Exclusive MMA Interviews News

bjpenndotcom - October 7, 2016

Tomorrow night in Manchester, England, Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson will square off in a highly anticipated fight for the UFC middleweight championship in a fight that will also serve as Henderson’s last fight before retiring from MMA. Ahead of the fight, the MMA community appears to be torn on their prediction for the scrap. While many believe that Bisping will once again get his hand raised in front of the English fans, others believe that history will repeat itself, and Henderson will once again emerge victorious over Bisping.

Chris Taylor - September 25, 2016

Alan Jouban (14-4 MMA) is one of the hottest prospects in the UFC’s stacked welterweight division. “Brahma” has gone 5-2 under the UFC banner and is currently riding a two-fight win streak. The 33-year-old is currently recovering from surgery, this to repair a broken hand suffered in his latest octagon appearance. With that said, Jouban is already planning his UFC return, as he hopes to compete again this December in Sacramento, possibly against veteran Patrick Cote.

Chris Taylor - September 21, 2016

Former Strikeforce lightweight champion Josh Thomson was a recent guest on BJPENN.com’s Rapid Fire segment where he discussed a number of different topics including the potential lightweight title fight between Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez which is expected to headline UFC 205 in New York this November. Thomson, who is the only fighter to score a TKO victory over Nate Diaz, doesn’t believe that the Irish superstar has earned his shot at the lightweight title, this after scoring a narrow majority decision victory over the Stockton Slugger.

bjpenndotcom - September 20, 2016

When news broke this week that Long Island native Al Iaquinta wouldn’t be fighting at Madison Square Garden for the UFC’s first event in New York City, no one had even realized that Iaquinta never even signed the bout agreement. After asking his manager to negotiate his UFC contract to reflect his current position in the lightweight division, Iaquinta was essentially told to kick rocks. He appeared on Monday’s edition of ‘The MMA Hour’ revealing he was pursing a career in real estate, and didn’t appear to confident in the UFC paying him what he feels he has earned since debuting with the promotion back in 2012 and now on the heels of a four-fight win streak.

Chris Taylor - September 18, 2016

UFC welterweight standout Alan Jouban (14-4 MMA) is quickly climbing the promotions 170-pound ranks, having won two fights in a row and four of his past five overall. Jouban’s most recent effort came at this past July’s UFC Fight Night 90 event in Las Vegas, where he picked up a unanimous victory over Belal Muhammad.

Tom Taylor - September 17, 2016

In just one month’s time, former two-division UFC champion BJ Penn will make his long-awaited return to the Octagon. He’ll be taking on the talented Ricardo Lamas in the five-round, featherweight main event of the UFC’s October 15 return to the Philippines. Should Penn win this bout with Lamas, who has long stood out as one of the best featherweights in the world, he’ll take a massive step up the divisional ladder, where bouts with monsters like Jose Aldo, Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway could await.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2016

Last night, news broke that former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen had signed with Bellator MMA. Shortly thereafter, Sonnen took to Twitter to address this surprising move, while several notable reporters announced that the fan favorite mouth-piece had already called for a bout with Bellator light heavyweight Tito Ortiz.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2016

Last weekend, on the main card of UFC 203, former WWE star CM Punk came up short in his long-awaited UFC debut, tapping to a first-round rear-naked choke applied by the young Mickey Gall. When it was first announced that Punk had signed with the UFC, the reaction was almost universally negative. Here was a guy, after all, who was waltzing onto the sports biggest stage with no martial arts experience. It was an overt publicity stunt on the part of the UFC, and opportunity Punk wasn’t believed to deserve.

Tom Taylor - September 16, 2016

We’re now just one month away from the hotly anticipated Octagon return of MMA legend B.J. Penn. The Hawaiian great will be taking on dangerous featherweight Ricardo Lamas in the main event of the UFC’s return to Manila on October 15. As we eagerly await Penn’s comeback, another legend of the sport appears to be gearing up for a comeback of his own: former Penn rival Georges St-Pierre. Though the Canadian is currently mired in contract negotiations with the UFC, he’s made no secret of his desire to return to the cage.

bjpenndotcom - August 26, 2016

Jason Parillo has gained recognition as one of the best striking coaches in MMA. Parillo, who has not only worked with UFC champions such as our very own BJ Penn, and UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, but also Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris Cyborg, has been around MMA since its earliest days. Parillo, who was an accomplished pro boxer back in his day, recalls how he got started in coaching and the ‘dark ages’ of MMA, when rules didn’t exist:

Chris Taylor - August 24, 2016

Former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn will return to the octagon on October 15 when he squares off with former UFC featherweight title challenger Ricardo Lamas in the main event of UFC Manila. The UFC Hall of Fame fighter, Penn, recently sat down with BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor where he discussed his comeback fight and future plans in the sport.

bjpenndotcom - August 23, 2016

While MMA fans are certainly familiar with the legendary career of our very own BJ Penn, many MMA fans may not be familiar with the man who helped save Penn’s career following his UFC 46 win over Matt Hughes which saw him capture the welterweight championship. Unfortunately, Penn was experiencing severe neck pain throughout the course of the day. That’s when he met Dr. Pete Goldman, the expert of ‘The Zone Technique’ used to treat numerous top level athletes, as well as ordinary patients.

Chris Taylor - May 24, 2016

Yesterday it was announced that former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn had been pulled from his scheduled UFC 199 bout with Cole Miller due to a USADA IV violation. We caught up with the UFC Hall of Fame fighter earlier today to discuss the USADA violation and what will come next in the career of “The Prodigy”.

Chris Taylor - May 3, 2016

UFC welterweight contender Patrick Cote (23-9 MMA) is busy preparing for his upcoming ‘UFC Fight Night 89’ showdown with Donald Cerrone which takes place next month in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. “The Predator” is currently riding a three-fight win streak and has won six of his past seven bouts overall.

Chris Taylor - May 1, 2016

UFC welterweight contender Patrick Cote (23-9 MMA) is busy preparing for his UFC Fight Night 89 showdown with Donald Cerrone which takes place next month in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. “The Predator” is currently riding a three-fight win streak and has won six of his past seven bouts overall.

Chris Taylor - April 22, 2016

Since the late 1800’s, only one Bare Knuckle Boxing event has been sanctioned in the United States of America. That lone stateside ‘BKB’ event took place on August 5, 2011 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Chris Taylor - April 10, 2016

Nate Diaz’s boxing coach Richard Perez recently sat down with BJPENN.com and talked about a number of different topics. One of the topics discussed was Nate’s big payday at last month’s UFC 196 event in Las Vegas.

Chris Taylor - March 31, 2016

BJPENN.com spoke with Nate Diaz’s boxing coach Richard Perez earlier this week about a number of topics regarding the “Stockton Sluggers” rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 200. One of those topics regarded the comments Perez had made in the lead up to UFC 196, in which he insinuated that Conor McGregor had been using steroids. We asked Perez if he now, following the announcement that every UFC 196 competitor passes their respective drug tests, had any regrets about the verbal shots he made towards McGregor: