Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Chris Taylor - April 16, 2017

Yair Rodriguez is not like other fighters and vows to become a UFC champion this year Surging UFC featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez will take on former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar on the main card of next month’s stacked UFC 211 pay-per-view card in Dallas, Texas.

Chris Taylor - April 14, 2017

Yair Rodriguez promises to deliver on his mom’s premonition for UFC 211 fight with Frankie Edgar Surging UFC featherweight contender Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez will return to the octagon at next month’s UFC 211 pay-per-view event in Dallas, Texas where he will square off with former UFC lightweight champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.

Chris Taylor - April 13, 2017

Tyron Woodley: The last time GSP fought someone like me, he crawled into a cave for 3 years Current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is targeting UFC 213 on July 8 in Las Vegas for his octagon return.

Tom Taylor - April 13, 2017

The biggest ongoing story in combat sports today surrounds a potential boxing mega-fight between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and undefeated boxing great Floyd Mayweather. While this fight is not a done deal just yet, it is the most discussed topic in the game today. The latest member of the combat sports community to give his take on this potential mega-fight – and what it means for MMA and boxing – is fan favorite lightweight Jim Miller. Miller discussed McGregor’s flirtation with the boxing world on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Tom Taylor - April 13, 2017

Last weekend, the UFC touched down in Buffalo, New York with UFC 210. The event marked the promotion’s fourth show in the state, after stops in Manhattan, Albany, and Brooklyn. Nearly all of these shows have included some form of controversy, much of which can be attributed to the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC).  The commission is experiencing serious growing pains as it learns to sanction mixed martial arts, which was only recently legalized in the state. UFC lightweight Jim Miller has now fought twice in the state: first, against Thiago Alves at UFC 205 in Manhattan , then against Dustin Poirier at UFC 208 in Brooklyn. Both times he fought in the state, Miller has been seriously inconvenienced by the NYSAC. This, when coupled with the commissions many blunders at the recent UFC 210, have left him with little desire to fight in New York again. Miller shared his grievances on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2017

Having defeated Leslie Smith and Lina Lansberg in the UFC’s Octagon in 2016, Cris “Cyborg” Justino is now firmly embedded as a member of the promotion’s roster. As such, she was recently asked to vacate her Invicta featherweight title, which in turn meant that interim featherweight champion Megan Anderson was promoted to undisputed champ. No longer tied to Invicta, Cyborg has recently had her sights set firmly on Germaine De Randamie, who captured the UFC’s inaugural women’s featherweight title with a decision defeat of Holly Holm earlier this year.

Chris Taylor - April 11, 2017

Tyron Woodley targets July return, has two opponents in mind UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley scored a majority decision victory over Stephen Thompson at last month’s UFC 209 event in Las Vegas, thus retaining his 170-pound strap.

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2017

Now 2-0 in the UFC, and firmly embedded as a member of the promotion’s roster, Brazilian star Cris “Cyborg” Justino has vacated the Invicta Fighting Championship featherweight throne. Unfortunately, it’s been almost 10 month since Cyborg’s last fight in the Octagon – a September destruction of Lina Lansberg – and as such, the dangerous fighter is becoming a bit agitated. The reasons for Cyborg’s recent inactivity, of course, are manifold. Part of the reason it’s been so long since we last saw her in the cage is that she needed time to recover from two gruelling cuts to 140 pounds. Another reason for her continued inactivity is that the UFC’s reigning featherweight champion, Germaine De Randamie, is currently sidelined with injuries.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2017

Despite two valiant efforts, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson has now failed twice to swipe the UFC welterweight title from Tyron Woodley. Given this, he will now re-enter the exciting welterweight contendership race in an effort to earn himself a third crack at gold. Speaking with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor, Thompson gave his take on what should be next for Woodley in the meantime. While the logical answer is Demian Maia, who will look to solidify his number one contender status against Jorge Masvidal this May, Thompson doesn’t believe it’s quite that simple.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2017

