Exclusive MMA Interviews News

Tom Taylor - May 4, 2017

Shortly after his submission loss to light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 210, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson announced his plans to retire from mixed martial arts. Given that Rumble remained in the prime of his career, this news came as a definite surprise to pretty much everyone. On the latest edition of BJ Penn Radio, Rumble’s long-time teammate Michael Johnson weighed in on this surprising retirement from MMA.

Tom Taylor - May 4, 2017

The lightweight division is one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC. That said, things are a little chaotic in the division at the moment, as champ Conor McGregor is pursuing a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov has been sidelined with illness and religious obligations, and the fan favorite Nate Diaz has no plans to fight. On Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, dangerous lightweight contender Michael Johnson weighed in on the situation at lightweight – particularly on the absences of McGregor and Nurmagomedov.

Tom Taylor - May 4, 2017

On July 7, Canadian middleweight Elias Theodorou will face a tough test in Hawaii’s Brad Tavares. The two will meet at the finale of the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, in Las Vegas, Nevada. On the latest edition of BJ Penn Radio, Theodorou discussed this looming scrap with Tavares, and was quite complimentary of the Hawaiian’s skill and potential.

Tom Taylor - May 4, 2017

Back in May of 2012, long-time lightweight contender Michael Johnson scored an impressive decision defeat over the highly regarded Tony Ferguson. Almost five years later, when Ferguson found himself without an opponent after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s last-minute withdrawal from UFC 209, Johnson offered him a shot at revenge. Unfortunately, Ferguson was unwilling to accept this fight with the dangerous Johnson on such short notice, and ultimately went without a fight.

Chris Taylor - April 29, 2017

Eddie Alvarez reflects on title fight loss to Conor McGregor, plans on making a statement at UFC 211 Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will return to the octagon at May’s stacked UFC 211 pay-per-view fight card in Dallas, Texas against perennial division contender Dustin Poirier.

Chris Taylor - April 29, 2017

Rory MacDonald doesn’t believe it will be “a bad thing” if his fight with Paul Daley stays standing Former UFC welterweight title challenger Rory MacDonald will make his Bellator MMA debut at next month’s Bellator 179 event London, England when he squares off with knockout artist Paul Daley in the evenings main event.

Chris Taylor - April 29, 2017

Yair Rodriguez details his post-fight conversation with BJ Penn, expects “The Prodigy” to defeat Dennis Siver Surging UFC featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez will take on former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar on the main card of next month’s stacked UFC 211 pay-per-view card in Dallas, Texas.

Chris Taylor - April 29, 2017

Eddie Alvarez explains why he picked Dustin Poirier to fight at UFC 211 One of the most exciting fighters in the history of mixed martial arts, Eddie Alvarez, will return to the octagon at next month’s highly anticipated UFC 211 event in Dallas, Texas.

Chris Taylor - April 29, 2017

Eddie Alvarez is tired of “just winning”, plans to finish Dustin Poirier at UFC 211 Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez will return to the octagon at next month’s stacked UFC 211 pay-per-view event in Dallas, Texas where he will square off with Dustin Poirier.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

When Jimi Manuwa knocked out Corey Anderson in their March light heavyweight showdown, he established himself as one of the top contenders at light heavyweight. In fact, were it not for the looming return of former champion Jon Jones, Manuwa could well be looking at a shot at reigning champ Daniel Cormier right now. Given that Jones is likely to return to the cage to an immediate title shot against Cormier at UFC 214, however, Manuwa has confirmed to BJPenn.com that he’s got another fight in the works, and that he hopes it occurs on the same card as this Cormier-Jones fight. The reason Manuwa wants to be on this card is that it gives him the opportunity to replace either man, should one be forced to withdraw from the fight.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

Mike Perry entered mainstream MMA consciousness in a rather strange way. Though diehard fans had been aware of him for some time, his first steps into the limelight occurred at the UFC 202 weigh ins, when he faked a handshake with his opponent Hyun Gyu Lim, then pulled his hand away at the last minute, and screamed in Lim’s face. While this move certainly served to get the attention of the MMA community, it did so in a rather negative way, as Perry was immediately branded  by many as a bit of a hot-head.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

When Jimi Manuwa knocked out Corey Anderson in their March light heavyweight showdown, he established himself as one of the top contenders at light heavyweight. In fact, were it not for the looming return of former champion Jon Jones, Manuwa could well be looking at a shot at reigning champ Daniel Cormier right now. While Manuwa expects to have one more fight before he takes on the Cormier vs. Jones winner, he’s had plenty to say about both men over the last few weeks. Manuwa’s latest comments on these light heavyweight greats occurred on Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, when he discussed a possible showdown with Cormier.

Tom Taylor - April 27, 2017

Shortly after his destruction of Corey Anderson, which occurred in mid-March, British UFC light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa made a surprise call for a boxing match with fellow Londoner David Haye. On Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, Manuwa explained the reason for this callout.

Russell Ess - April 21, 2017

Bellator MMA has picked up a few of the UFC’s high-ranked fighters including former UFC welterweight challenger Rory MacDonald. MacDonald is set to make his Bellator MMA debut against knockout artist Paul Daley in Bellator 179’s main event on May 19 at the SSE Arena in London.

Tom Taylor - April 20, 2017

Having defended the welterweight title twice – albeit in two close fights with the same man – UFC welterweight titleholder Tyron Woodley is looking like he could emerge as a pretty dominant champion. We do, however, know that he can be beaten. Rory MacDonald was the most recent fighter to prove this. MacDonald beat Woodley in June of 2014, outworking him to a unanimous decision win. In the years since then, the two fighters have diverged on very different paths, with Woodley claiming UFC welterweight gold, and MacDonald departing from the UFC to set up shop under the Bellator MMA banner.

Tom Taylor - April 20, 2017

Though the UFC is the biggest and most popular mixed martial arts promotion in the world, it is often criticized for the way it treats its fighters. The promotion frequently catches flack for underpaying it’s athletes, and for its controversial outfitting deal with Reebok, which seems to pay fighters much less than they’d make if they pursued their own sponsorship. Lately, however, their seems to be cause for optimism on these fronts, as Bellator MMA is enjoying such a surge that it’s starting to look like legitimate competition for the UFC, and a legitimate alternative for unhappy UFC fighters.

Tom Taylor - April 20, 2017

Nate Quarry, who is a TUF veteran and former UFC middleweight title challenger, is involved in a class action lawsuit against the UFC, and stands out as one of the promotion’s most outspoken critics. One of the issues that gets the former fighter most fired up is the UFC’s outfitting deal with sports apparel giant Reebok, which pays fighters small sums to wear Reebok clothes in place of the sponsorship deals they would initially pursue themselves. At this stage, it’s been made quite clear that most fighters actually lost money as a result of this deal. According to Quarry, however, it’s worse than most of us can imagine. Quarry tore the UFC-Reebok deal to shreds on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio.

Tom Taylor - April 19, 2017

Last weekend, in the main event of the UFC’s trip to Kansas City, flyweight champ Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson made a 10th straight defense of his title, submitting BJJ blackbelt Wilson Reis with a third-round armbar. With this win, Johnson reminded the world why he is considered by many members of the MMA community to be the best fighter in the world. Even many of Johnson’s former opponents hold him in this esteem. Ian McCall, who fought Johnson twice, first battling him to a controversial draw, then losing to him by decision, is absolutely of this opinion. He explained his reasoning on the latest episode of BJ Penn Radio. Yes,” McCall said plainly when asked if he considered Johnson the best fighter alive. “Yeah he is, because in my opinion he’s the best at each [facet of MMA].”