Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - March 23, 2017

On April 22, when the UFC touches down in Nashville, Tennessee, “Platinum” Mike Perry will test his mettle against one of the welterweight division’s most experienced competitors: Jake Ellenberger. On Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, Perry weighed in on this looming scrap with Ellenberger. Though he acknowledged that Ellenberger has experience on his side, he doesn’t expect the veteran to give him any new looks.

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.

Chris Taylor - March 20, 2017

Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson suffered a majority decision loss to Tyron Woodley earlier this month at UFC 209 in Las Vegas. The loss marked Thompson’s second unsuccessful attempt to steal the title from Woodley, as the pair had battled to a majority decision draw at UFC 205 this past November in New York.

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.

Scott Hernandez - 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

The next title fight in the ever-exciting UFC bantamweight division will pit reigning champion Cody Garbrandt against former champion and estranged teammate TJ Dillashaw at a to-be-determined date. Before the two bantamweight stars collide for gold, however, they will star as opposing coaches on the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter. Garbrandt and Dillashaw’s time on the show, has given their already sizzling beef plenty of time to slow-cook.

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

The next season of The Ultimate Fighter, TUF 25, looks like it should be a good one. The season will be coached by reigning bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt and former champion TJ Dillashaw, who are estranged former teammates and heated rivals. The cast, meanwhile, will be composed of TUF veterans – ranging from Joe Stevenson to Julian Lane to James Krause – each eager to get their career back on track with a TUF tournament win. According to Duane Ludwig, who spent three days a week helping his star pupil Dillashaw coach these veterans, the season also produced some dynamite fights. In fact, Ludwig believes this season of the show produced the best fights in TUF history. He explained this belief on Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio.

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.

Scott Hernandez - 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

Surging UFC welterweight contender Alan Jouban will face the toughest opponent of his young career when he takes on Gunnar Nelson in the co-main event of UFC London on March 18. Jouban recently sat down with BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor where he discussed a number of different topics including the UFC 209 welterweight title fight rematch between Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley.

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.