Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Chris Taylor - December 30, 2017

Earlier today rumors surfaced that former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn would be returning to the octagon this February to battle promotional newcomer Suman Mokhtarian at UFC 221. If this poster is real or not, doesn't matter. @Suman_att will be the talk leading up to #UFC219 & BJ Penn is probably somewhere thinking do I got a fight in Perth. #postergate #MMA pic.twitter.com/BLtJ8PvHb8

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2017

15th-ranked UFC lightweight James Vick has been having a very difficult time finding fights, and that trend continues to this day. Having had his hopes of headlining the UFC’s return to Austin opposite Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone dashed, he’s now eagerly waiting to see what else the UFC can come up with for him. While the promotion apparently has four potential opponents in mind for him, the increasingly frustrated James Vick won’t be surprised if they all turn him down. In his opinion, fighters just don’t accept fights with the willingness they once did. And he thinks it’s time they started being punished for their over-selectiveness.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2017

Streaking UFC lightweight James Vick, who is fresh off a mauling of Joe Duffy, was hoping to battle Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the main event of the UFC’s upcoming trip to Austin. Now that Cerrone has been booked for a fight with Yancy Medeiros in Austin’s main event, however, Vick knows this isn’t going to happen. With this development, Vick has been forced to look elsewhere in the hunt for his next opponent. Apparently, the UFC has a few options in mind to that end.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2017

Riding high off a thudding knockout of the highly-regarded Joe Duffy, James Vick (12-1) feels he’s ready for a big step up in competition. He was hoping to get that step up when the UFC touches down in Austin, Texas – just hours from his hometown – this February. It was his hope that he could battle fan favorite lightweight-turned-welterweight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the card’s main event. Unfortunately for Vick, Cerrone was pencilled in for a scrap with Hawaii’s Yancy Medeiros this week. Though neither Cerrone nor Medeiros is from Texas, their fight will serve as the Austin card’s main event. Unsurprisingly, Vicki is pretty unhappy about this development.

Tom Taylor - December 28, 2017

On Saturday night, in the main event of the stacked UFC 219, UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg will attempt to defend her strap against former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm. At present, the featherweight champ is undergoing her cut down to the fight’s 145-pound limit. While she has endured some brutal cuts in the past, she assured BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor that her weight cut is right on track for this contest.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2017

“Sugar” Sean O’Malley is one of the hottest prospects in the talent-rich UFC bantamweight division. Now 1-o in the UFC, having bested a game Terrion Ware in his recent promotional debut, he’s keen to continue his climb up the bantamweight ladder, and perhaps one day, battle reigning champ TJ Dillashaw. While O’Malley hopes to fight Dillashaw one day, he actually has tremendous respect for him, especially after his thrilling December knockout of Cody Garbrandt.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2017

Having established himself as one of the welterweight division’s top contenders, Colby Covington is now eyeing one of two fights: a title fight with reigning champ Tyron Woodley, or an interim title fight with fellow contender Rafael dos Anjos. Unfortunately for him, neither man seems interested in fighting him at this particular moment. Covington believes he knows why this is the case.

Tom Taylor - December 24, 2017

British knockout artist Jimi Manuwa is one of the best light heavyweight mixed martial artists on earth. And though he is currently riding a tough knockout loss to upcoming light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir, he is still only a win or two from his own shot at the belt. While Manuwa has plenty of interesting options in the UFC light heavyweight division – ranging from Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to Glover Teixeira – he has also been flirting with the idea of a boxing match with fellow Brit David Haye.

Tom Taylor - December 21, 2017

Last weekend, in the main event of UFC on Fox 26, former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos authored a dominant, unanimous decision win over Robbie Lawler, asserting himself as one of the welterweight division’s top contenders in the process. This win seemed to impress the majority of the MMA community, but don’t count surging welterweight contender Colby Covington as part of that group. “I thought RDA looked slow,” Covington said of Dos Anjos’ win on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “He looked old, man. He looked like the same guy that I’ve been calling out since [the UFC’s June stop in] Singapore. They had to put him on my undercard when I was on the main card because he didn’t want to fight me, and he’s been ducking me for a while. He knows what’ll happen if we fight. He’ll get a young buck who hasn’t been tested, a guy who hasn’t had all those miles on his chin.”

Tom Taylor - December 21, 2017

Sean O’Malley became an instant hint when he knocked out Alfred Khashakyan on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. When he smoked up with Snoop Dogg immediately after this win, however, he became a viral sensation. Unsurprisingly, this post-fight session with Snoop was an unforgettable experience for the 23-year prospect.

