Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2017

Jessica Aguilar, who is the former World Series of Fighting strawweight champion and the most experienced fighter in the UFC strawweight division, is looking for a fight – specifically, a fight at UFC 211, in her native Texas, on May 13. Unfortunately, the 13th-ranked strawweight has had an incredibly difficult time locking down an opponent for this card, and with the date drawing ever closer, she’s getting desperate.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2017

On April 22, fan favorite slugger “Platinum” Mike Perry will attempt to rebound from his first professional loss. His opponent in this effort will be brick-fisted welterweight veteran Jake Ellenberger. In advance of this fight, Perry joined host Kinch on BJ Penn Radio to give his take on Ellenberger as an opponent. Apparently, Perry had nothing against his upcoming foe until they appeared together on Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome Podcast, where Ellenberger let some trash talk fly.

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2017

Jessica Aguilar is an unheralded pioneer of women’s mixed martial arts. The UFC strawweight contender’s career dates all the way back to 2006 – five years before Ronda Rousey made her pro debut. Over the course of this long career, she has amassed an impressive 19-5 overall record, which happens to be the longest record in the UFC strawweight division. Despite the experiential edge she has over her peers, however, she has struggled to gain a foothold in the division. Aguilar explained this difficulty to host Kinch on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Tom Taylor - March 21, 2017

Shortly after his competitive UFC 209 loss to reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, we learned that Stephen Thompson had sustained an injury to his MCL. In an interview with BJPENN.COM’s Chris Taylor, Thompson clarified that, while his MCL was indeed injured, it would not require surgery. He would, however, require surgery for an injured meniscus. “It was the MCL, but the doctors said that injury would heal on its own,” Thompson told Taylor. “I have surgery tomorrow on my right knee. It is nothing too serious, just a torn meniscus.”

Tom Taylor - March 19, 2017

Things are suddenly looking pretty interesting in the UFC light heavyweight division. Champ Daniel Cormier and challenger Anthony “Rumble” Johnson are scheduled for an imminent title rematch. Pride legend Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is enjoying an unlikely, late-career resurgence, and appears to be poised for one last title run. England’s Jimi Manuwa has burst into title contention with destructive knockouts of top-10 foes in Ovince St. Preux and Corey Anderson. And all the while prospects like Tyson Pedro, Paul Craig, Volkan Oezdemir and Misha Cirkunov are working to earn their places in the light heavyweight ranks. All the action that occurs at light heavyweight, however, has a shadow cast over it by one man: former champion Jon Jones, who was stripped of the title after a litany of troubles outside the cage – several of which were drug-related.

bjpenndotcom - March 18, 2017

Streaking UFC welterweight prospect Alan Jouban is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win over ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry last year, which extended his win streak to 3 following back to back wins over Brendan O’Reilly and Belal Muhammad. During a recent interview with BJPenn.com, Jouban spoke about a variety of topics, including the highly anticipated return of former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, who will be returning to the Octagon later this year to fight Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight championship.

Russell Ess - March 17, 2017

The UFC is going through an interesting time right now. With the debate of sport matchmaking versus the big “money fights,” there is no doubt that the UFC is booking the more lucrative matchups when they feel it is worth it.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre has signed a shiny new deal with the UFC, and is poised for a return to the Octagon later this year. His return, however, will not occur in the welterweight division he ruled for so long. Instead, he’ll return to a middleweight title shot against reigning divisional king Michael Bisping. Alan Jouban, who is quickly rising through the ranks at welterweight, thinks he knows why St-Pierre is returning to the Bisping-ruled middleweight division, rather than the welterweight division, which is now ruled by the dangerous Tyron Woodley. He believes that St-Pierre has probably not been training as hard as he says he has been, and that the former champ probably views Bisping as a much simpler puzzle to solve than Woodley.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

This Saturday, in the co-main event of the UFC’s latest trip to London, England, rising welterweight Alan Jouban will take on dangerous Icelandic star Gunnar Nelson. Nelson is known primarily for his grappling. That said, the Conor McGregor training partner also has a unique, karate-based style of striking that has given many foes trouble in the past. In a recent interview with BJPENN.COM’s Chris Taylor, Jouban weighed in on his upcoming foe’s underrated standup game.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

