Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - June 22, 2017

Last weekend, on the main card of the UFC’s latest trip to Singapore, rising welterweight Colby Covington scored a career-best win over established contender Dong Hyun Kim. Shortly after this win, Covington made several callouts of his former training partner Tyron Woodley, who now wears the UFC welterweight title. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Covington elaborated on his comments about Woodley, and why he’d be so confident against the champ.

Tom Taylor - June 22, 2017

Earlier this year, we learned that the well-established MMA promotion World Series of Fighting was being rebranded as the Professional Fighters League (PFL). This rebranded organization will seek to revolutionize the MMA landscape by providing fighters with salaries, using tournaments to ensure title shots, and awarding tournament winners with a whopping million dollars. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, kickboxing legend and PFL boss Ray Sefo joined host Kinch to discuss this new initiative. “The team and I sat down, and the name was developed, and everybody agreed it was a good name, and it was that time” Sefo said of the rebranding process. “Change is always good. As long as it’s positive, it’s always good. Obviously the format, it makes it a professional fighters league where everybody has an opportunity to step up and fight regularly. Let me back up a little bit. Running a promotion, one of the things that you hear the most is that fighters are not active enough. The Professional Fighter’s League is going to provide that missing link in terms of fighters being active. Obviously for us, in 2018, it’s going to be 12 fighters per division. That’s going to change in 2019, it’s going to be 16 fighters per division moving forward. But the league is going to provide a lot of different things that fighters complain about [not getting]. Not fighting enough, not fighting for a world title, and not making enough money. The professional fighters league is going to provide all that and more. The team and I are very happy with the structure and the way we put it together.”

Tom Taylor - June 22, 2017

Ahead of his Sunday night Oklahoma City showdown with Dennis Siver, our own BJ Penn has been training with a familiar face in Gary Marinovich. Alongside his brother Marv, Marinovich helped Penn author his defeats of Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez – two of the most impressive wins of his career. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Penn broke down his choice to train with Marinovich in Hilo, rather than remaining with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn in Albuquerque.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2017

Back in February, Holly Holm battled Germaine de Randamie for the inaugural UFC women’s bantamweight title. On August 29, in co-main event of UFC 214, Megan Anderson will battle Cris “Cyborg” Justino for that same title. Speaking exclusively to BJPenn.com on Monday, Anderson weighed in on Holm’s recent head-kick knockout defeat of Bethe Correia, and the three-fight losing streak that preceded it.

Tom Taylor - June 20, 2017

After months of rumors and reports, it’s now official. Germaine de Randamie has been stripped of the UFC featherweight title, and Cris “Cyborg” Justino and Megan Anderson will battle for the vacant featherweight throne in the co-main event of UFC 214 this July 29. On Monday afternoon, Anderson spoke with BJPenn.com about this newly announced title showdown. While she was reluctant to give up the details of her game plan for the incredibly dominant Cyborg, she did shed some light on how she plans to approach the fight.

Chris Taylor - June 18, 2017

A frustrated Tyron Woodley issues a warning to Demian Maia Current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is hoping to defend his title against top division contender Demian Maia at July’s UFC 214 event in Anaheim, California.

Tom Taylor - June 15, 2017

Not all that long ago, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping agreed to a catchweight superfight. Despite their clear interest in fighting one another, however, the fight never came to fruition. Instead, Woodley now appears to be closing in on a title defense opposite Demian Maia, while Bisping is currently nursing an injury, and is expected to return against the winner of Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker’s interim middleweight title fight. While this catchweight superfight has been relegated to the back burner for now, it is one that still interests Woodley, and one that surely still interests Bisping. And though they have swapped some trash talk in the past, their mutual interest in this fight is not borne of bad blood. In fact, Woodley actually has a good deal of respect for the middleweight champ.

Tom Taylor - June 15, 2017

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor have certainly had their issues in the past. When Woodley heard the news that the Irishman had finally made his much-discussed boxing match with Floyd Mayweather happen, however, he could only offer his respect. “I immediately started thinking in my mind how I’m going to be at the fight, that’s the first thing I thought” Woodley told BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor of his reaction to the news. “Obviously, you know, me and Conor haven’t seen eye-to-eye a couple of times, but from a standpoint of what he does for the sport – I’ve made a lot of money being on the same card as him. Do I really want to sit here and act like I can’t stand this dude or I can’t respect him? I’d be lying to you. I respect the hell out of his hustle, and what he’s done to put himself in this position that he’s in. His ability to go out there and make himself this larger than life figure, and then to get the pound-for-pound best boxer of our generation to come out of retirement and fight him? Come on now. Give the dude his due. Everybody stand up, everybody clap. He is now the ambassador of quan. He just made something that happen that wasn’t even fathomable in our minds. So with that being said, I can deal with it and I’m excited to see it.”