Tom Taylor - December 21, 2017

Colby Covington has been at the center of plenty of controversy of late. One of his most controversial moments occured when he took to Twitter with a massive spoiler for the latest Star Wars film. See that spoiler here. While this Tweet created a tidal wave of backlash – and even resulted in some death threats – Colby Covington refuses to apologize for it. In fact, he believes he did people a favor by spoiling the movie.

Tom Taylor - December 21, 2017

Sean O’Malley, the rangy, 23-year-old bantamweight who burst into the limelight with an epic knockout on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series (and by getting high with Snoop Dogg after this win), believes he knows who he’ll fight next. Shortly after his impressive UFC debut, in which he bludgeoned a game Terrion Ware to a unanimous decision win, O’Malley was called out by Andre Soukhamthath, who recently won big with a knockout of Luke Sanders.

Tom Taylor - December 14, 2017

Currently on a four-fight win-streak, composed of wins over dangerous adversaries in Dominic Waters, Albert Tumenov, Vincente Luque and Bryan Barberena, England’s Leon Edwards in one of the fastest-rising contenders in the UFC welterweight division. Edwards will attempt to make his next leap up the proverbial ladder this March 27, when the UFC touches down in London, England. His opponent will dangerous Polish-German fighter – sorry, Jamaican fighter – Peter Sobotta. While Edwards respects Sobotta, however, this is not really the kind of fight he was hoping for after four-straight wins.

Tom Taylor - December 14, 2017

When heavyweight veteran Alistair Overeem stepped into the Octagon with brick-fisted puncher Francis Ngannou at UFC 218, he opted to stand and trade with him, and ultimately paid the price, succumbing to a first-round uppercut. Speaking on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, 9th-ranked UFC heavyweight Curtis Blaydes explained that he does not expect Francis Ngannou’s next opponent, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, to make this kind of mistake. Instead, he expects a cautious and surgical approach from the champ. “I was a little surprised [how the fight went],” Curtis Blaydes said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “I wasn’t surprised at Ngannou. He did, definitely, what he should have done, [which] was just stand there and chuck [punches at] him, and it worked. I’m surprised that Overeem was so quick to engage in that type of action. Overeem’s a veteran, and him knowing that he doesn’t have the best chin anymore, I was a bit surprised at how eager he was [to trade].”

Tom Taylor - December 14, 2017

Shortly after Jon Jones knocked out Daniel Cormier to re-capture the UFC light heavyweight title, it was announced that he’d tested positive for turinabol in a pre-fight drug test. With this disappointing turn of events, Jones’ knockout win was overturned, and the light heavyweight strap was returned to Cormier. At present, Jones is undergoing his due process, as the facts are weighed and the evidence is considered. Whatever happens, however, many fans, pundits and fellow fighters are now unsure what to make of Jones and his incredible, greatest-of-all-time level success. File fourth-ranked UFC light heavyweight contender Jimi Manuwa into that group.

Tom Taylor - December 14, 2017

Earlier this month, in the co-main event of UFC 218, surging French-Cameroonian heavyweight Francis Ngannou knocked out Alistair Overeem to earn a shot at reigning UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic. This violent knockout win caused Ngannou’s hype to skyrocket to new and towering heights, but in the opinion of 9th-ranked heavyweight contender Curtis Blaydes, the outcome of this fight had a lot to do with Overeem’s surprising game plan. “I mean, I was a little surprised [how the fight went],” Curtis Blaydes said on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. “I wasn’t surprised at Ngannou. He did, definitely, what he should have done, [which] was just stand there and chuck [punches at] him, and it worked. I’m surprised that Overeem was so quick to engage in that type of action. Overeem’s a veteran, and him knowing that he doesn’t have the best chin anymore, I was a bit surprised at how eager he was [to trade].”

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2017

Last Friday, the UFC crowned it’s first ever women’s flyweight champion in Nicco Montaño, who defeated Roxanne Modafferi to earn the inaugural title. While Montaño now owns the belt, however, many expect her reign to be quite short, as long-time women’s bantamweight contender Valentina Shevchenko zeroes in on a drop to flyweight, and most likely, an immediate title shot. In fact, many fans seem to consider Shevchenko the uncrowned flyweight queen. Yet while Shevchenko finds these opinions flattering, she is being careful not to let them get to her head. Overconfidence, after all, is a killer in MMA.

Tom Taylor - December 7, 2017

Angela Magana, a veteran of MMA’s women’s strawweight division, is well acquainted with her haters. While she’s got a legion of loyal followers, her outspoken attitude assures she receives plenty of backlash too. That said, Magana has never let her haters get to her. Believing that she’s just a bit misunderstood, she chooses instead to dismiss them and keep being herself.