Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2017

In the wake of Jon Jones’ latest failed drug test, which was administered in the buildup to his UFC 214 title fight with Daniel Cormier, many fans have questioned the legitimacy of his legacy, suggesting that perhaps his greatness can be the attributed to PED abuse. In the opinion of top light heavyweight contender Volkan Oezdemir, however, these claims are not exactly fair. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio “No Time” shared his belief that, while Jones’ could well have been helped by PEDs, his talent remains unquestionable. “It’s hard to answer to this, because the way Jones fights, it’s just amazing,” Oezdemir said. “He’s doing stuff nobody does. He just has a really high IQ when it comes to fighting. He’s doing stuff with perfect timing, crazy, spinning back elbows… you know. You cannot take anything off Jon Jones, because he so much talent. So, I don’t think it’s really tarnished his legacy. When you watch his fights, he doesn’t win because [of the banned substances]. Of course, it probably helped, but he doesn’t win because he’s so strong and so big. It’s all about the intelligence that he has, and also the IQ, fight IQ. He’s just an amazing athlete.” 

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2017

Back in June, in the co-main event of the Bellator NYC pay-per-view, Bellator heavyweight star Matt Mitrione stepped onto the canvas with MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko. The fight was absolutely while it lasted. About a minute into the first round, Fedor and Mitrione both threw, both landed, and both hit the deck. In an instant, it all seemed to come down to who would be able to regain their composure and crank up the offense first. In the end, that man was Mitrione, who stormed his legendary foe with punches en route to a first-round knockout win.

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2017

When Jon Jones failed a UFC 214 drug test, and the light heavyweight strap was returned to Daniel Cormier, the question of the next light heavyweight title challenger seemed to come down to two men: Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson and Switzerland’s Volkan Oezdemir. In an effort to pick the next challenger for his reinstated title, Cormier took to social media to let the fans decide. Apparently, they landed on Oezdemir. From there, Cormier offered Oezdemir the title shot, and the Swiss knockout artist quickly accepted.

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2017

Over the last few years, Bellator’s heavyweight division has really come together, as the promotion has bolstered its roster with names like Cheick Kongo, Bobby Lashley, Matt Mitrione, Fedor Emelianenko, Sergey Kharitonov, Javy Ayala, Roy Nelson, and most recently, former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. That said, the organization has not had a heavyweight champion since it stripped the undefeated Vitaly Minakov of the belt after a bevy of contract issues. Matt Mitrione is hoping that changes soon. The Bellator heavyweight star discussed Bellator’s empty heavyweight throne on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Chris Taylor - September 30, 2017

Valentina Shevchenko (14-3 MMA) is one of the toughest and most talented fighters in the UFC. “The Bullet” proved her grit last month when she challenged “The Lioness” Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship at UFC 215 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Tom Taylor - September 28, 2017

Over the last year, UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt and his allies at Team Alpha Male have had plenty to say about former Team Alpha Male staple TJ Dillashaw and his coach Duane Ludwig. With Garbrandt and Dillashaw’s UFC 217 bantamweight title fight now just weeks away, we can expect Team Alpha Male’s trash talk to ramp up yet again. Yet according to Ludwig, who appeared on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, this trash talk doesn’t really affect him or TJ Dillashaw.

Tom Taylor - September 28, 2017

After weeks of trying to find a willing opponent, rising UFC lightweight James Vick has been booked for a scrap with Ireland’s Joe Duffy at UFC 217 this November 4. While Vick is satisfied with this fight, he would have preferred a ranked opponent. Unfortunately, he is finding it nearly impossible to enter the top-10. In his opinion, top-10 fighters are given a little too much slack when it comes to losses, while rising contenders essentially have to move mountains to enter the top-10. Vick broke it down on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio:

Russell Ess - September 26, 2017

Rising UFC featherweight Yair Rodriguez is one of the most entertaining fighters that you will see compete in the Octagon. With his exciting striking capabilities, “El Pantera” has grown a large fan base and many are surely curious as to when we’ll see the Mexico native back in the Octagon. BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor caught up with Rodriguez on Tuesday and asked Yair when fans could expect to see “El Pantera” back in action.