Tom Taylor - June 10, 2017

If things had gone according to the original plan, undefeated South Korean bantamweight Ji Yeon Kim would be making her UFC debut against former champion Holly Holm when the UFC touches down in Singapore later this month. Regrettably, Holm turned this fight down, and Kim was instead paired with rangy Czech fighter Lucie Pudilová. Despite the lesser-known opponent, Kim told BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor that she’s very excited about her imminent UFC debut.

Tom Taylor - June 8, 2017

AJ McKee and James Gallagher are two of the hottest prospects on the Bellator roster and as luck would have it, they happen to compete in the same weight class and have some real issues with one another. Though Gallagher is currently scheduled for a stark test against Chinzo Machida at Bellator 180 on June 24, he and McKee seem to be destined to collide. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, McKee explained to host Kinch that he hopes to fight Gallagher, whether the Irishman wins or loses against Machida later this month.

Tom Taylor - June 8, 2017

UFC 212, which went down in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil last Saturday night, was a big one for the Hawaii, as Max Holloway defeated Jose Aldo to win featherweight gold, and Yancy Medeiros thumped Erick Silva to move to 2-0 as a welterweight. Hawaii, of course, has always been a hotbed for mixed martial arts – thanks in large part to our own BJ Penn. Yet with Holloway sitting on the featherweight throne, and Medeiros surging into welterweight contendership, the island’s status as a crucible for top fighters is surer than ever.

Tom Taylor - June 8, 2017

Last weekend, on the main card of UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro, Yancy Medeiros stepped into the Octagon with ever-dangerous Brazilian finisher Erick Silva. Despite the scale of this test, the Hawaiian talent defeated Silva in his own back yard, putting him down with a thudding, second-round combo. With this impressive win, Medeiros built on the momentum of a submission defeat of Sean Spencer, and moved to 2-0 since jumping from lightweight to welterweight.

Tom Taylor - June 4, 2017

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is scheduled to defend his title against former champion Jon Jones in the main event of UFC 214. Earlier that same night, top light heavyweight contender Jimi Manuwa will take on the surging Volkan Oezdemir in what could well be a number one contender fight. Though Cormier and Manuwa are not fighting each other, they are still taking every opportunity to swap trash talk on social media. Their most recent row occured last weekend, when Cormier called Manuwa “Alexander Gustafsson’s cheerleader,” and Manuwa called Cormier – who is widely referred to as “DC” – “Double Cheeseburger.”

Tom Taylor - June 1, 2017

Yesterday, we learned that British knockout artist Jimi Manuwa will take on fellow top-5 light heavyweight Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 214 this July 29 in Anaheim, California. While Manuwa is one of the most established names in the UFC light heavyweight division, Oezdemir remains a relative unknown among many fans, having burst into the top-5 after just two fights in the UFC.

Tom Taylor - June 1, 2017

Top UFC light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa has a big fight on the horizon, as it was recently announced that he’ll be taking on the surging Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 214 this July 29 in Anaheim. While this challenge is at the forefront of his mind, however, he is still dialled in on a potential boxing match with fellow Londoner David Haye – and apparently, it’s probably going to happen. On a previous episode of BJ Penn Radio, Manuwa announced that he, Haye and UFC President Dana White had spoken about making the fight happen, and that the wheels were decidedly in motion. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Manuwa gave an update on this potential boxing match, and assured that it’s still a very real possibility. In fact he’s completely confident it will happen.

Tom Taylor - June 1, 2017

Last weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Stockholm, Sweden, Alexander Gustafsson put on arguably the best performance of career, lighting up Glover Teixeira en route to a fifth round knockout. Days removed from this fight, Jimi Manuwa, one of Gustafsson’s main training partners,  joined host Kinch on BJ Penn Radio. During his segment, Manuwa discussed his ally’s big win. Apparently, it came as no surprise to him. “What you lot saw on the weekend, that’s what I deal with day, in day out,” he said. “Alex is the best in the world. I’m the best in the world. That came as no surprise to me. I had full confidence he was going to do it. The guy is so skillful and so strong and athletic that it didn’t come as a surprise to me. Alex is a beast, and I’m glad to have him, and I’m glad you lot saw that.”

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2017

Earlier this month, on the main card of the stacked UFC 211, red hot Mexican featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez faced the biggest test of his career in Frankie Edgar. Regrettably for Rodriguez and his legions of fans, it did not turn out to be his night, as he was taken out by his far more experienced foe. This, of course, is not the way he hoped things would go. Rodriguez looked back on the loss in a recent interview with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor:

Tom Taylor - May 25, 2017

Earlier this month, on the main card of UFC 211, red hot featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez hit a road block in the form of Frankie Edgar. Despite some strong moments in the fight, Rodriguez was grounded and ultimately stopped by his experienced foe. Now several weeks removed from this loss, Rodriguez spoke with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor about the fight. Apparently, losing this fight was his worst fear – though he is certain he will grow from the experience.