Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - October 15, 2018

When Dustin Poirier was forced out of his UFC 230 lightweight showdown with Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal offered to step in and fight Diaz in his place. Although Masvidal had just wrapped up a reality television stint, he felt confident that he was in good enough shape to fight. He just needed Diaz to agree to fight at 170 pounds, rather than 155. Unfortunately, this veritable dream matchup never came to fruition. Even though it was clearly a fight that most fans were drooling over, the UFC instead pulled Diaz from the UFC 230 lineup altogether.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2018

Eryk Anders most recently fought back in September when he lost a tough fight to Thiago Santos. However, in his mind, that fight was just a bonus but the fight he really wanted is the one he is getting. At UFC 231 on December 8, Anders will be taking on Elias Theodorou who is currently ranked No. 13 in the middleweight rankings. It is a fight Anders has wanted for some time.

Cole Shelton - October 12, 2018

Eryk Anders has had a busy year. The middleweight fought Lyoto Machida in the main event of UFC Fight Night 125 in Brazil in February. He then fought Tim Williams at UFC Fight Night 135 in August, and then accepted a quick turnaround for another main event fight against Thiago Santos in late September. Anders will also be fighting at UFC 231 in December against Elias Theodorou.

Cole Shelton - October 11, 2018

Earlier this year, the UFC changed a card from Dublin, Ireland to Liverpool, England for one reason and one reason only: Darren Till. Till was on the rise to stardom after his stunning knockout win over Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone. Till would then take on top welterweight contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.

Cole Shelton - October 10, 2018

One of the biggest rivalries in MMA over the past few years has been TJ Dillashaw’s rivalry with his former camp Team Alpha Male and its top fighter, Cody Garbrandt. After losing the UFC bantamweight belt to Dominick Cruz, Dillashaw spent months grinding away against top bantamweight contenders before finally getting a title shot against his arch rival Garbrandt at UFC 217.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2018

On December 2, on the main card of UFC Adelaide, Australian light heavyweight prospect Tyson Pedro will step into the cage with a legend of the sport: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. As you can probably imagine, the opportunity to battle an MMA legend in front of his Australian fans is an opportunity that Tyson Pedro is thrilled about.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2018

Stephen Thompson has long stood out as one of the UFC’s premier welterweights. That being said, he’s failed to claim the divisional title in his two previous title shots, and at 35 years old, would seem to be running a little short on time in his hunt for UFC gold. Well, he doesn’t see it that way.

Cole Shelton - October 9, 2018

Interim UFC welterweight champion, Colby Covington has had a feud going on with the current welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley for quite some time. Covington believes Woodley is ‘ducking him’ and faking injuries to get out of fighting him.

Cole Shelton - October 9, 2018

UFC’s welterweight title has been Tyron Woodley’s since July 2016. Since then, Woodley has gone on to defend the belt three times with another fight Woodley retained the belt because it was a draw.

Mike Straus - October 9, 2018

Fresh off his two-fight performance at last week’s (Oct 4, 2018) PFL 8, Lance Palmer is focused now more than ever on the million dollar prize at the end of the fight rainbow. A longtime member of Team Alpha Male with the wrestling pedigree to match, Palmer has recently decided to branch out and seek training elsewhere. Nothing against Alpha Male, “The Party” just wanted to take his game to the next level.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2018

UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has no shortage of options in terms of opponents for his next fight, as Dominick Cruz, Marlon Moraes, Raphael Assuncao and a host of other top bantamweights are all eager for the chance to challenge him. From the sounds of it, however, TJ Dillashaw is now determined to drop down to flyweight and challenge new divisional champion Henry Cejudo for his title.

Tom Taylor - October 9, 2018

Over the last few years, trash talk and bravado have become a huge part of the sport of mixed martial arts. The bushido spirit has been mostly pushed aside and replaced by constant posturing and saber-rattling. Singapore’s ONE Championship is working on changing that. Where other promotions encourage trash talk and showmanship, ONE Championship preaches traditional martial arts values like respect, integrity and honor.

Cole Shelton - October 8, 2018

One of the options for the main event of the upcoming UFC 230 card was a welterweight title fight between champion Tyron Woodley and interim champion Colby Covington. With Covington healthy, and Woodley riding a huge win over Darren Till, the fight seemed to make a lot of sense. Furthermore, Woodley said he was open to fighting Covington at UFC 230, so long as he was given a clean bill of health. Unfortunately, he was then forced to go under the knife to repair an injured hand, ruling out this possibility. Well, Colby Covington isn’t buying it.

Cole Shelton - October 8, 2018

Efforts to unionize UFC fighters have come and gone throughout the years. Every time a new union group comes out, there is optimism that it might become a success, yet so far, not one has gained any meaningful traction. However, Project Spearhead feels different. Thanks to this initiative’s hard work, UFC fighters are finally realizing that they are employees and not independent contractors as the UFC would have them believe. Former UFC fighter and Project Spearhead’s Interim President Leslie Smith is certain of this. “I started Project Spearhead because it was very obvious to me that fighters need a union,” Leslie Smith told BJPENN.COM. “There has been several other efforts that for various reasons didn’t work out. I knew my time, my promotional contract with the UFC was almost over. I needed to deal with the first issue, which is whether we are independent contractors or employees. Getting anybody to agree to anything is being really difficult. The whole point of this is unity, that is what we need, fighters to unify and come together. By getting the information, [it will] determine if we are independent contractors or employees. That would be the first step on getting everyone on the same page.” 

Mike Pendleton - October 6, 2018

UFC 229 is right around the corner and on the latest episode of Inside The Cage with Mike Pendleton, top coaches from around the sport joined the show to discuss the main event. Listen in as Mark Henry, who has coached against both Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov gives his breakdown of the fight as well as his thoughts on McGregor’s antics.

Cole Shelton - October 6, 2018

It’s being called the biggest fight in UFC history. At UFC 229, which goes down tonight in Las Vegas, Nevada, the former two-weight champion Conor McGregor will make his return to the Octagon to take on undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Given that this is a fight between the two best lightweights alive, it should come as no surprise that it has the combat sports community divided in their predictions. Will McGregor be able to catch Nurmagomedov with a left? Or will Nurmagomedov simply maul the Irishman on the ground?

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2018

From the sounds of it, UFC 230 will be headlined by a women’s flyweight title fight between Valentina Shevchenko and Sijara Eubanks. That being said, it also sounds like the card was nearly headlined by a welterweight title fight between interim champion Colby Covington and undisputed champion Tyron Woodley. This per Colby Covington himself, who discussed his negotiations for a UFC 230 fight on episode 100 of BJPENN.COM Radio.

Cole Shelton - October 5, 2018

Leslie Smith has been fighting professionally since 2009. However, the former UFC bantamweight contender hasn’t fought since July 2017. Smith, who is on a two-fight winning streak with victories over Irene Aldana and Amanda Lemos, was set to take on Aspen Ladd at UFC Fight Night 128 in April, but unfortunately, this plan was derailed. At the weigh-ins for the fight, Ladd missed weight. With Ladd missing her mark, it was reported that she was offering Smith $5,000 dollars in addition to 20% of her purse as incentive to accept a catch weight. Unfortunately, the UFC then opted to pay Smith her show and win money and cancel the fight. Having been paid, Smith was then released by the UFC.