Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - January 6, 2017

In November of 2016, the UFC’s number-one ranked welterweight Stephen Thompson fought divisional king Tyron Woodley to a majority draw. With this result, Woodley held on to the welterweight belt, while Wonderboy seemed to have guaranteed himself another shot at the champ. Apparently, however, Thompson’s being given an immediate rematch with Woodley is far from a sure thing. In late December, our very own Chris Taylor reported that Nick Diaz had been offered a fight with Woodley and turned the opportunity down.

bjpenndotcom - January 4, 2017

On the heels of UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley’s majority draw against Stephen Thompson at UFC 205 in November, a five-round contest that saw him retain his welterweight title in the co-main event, there has been much speculation as to who Woodley’s next fight will be against. Given that the fight with Thompson was a draw, UFC President Dana White stated immediately following the fight that the next step would be for the pair to have a rematch. While Woodley was initially open to the idea of a rematch, he then changed his tune after re-watching the fight and coming to the conclusion that the fight shouldn’t have been scored as a draw.

bjpenndotcom - December 22, 2016

While a controversial split decision loss to John Lineker may have halted John Dodson’s hopes of making a statement in the bantamweight division in 2016, ‘The Magician’ is currently struggling to find a 135 pound fighter who is willing to fight him!

bjpenndotcom - December 22, 2016

Back in October, two of the most exciting fighters in the UFC’s lighter weight divisions stepped into the Octagon in the main event of ‘UFC Fight Night: Portland’. Former flyweight title challenger John Dodson was looking to pick up his second straight win since returning to bantamweight, while John Lineker was looking to continue his reign of terror in the bantamweight division after being forced to move up from flyweight at the end of 2015.

Russell Ess - November 30, 2016

UFC Hall of Fame legend BJ Penn will be making his way back into the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 103 on January 15. The Hilo native is set to headline the FS1 televised event taking place in Phoenix, Arizona against rising star Yair Rodriguez.

Chris Taylor - November 27, 2016

Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (12-1 MMA) will return to action next month in Las Vegas when she challenges current UFC 135-pound women’s champion Amanda Nunes for the title in the main event of UFC 207. Rousey was last seen in action at UFC 193 in November of 2015 against Holly Holm. “The Preachers Daughter” shocked the world that evening in Australia by knocking out the previously undefeated “Rowdy” with a devastating head kick.

Chris Taylor - November 27, 2016

Before Stephen Thompson walked out for his UFC welterweight title fight against Tyron Woodley at UFC 205 in New York, his brother-in-law Chris Weidman took to the octagon against Yoel Romero in a bout to determine the middleweight divisions next title contender. Weidman had a good opening round against “The Soldier of God”, but Romero was able to turn the tide in round two by utilizing his excellent wrestling skills.

Russell Ess - November 24, 2016

Undefeated Mike “Platinum” Perry has been making some waves in the UFC in a short amount of time with having two finishing fights in the Octagon. Going into his third UFC competition scheduled for UFC on FOX 22 where he is set to take on Alan “Brahma” Jouban, Perry is setting his goals for a monumental career. “I want to be doing things first like Conor is doing and like BJ Penn before him,” Perry told BJ Penn.com’s Chris Taylor on a recent Rapid Fire segment. “BJ was not a simultaneous champ, but he did win world titles in two weight divisions. In fact, he fought at every weight class! 205 he fought Lyoto Machida at. That is just nuts! BJ Penn is the man. I was so thrilled to hear from him (BJ Penn) and that he loves watching me fight. When I beat Jouban I am going to do a little BJ Penn face-smack.

Chris Taylor - November 20, 2016

Now closing in on the end of the two years of mandatory military service required of South Korean citizens, Chan Sung Jung – more widely known as “The Korean Zombie” – is poised for a return to the Octagon. In advance of his return, the featherweight favorite spoke with Chris Taylor on BJPenn.com’s Rapid Fire segment. Taylor asked Chan how his shoulders were doing after having both of them operated on during his time with the military.

Chris Taylor - November 20, 2016

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley joined host Chris Taylor on BJPENN.com’s Rapid Fire segment where he discussed his UFC 205 “fight of the night” title bout with Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson. The epic five-round battle between Thompson and Woodley was declared a 47-47 draw by two of the three judges in attendance, with the third judge awarding ‘T-Wood’ the decision by a score of 48-47.

Chris Taylor - November 20, 2016

‘Platinum’ Mike Perry has been making waves over the past several months. Prior to his UFC debut, a welterweight scrap with Hyun Gyu Lim at UFC 202, Perry made headlines for his weigh-in antics, high-fiving ring girls as he walked on stage, before then faking Lim out with a handshake.

Chris Taylor - November 20, 2016

Former UFC featherweight title challenger Chan Sung Jung is quickly closing in on the end of the two years of mandatory military service he was required to serve as a citizen of South Korea. Jung was most recently seen in action at UFC 163 in May of 2012, where he suffered a fourth-round TKO loss to Jose Aldo in his bid for the featherweight title. Prior to the setback, the Korean standout had scored three-straight stoppage wins in a row which included victories over Dustin Poirier, Mark Hominick and Leonard Garcia.

Tom Taylor - November 18, 2016

Now closing in on the end of the two years of mandatory military service required of South Korean citizens, Chan Sung Jung – more widely known as “The Korean Zombie” – is poised for  return to the Octagon. In advance of his return, the featherweight favorite spoke with Chris Taylor on BJPenn.com’s Rapid Fire to discuss the state of the division, and the man who rules it: Conor McGregor. According to the South Korean legend, McGregor has made things complicated at featherweight. That said, he doubts the Irish star will ever return to the division.

Russell Ess - November 17, 2016

If it wasn’t enough with training in the various aspects of mixed martial arts, leave it up to Conor McGregor to up the game by adding the marketing of one’s self to be a highly successful MMA fighter. This is how UFC flyweight Louis Smolka sees it, and with the way Conor McGregor has taken the UFC by storm, it’s hard to deny.

Chris Taylor - November 17, 2016

UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley is coming off a remarkable performance against Stephen Thompson at UFC 205, which saw ‘The Chosen One’ retain his title after an epic five-round war with ‘Wonderboy’ was ruled a majority draw. During Friday’s UFC 205 weigh ins, the UFC welterweight champion had a pair of altercations with Irish superstar Conor McGregor. Neither run-in resulted in anything serious but it was clear that ‘Mystic Mac’ was trying to get under ‘The Chosen One’s’ skin.

Russell Ess - November 17, 2016

11-2 UFC flyweight Louis Smolka is looking to bounce back from a bitter loss. At UFC Fight Night 96 in a bout against Brandon Moreno, Smolka was finished for the first time in his professional MMA career as Moreno locked in a guillotine choke forcing the Hawaiian to submit. With his only loss prior to fighting Moreno being a close split-decision, “Da Last Samurai” is hungry to get back in the win column.

Chris Taylor - November 16, 2016

Prior to his five-round war with Stephen Thompson at UFC 205 this past Saturday night in New York, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley was involved in a couple of altercations with Irish superstar Conor McGregor at the events weigh ins. “The Chosen One”, who successfully defended his title after fighting to a majority decision draw with “Wonderboy”, spoke to BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor on today’s episode of ‘Rapid Fire’ where he discussed the possibility of fighting “Mystic Mac” in the future.

Russell Ess - November 16, 2016

Yoel Romero made a huge statement with his flying knee finish over former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC 205 over the weekend. The “Soldier of God” is looking to get a chance against UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping and UFC President Dana White has already stated that the fight makes sense.