Exclusive MMA Interviews News
Stefan Struve discusses possible rematch with Stipe Miocic: I am one of the hardest matchups for him
Tom Taylor - July 27, 2017
Stipe Miocic has established himself as one of the most fearsome and dominating heavyweight champions in UFC history. We have, however, seen him lose in the past. His most recent loss – which he just avenged with a first-round knockout – was a close decision defeat at the hands of Junior Dos Santos. His next most recent hiccup occurred in 2012, when he wilted under a storm of second-round punches dealt by towering Dutchman Stefan Struve. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Struve weighed in on a potential rematch with Miocic – which could well happen, so long as Struve wins his September 2, UFC Fight Night 115 headlining showdown with Alexander Volkov.
Jorge Masvidal explains why McGregor has "barely any chance" against Mayweather
Tom Taylor - July 23, 2017
On August 26, UFC lightweight Conor McGregor will step into the boxing ring with undefeated great Floyd Mayweather Jr. While McGregor is tremendously talented as a mixed martial artist, he’s being given little chance against Mayweather in the boxing ring. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, top UFC welterweight contender Jorge Masvidal weighed in on this fight, and explained why he shares the widespread belief that McGregor will most likely lose decisively. “In a fight with two guys with their hands up with bad intentions, there’s always a chance – always in a fight,” Masvidal explained. “You can get beat up for 14 minutes, and at 14:55, you land that one blow that changes the whole fight. Anything can happen to anybody. But those chances are so slim against Mayweather… The only way I can see Mayweather losing is if Mayweather just doesn’t take him seriously at all. If he does like an Anderson Silva, you know – hands straight up and he actually lets him hit him in the chin. But I don’t see Mayweather losing this.”
Jorge Masvidal blasts Michael Bisping for Cuban flag-ripping incident: he’s a coward
Tom Taylor - July 23, 2017
Jorge Masvidal doesn’t like UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping. When Bisping ripped up a Cuban flag during Yoel Romero’s UFC 213 fight with Robert Whittaker – a flag Masvidal also calls his own – Masvidal’s dislike for the middleweight king ballooned even bigger. Apparently, however, his distaste for the champ is older than most fans would guess. Jorge Masvidal recounted his longstanding dislike for Bisping on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.
After Nelson-Ponzinibbio controversy, Jorge Masvidal calls for changes to eye-poke rules
Tom Taylor - July 20, 2017
Last weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s latest trip to Glasgow, Scotland, Argentina’s Santiago Ponzinibbio authored an epic, first-round knockout of longtime Icelandic contender Gunnar Nelson. Unfortunately, many fans – and Nelson – felt that Ponzinibbio’s win was spurred on by multiple, inadvertent eye-pokes. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, top UFC welterweight Jorge Masvidal shared the dramatic, negative effects of eye pokes, and why the rules surrounding inadvertent eye-pokes needs to change. “If you’ve ever been poked in the eye, man, it sucks,” he said. “It sucks in practice, and it sucks even more in the fight. Depending how hard you get poked, you can man up and keep going –I’ve done things like that – but your vision is off. One eye is swollen at the time. For some reason, you’re getting that blurred double vision, because one eye is at a different focus than the other eye that didn’t get poked. That takes time [to recover from]. That’s not like, oh a second later, because the doctor looked at it and you said you’re ok. We’re only saying we’re ok because we’re fighters.
Jorge Masvidal updates on long-discussed fight with Stephen Thompson
Tom Taylor - July 20, 2017
Several weeks ago, top UFC welterweights Jorge Masvidal and Stephen Thompson agreed to fight – once Thompson was all healed up from his recent surgery. On the latest edition of BJ Penn Radio, Jorge Masvidal updated on the status of this exciting scrap.
