ever on the million dollar prize at the end of the fight rainbow. A longtime member of Team Alpha Male with the wrestling pedigree to match, Palmer has recently decided to branch out and seek training elsewhere. Nothing against Alpha Male, “The Party” just wanted to take his game to the next level.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2018

UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has no shortage of options in terms of opponents for his next fight, as Dominick Cruz, Marlon Moraes, Raphael Assuncao and a host of other top bantamweights are all eager for the chance to challenge him. From the sounds of it, however, TJ Dillashaw is now determined to drop down to flyweight and challenge new divisional champion Henry Cejudo for his title.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2018

Over the last few years, trash talk and bravado have become a huge part of the sport of mixed martial arts. The bushido spirit has been mostly pushed aside and replaced by constant posturing and saber-rattling. Singapore’s ONE Championship is working on changing that. Where other promotions encourage trash talk and showmanship, ONE Championship preaches traditional martial arts values like respect, integrity and honor.

Cole Shelton - October 8, 2018

When TJ Dillashaw lost his belt to Dominick Cruz in 2016 by split-decision, many fans were clamoring for a rematch. However, a rematch never happened as Cruz then defended the belt against Urijah Faber before losing the belt to Cody Garbrandt.

Cole Shelton - October 8, 2018

Efforts to unionize UFC fighters have come and gone throughout the years. Every time a new union group comes out, there is optimism that it might become a success, yet so far, not one has gained any meaningful traction. However, Project Spearhead feels different. Thanks to this initiative’s hard work, UFC fighters are finally realizing that they are employees and not independent contractors as the UFC would have them believe. Former UFC fighter and Project Spearhead’s Interim President Leslie Smith is certain of this. “I started Project Spearhead because it was very obvious to me that fighters need a union,” Leslie Smith told BJPENN.COM. “There has been several other efforts that for various reasons didn’t work out. I knew my time, my promotional contract with the UFC was almost over. I needed to deal with the first issue, which is whether we are independent contractors or employees. Getting anybody to agree to anything is being really difficult. The whole point of this is unity, that is what we need, fighters to unify and come together. By getting the information, [it will] determine if we are independent contractors or employees. That would be the first step on getting everyone on the same page.” 

Mike Pendleton - October 6, 2018

UFC 229 is right around the corner and on the latest episode of Inside The Cage with Mike Pendleton, top coaches from around the sport joined the show to discuss the main event. Listen in as Mark Henry, who has coached against both Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov gives his breakdown of the fight as well as his thoughts on McGregor’s antics.