Tom Taylor - September 21, 2017

UFC 217, which goes down on November 4 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, is one hell of a fight card. Topped by a trio of title fights, it could even be the biggest fight card of the year outright.  Given the scale of the card, it should come as no surprise that a great many fighters were eager to shoehorn themselves onto the bill. Fourth-ranked UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal, who battles Stephen Thompson on the main card, is one of the fighters that was lucky enough to succeed in his effort to do so. He couldn’t be happier about this fact.

Tom Taylor - September 21, 2017

Last weekend, in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 116, rising welterweight slugger “Platinum” Mike Perry authored yet another brutal knockout, this time putting down Alex Reyes with a rocket-fuelled knee against the cage. Reyes, of course, was not supposed to be Perry’s opponent. Perry was originally expected to battle former UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves on the card. It was only when Alves was forced out of this anticipated booking that Reyes got the call and agreed to step in against Perry on mere days’ notice.

Tom Taylor - September 21, 2017

On November 4, on the main card of the stacked UFC 217, fourth-ranked welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal will take on the division’s number-two fighter, Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. This bout will serve as Thompson’s opportunity to rebound from back-to-back failed title bids opposite reigning champion Tyron Woodley – the first being a majority draw, the second being a majority decision. Though Thompson performed admirably in these undeniably competitive fights, he failed to pull the trigger in either battle, opting instead to hang back and wait for opportunities to counter.

Tom Taylor - September 21, 2017

Last weekend, in the co-main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Pittsburgh, brick-fisted welterweight “Platinum” Mike Perry picked up a thunderous knee-induced KO win over Alex Reyes, who stepped in to replace Thiago Alves on short notice. Shortly after this win, Perry made an exciting callout of former UFC welterweight king and fellow knockout artist Robbie Lawler. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio Mike Perry explained the reason for this callout of Lawler.

Tom Taylor - September 7, 2017

This Saturday night, in the main event of the anticipated UFC 215, 24-year-old flyweight contender Ray Borg will attempt to do the seemingly impossible and derail the historic win-streak of champ Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. Borg, of course, is not the first man to attempt to end Mighty Mouse’s reign. Ten others have tried and failed. When the cage door closes on Saturday, however, he believes he’s got what it takes to defeat the dominating flyweight king.

Tom Taylor - September 7, 2017

Shortly after his destruction of Zebaztian Kadestam at last weekend’s ONE Championship: Shanghai event, it was announced that Ben Askren’s next fight would be his last. His opponent in this November 24 retirement fight, it was revealed, would be Japanese lightweight veteran Shinya Aoki, who stands out as one of the finest submission players in MMA history. Speaking on BJ Penn Radio, Askren revealed that this awesome matchup was initially a surprise to even him:

Tom Taylor - September 7, 2017

This weekend, in the main event of UFC 215, dominant flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson will attempt to make history with an eleventh-consecutive title defense. The man standing in his way will be the 24-year-old Ray Borg. For all Borg’s talent, he’s being counted out the majority of the MMA community, as Johnson is simply viewed as too dominant a force to stop. Borg himself, however, is pure confidence, and that’s in large part due to what he’s calling a “perfect” training camp for the champ.

Chris Taylor - September 5, 2017

Perennial UFC featherweight contender Cub Swanson (25-7 MMA) is currently riding an impressive four fight win streak and is on the cusp of earning a shot at the promotions coveted featherweight title. Swanson was last seen in action this past April in the main event of UFC Fight Night 108 where he scored a unanimous decision victory over Artem Lobov.

Russell Ess - August 17, 2017

UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko are scheduled to fight once again at UFC 215. Nunes and Shevchenko first met in the Octagon in March of last year at UFC 196 where Nunes won a unanimous decision after Shevchenko turned things up in the third round. The two were set to fight in the main event of UFC 213 in July, however, Nunes pulled out of the bout the day of the scheduled fight after feeling ill.

Tom Taylor - August 17, 2017

On August 26, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will step into the boxing ring with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. In the buildup to this fight, many members of the combat sports community have offered insights, expectations and predictions for it. One of the latest to do so is Richard Perez, who serves as the boxing coach for Nick and Nate Diaz – the latter of whom stands out as McGregor’s fiercest rival. Perez discussed this upcoming boxing match on the latest edition of BJ Penn Radio. In his opinion, McGregor has a few dangerous weapons at his disposal, but they probably won’t be enough.