Rich Franklin gives his take on when aging fighters should retire
Tom Taylor - July 13, 2017
Over the last year or two, we’ve seen many aging legends of MMA return to the cage against younger, faster competition. The results of these fights have been varied, but the pre-fight outcries that the legend should be retiring instead of fighting are constant. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Rich Franklin – an MMA legend who has recently floated the possibility of a comeback – gave his take on when aging fighters should hang up the gloves. “I think you should hang ’em up when you get to a point where it’s detrimental to your wellbeing,” Franklin explained. “I used to speak to my coaches about that. My boxing coach, Rob, I used to be like ‘hey look man, you’re the most in tune with my speed and my reflexes and stuff like that. So let me know, be straight with me. If there comes a day where you’re like, ‘look bro, you’ve lost a step’, and it’s time to step down, tell me. We never had that conversation. Since I never had that conversation with a coach, in my mind, I still have what it takes to compete and do what I need to do. But every athlete is different. Some athletes, there body is more beat up, they’re a bit run down, they lose a step, their reflexes aren’t there. Whatever it may be, they’ve lost their chin… the list goes on and on. I think that each of those athletes needs to have somebody in their inner circle that can give an objective point of view and just be like ‘look man, it’s time.’ And they need to be able to listen to that person. But that’s on an athlete to athlete basis.”
Duane Ludwig opens the doors of his academy to all fighters
Tom Taylor - July 13, 2017
Until recently, Ludwig Martial Arts – the academy operated by UFC veteran and renowned MMA coach Duane Ludwig – was a fairly exclusive club. That is no longer the case. The gifted instructor has now opened his doors to all fighters, and is hoping they’ll come from far and wide to learn what he has to teach. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Coach Duane Ludwig (who is credited in large part for TJ Dillashaw’s evolution into a championship-level fighter) explained the choice to open his academy’s doors to all fighters.
Tyron Woodley training partner Ben Askren: I can't foresee a scenario in which Demian gets a takedown
Tom Taylor - July 13, 2017
On July 29, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will attempt to defend his title against Brazilian jiu jitsu wizard Demian Maia. To prepare for this difficult challenge, Woodley has been working with one of the best wrestlers in MMA, One Championship welterweight king Ben Askren. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Ben Askren broke down his recent work with Woodley.
Tyron Woodley: I have no problem taking Demian Maia down on my terms
Tom Taylor - July 6, 2017
This August 29, in the co-main event of UFC 214, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will attempt to defend his title for the third time opposite Brazilian jiu jitsu cognoscente Demian Maia. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Woodley gave his take on this matchup with the talented BJJ specialist, and how he plans to approach the challenge.
Tyron Woodley: "pound-for-pound, I'm the hardest punching fighter in the entire UFC"
Tom Taylor - July 6, 2017
UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley has knocked a lot of people out. He’s knocked even more people down, some of them multiple times in a single fight. Needless to say, the champ hits incredibly hard. If you ask Woodley himself, he’s probably the hardest hitter in the UFC, pound-for-pound – especially now that the brick-fisted Anthony “Rumble” Johnson has called it a career.
Tyron Woodley says there's no reason to feel bad about Demian Maia's short camp
Tom Taylor - July 6, 2017
On July 29, in the co-main event of UFC 214, UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will attempt to defend his title for a third time opposite Brazilian grappling wizard Demian Maia. Because this fight was just made official last week, there has been widespread speculation that Maia has been short-changed on time to prepare for this rapidly approaching challenge. According to Woodley, however, there’s no reason to feel bad for Maia.
Steven Ray explains why Conor McGregor stands "a better chance than most boxers" against Mayweather
Tom Taylor - June 29, 2017
On July 16, on the main card of the UFC’s second trip to Glasgow, Scotland’s own Steven Ray will step onto the canvas with Paul Felder in an effort to take another big step toward the lightweight title. That title, of course, is currently on hold, as the champion Conor McGregor is focused on a boxing match with undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. In advance of his fight in Glasgow, Ray made an appearance on BJ Penn Radio, and weighed in on this blockbuster Mayweather vs. McGregor fight. In his opinion, McGregor has a far better chance than people seem to think. In fact, he thinks the UFC champ has a better chance at cracking the Mayweather code than most boxers would.