Late last year, featherweight superstar Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino failed a drug test administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Given that Cyborg has had issues with performing enhancers in the past, the MMA community was quick to pick up their torches and pitchforks and accuse her of cheating. In the end, however, Cyborg was granted a retroactive Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for Spironolactone, the substance in question. As such, she was cleared of any guilt, and will be able to continue to compete as normal. While Cyborg was proven innocent, however, many members of the MMA community still question the legitimacy of her legacy of dominance. In the opinion of Megan Anderson, who holds the Invicta interim featherweight title and stands out as one of Cyborg’s biggest rivals, this isn’t exactly just.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

On April 8, the UFC will touch down in Buffalo, New York with UFC 210. In the card’s main event, we’ll see light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier attempt to defend his title against an old foe in Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Cormier and Rumble first met back in 2015. On that night, Rumble nearly took Cormier’s head off in the first round, but was ultimately overwhelmed by his foe’s wrestling and cardio, and submitted with a rear-naked choke in the third round. Given Rumble’s incredible punching power, however, the outcome of this fight could well be different. As such, The MMA community seems to be divided when it comes to predictions for this battle.

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

Megan Anderson, who currently holds the Invicta interim featherweight title, is one of the best female featherweights on the planet today. While there is no indication that she’ll sign with the UFC in the immediate future, she is already being discussed as an opponent for UFC star Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino, who is far and away the sport’s premiere female featherweight. On Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, Anderson discussed this potential clash with host Kinch, explaining that she believes she’d make an excellent opponent for Cyborg based on her skillset, control of range, and size. Her words:

Tom Taylor - March 16, 2017

Misha Cirkunov is widely regarded as the hottest prospect in the UFC light heavyweight division. So, when it sounded like a contract dispute would drive him away from the organization, there was widespread disappointment. Luckily, Cirkunov and the UFC were able to iron out their differences and agree to the terms of a new contract. The Latvian-Canadian destroyer is now scheduled for a fight with the dangerous Volkan Oezdemir, which will occur in Stockholm, Sweden on May 28.

bjpenndotcom - March 14, 2017

Earlier this year, ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung returned to the Octagon following a nearly four year layoff which saw him serve mandatory military service to South Korea and take time away from the Octagon. In his return fight to the Octagon, Jung faced streaking contender Dennis Bermudez in Houston, Texas. Despite being rocked early, Jung fought back to pick up a 1st round KO win, knocking Bermudez out cold with a perfectly placed uppercut.

Russell Ess - March 13, 2017

Demian Maia is gunning for his chance to fight for the UFC welterweight title but has at least one more fight booked before he gets an opportunity to fight for the belt. Currently ranked #3 in the official UFC rankings, Maia will be taking on #6 ranked welterweight Jorge Masvidal and rising welterweight star Alan Jouban spoke with BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor on a recent episode of Rapid Fire about Maia and his journey to another shot at UFC gold.

Chris Taylor - March 12, 2017

UFC welterweight standout Alan Jouban will return to the octagon next weekend in London where he will square off with Gunnar Nelson in the evening’s co-main event. Jouban is very happy to finally be booked against a top-ten opponent, this after working his way up the divisions rankings over the past three years.

Chris Taylor - March 12, 2017

Surging UFC welterweight contender Alan Jouban will return to the octagon at next weekend’s UFC fight card in London where he will square off with the always dangerous Gunnar Nelson in the co-main event. Jouban, who is currently riding a three-fight win streak, is very excited about the opportunity to fight a guy like Gunnar Nelson, who is ranked in the top-10 of the UFC’s stacked welterweight division.

Chris Taylor - March 12, 2017

Former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre will make his highly anticipated octagon return later this year when he squares off with current UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. In a recent interview on BJPENN.com’s Rapid Fire segment, host Chris Taylor spoke to surging welterweight contender Alan Jouban about the return of GSP.