Cris “Cyborg” Justino is no longer the Invicta Fighting Championship featherweight queen. Now firmly embedded as a member of the UFC women’s featherweight roster, she was recently asked to give up this title. With this development, Megan Anderson, who previously wore Invicta’s interim featherweight title, was promoted to undisputed champion. Speaking to BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor, Cyborg recently explained that, while she is no longer directly tied to the Invicta organization, she is excited for a seemingly inevitable showdown with Anderson down the road.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2017

Riding high on a three-fight win-streak, rising welterweight Colby Covington has been looking for a step up in competition for some time. Unfortunately for him, finding a willing dance partner has proven incredibly difficult. Thankfully, after being turned down by former lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos, he’s now been booked for a scrap with Dong Hyun Kim at UFC Fight Night Singapore this June. Finding a willing dance partner, however, was not easy.

Tom Taylor - April 6, 2017

Earlier this year, former UFC lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos announced his intention to move up to the welterweight division. Shortly after the former champ made this announcement, he began fielding callouts from a number of notable welterweights. Of all the welterweights to call Dos Anjos out, however, none did so with quite the same fervor or creativity as rising star Colby Covington. Unfortunately for Covington and his fans, Dos Anjos ultimately opted to sign on for a fight with former Strikeforce champ Tarec Saffiedine, which will go down when the UFC returns to Singapore on June 17.

Tom Taylor - April 5, 2017

Over the last few weeks, consensus-best female featherweight Cris “Cyborg” Justino has been campaigning for a  fight with UFC featherweight queen Germaine De Randamie. Cyborg is hoping to make this fight happen at UFC 214, which is scheduled for July 29 inside Anaheim’s Honda Center. Responding to BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor, Cyborg explained that at the moment, there’s no indication that her desired fight will occur at UFC 214.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2017

Last month, in the main event of UFC 209, Stephen Thompson came up short in a rematch with welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, failing to capture the UFC welterweight crown in the process. Now exactly a month removed from this second battle with Woodley, Stephen Thompson deconstructed the fight with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor. “Tyron was kind of very laid back in the fight,” Thompson said of what surprised him most about the rematch. “[He was] kind of slow. He was backing up a lot – well pretty much the whole fight – so it didn’t make for an entertaining fight. There was a lot of respect there [between us]. I want my next fight to be with someone who likes to push the pace. I think the fans would really enjoy a fight between myself and Carlos Condit or Nick Diaz.”

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2017

Late last month, UFC featherweight star Cris “Cyborg” Justino challenged former bantamweight champ and long-time rival Ronda Rousey to a showdown in the WWE ring. The featherweight did so on Twitter, after footage of her drilling pro wrestling maneuvers with wrestler Gabi Castrovinci surfaced on the web. See Cyborg’s original Tweet below:

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2017

In early March, in the main event of UFC 209, Stephen Thompson gave up a majority decision to welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. Given that he fought Woodley to a draw back in November, this marked his second failed attempt to steal the champ’s spot on the throne. Having failed twice to capture the title, Thompson now finds himself in a bit of a tricky spot. In the past, we’ve seen other fighters in his position move up or down a weight class in search of a fresh start. In a recent interview with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor, Thompson weighed in on this possibility.

Tom Taylor - April 4, 2017

Cris “Cyborg” Justino, who has owned both the Strikeforce women’s featherweight title and the Invicta featherweight title, has long stood out as one of the best female fighters on the planet. As such, there has been a long-standing and widespread desire to see her test her mettle against the best female fighters in the UFC – particularly against Ronda Rousey, who enjoyed an incredible run of dominance as the UFC women’s bantamweight champion from early 2013 to late 2015. While the desire for a Cyborg vs. Rousey superfight was always present among fans, however, it was never made, as debates over the conditions of the fight – particularly the weight class it would occur in – served as an insurmountable hurdle.

Tom Taylor - April 3, 2017

Last month, in the main event of UFC 209, Stephen Thompson – who fights under the nickname “Wonderboy” – came up short in his second bid to swipe the UFC welterweight title from champion Tyron Woodley. Though he was not without his moments in the fight, he ultimately surrendered a majority decision to the champ. On Monday afternoon, Thompson spoke with BJPenn.com’s own Chris Taylor to update on his recovery, when he hopes to return, and who he’d like to fight when he next steps into the Octagon.