BJ Penn: If you’re the GOAT because you walked away at the right time, then go f*ck yourself
Tom Taylor - June 25, 2017
In advance of his January comeback fight with Yair Rodriguez, many fight fans suggested BJ Penn would have been wiser to just call it a career. When he lost to Rodriguez, these cries for his retirment grew even louder, and they’ve continued to this day, when he’s just hours away another fight with Dennis Siver. According to Penn, however, true greats don’t just quit when the going gets tough. The real legends of MMA – like Anderson Silva – fight as long as they want to, and retire on their own terms.
Colby Covington details backstage encounter with "bitch" Rafael Dos Anjos, calls out Cerrone/Lawler winner
Tom Taylor - June 22, 2017
Shortly after his dominant decision defeat of Dong Hyun Kim in Singapore, rising welterweight Colby Covington re-upped on his previous callout of Rafael Dos Anjos. The American Top Team staple also made a clever, post-fight callout of Neil Magny. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, however, Covington explained that he doesn’t think either man wants to fight him.
BJ Penn looks back on Yair Rodriguez loss: why didn’t I just slam him on his head like Frankie Edgar?
Tom Taylor - June 22, 2017
Earlier this year, former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion and UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn made his long-awaited return to the Octagon. He did so against red hot featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez. Though Penn fought valiantly, this fight unfortunately didn’t go his way, as he was finished by a volley of second-round Rodriguez strikes.
BJ Penn explains what makes Dennis Siver such a dangerous opponent
Tom Taylor - June 22, 2017
This Sunday, on the main card of the UFC’s anticipated stop in Oklahoma City, our very own BJ Penn will return to the Octagon opposite dangerous German veteran Dennis Siver. In advance of this compelling scrap, Penn joined host Kinch on BJ Penn Radio to discuss Siver as an opponent. “I think he’s a great opponent,” Penn said of his Oklahoma City dance partner. “I think it’s a great matchup for me. Other people might not. I don’t know if Siver was watching my last fight [against Yair Rodriguez] and was like ‘oh we can capitalize here and there,’ but that’s on him. That’s his work he’s got to do. But I think he’s a great fighter. I’ve never really seen him be disrespectful to any opponents or anything like that. He’s just out there doing his thing.”
Ray Sefo goes in-depth on new Professional Fighters League: "It's a fighter's dream"
Tom Taylor - June 22, 2017
Earlier this year, we learned that the well-established MMA promotion World Series of Fighting was being rebranded as the Professional Fighters League (PFL). This rebranded organization will seek to revolutionize the MMA landscape by providing fighters with salaries, using tournaments to ensure title shots, and awarding tournament winners with a whopping million dollars. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, kickboxing legend and PFL boss Ray Sefo joined host Kinch to discuss this new initiative. “The team and I sat down, and the name was developed, and everybody agreed it was a good name, and it was that time” Sefo said of the rebranding process. “Change is always good. As long as it’s positive, it’s always good. Obviously the format, it makes it a professional fighters league where everybody has an opportunity to step up and fight regularly. Let me back up a little bit. Running a promotion, one of the things that you hear the most is that fighters are not active enough. The Professional Fighter’s League is going to provide that missing link in terms of fighters being active. Obviously for us, in 2018, it’s going to be 12 fighters per division. That’s going to change in 2019, it’s going to be 16 fighters per division moving forward. But the league is going to provide a lot of different things that fighters complain about [not getting]. Not fighting enough, not fighting for a world title, and not making enough money. The professional fighters league is going to provide all that and more. The team and I are very happy with the structure and the way we put it together.”
BJ Penn explains choice to reunite with Marinovich for Dennis Siver training
Tom Taylor - June 22, 2017
Ahead of his Sunday night Oklahoma City showdown with Dennis Siver, our own BJ Penn has been training with a familiar face in Gary Marinovich. Alongside his brother Marv, Marinovich helped Penn author his defeats of Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez – two of the most impressive wins of his career. On the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio, Penn broke down his choice to train with Marinovich in Hilo, rather than remaining with Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn in Albuquerque.