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Rivera On Potential Garbrandt Rematch: “I’ll Beat Him With One Eye, I Did It To His Coach Already”

Jimmie Rivera is the #6 ranked fighter in the UFC’s Bantamweight division. Last Tuesday Jimmie went to sleep ready to fight the companies #5 ranked Bantamweight Bryan Caraway at UFC Fight Night 103 at the Talking Stick Arena on the following Sunday. By the time he laid his head down the next night shit had hit the proverbial fan.

Rivera spent some time with Tim Thompson and Josh Stephens on this week’s episode of the MMANews Podcast powered by Pony Keg Sports and explained why he said what he said, did what he did, and what people need to know about the divisions most polarizing person right now. In typical Jersey fashion, he holds nothing back and lays into every top guy in the division. Explaining how no one in the division has anything for him and why he is the ONLY choice for Cody Garbrandt’s first title defense.

“…Then you got these 3 guys. Listen Cody beat Cruz. Cruz beat Dillashaw. What is there a trifecta? They want to do soap opera bullshit with Dillashaw and Cruz, I mean Dillashaw and Cody. ‘O their ex-teammates’. Nah man. Dillashaw he ain’t good. He punches like a girl. I already know. I sparred him already. If you don’t believe me, I got the footage, it’s in my phone. Then Cruz. Cruz had a hard fight against Faber. I walked through Faber. It only makes sense to fight Cody. That’s it. That’s what makes sense. Go in there and take the belt away from him. That’s it, because I’m the better fighter.”

Listen to the full interview below and you can contact the guys via e-mail at [email protected] and follow them on Twitter @PonyKegSports and @MMANews_Tim. Make sure to also follow Jimmie Rivera on twitter @JimmieRivera135 to see who the up and coming star will fight next.

“War Rhino” In The Cage, Family Man Outside Of It; Exclusive Interview With Shane Kruchten

Shane “War Rhino” Kruchten won his return to the cage last weekend at the World Series of Fighting New Years Eve show when he defeated Jeremy Mahon via Unanimous Decision. His first fight since March of 2014. Kruchten, a former U.S. Marine, took time off after his first loss in 7 years, to focus on becoming a complete Martial Artist and a great father full time father. In this interview prior to his fight Shane talks about his opponent, how he is living his dream life right now, and what life’s like being a professional fighter with a 2 year old daughter.

While many would think that a little girl may get nervous being in an MMA gym, Shane tells us how his daughter absolutely loves it. “…She rides me harder than my coaches do, believe it or not. She will be the first one to call me out and be like ‘Hey daddy, we going to go to the gym today?’ … she knows the difference between 24 Hours Fitness gym and my gym. She goes ‘I wanna go to the boys gym. I want to watch people punch.’ … She has no problem going to the gym. Everybody at 10th Planet San Diego is super friendly with kids.”

Listen to the full interview below and hear more from the Purple Heart recipient on finally being back in the cage after a long layoff and balancing being a dad with fighting. Also, make sure to follow Shane on twitter @SKRUCHTENMMA to find out what’s next for him in 2017.

The Strength Of The “Silverback”: Exclusive Interview With Ian Butler

On January 21st Ian “The Silverback” Butler (3-2) will step into the Bellator Cage for his 6th professional fight, seeking his 3rd straight victory. A huge card headlined by Chael Sonnen v.s. Tito Ortiz at the Forum in Inglewood, CA. With an opportunity to make a name for himself on a big stage, everything seems to be in line for the Missouri native. Training under one of the best coaches in the sport with Jason Parillo, living a clean lifestyle, and engaged to be married to his beautiful fiance of 3 years.

Butler talked with us about his love and passion for the sport of MMA, what he see’s coming for himself in 2017, and how meeting your hero’s isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. Butler has been sober since a near death experience 11 years ago and while he doesn’t have an issue with people who drink, he has seen how badly drugs and alcohol can affect a fighter first hand. “…Like I said, I’ve been around some other people in this sport, who I’m not going to name. That I’ve seen the bad in. There’s a saying out there that you should never meet your heroes. I met some MMA guys, that were my heroes, that got sloppy. I’m looking at them and saying ‘You use to be World Champion. What the hell is going on?’ Ya know?”

Listen to the whole interview below and find out everything you need to know about Ian Butler before his fight at Bellator on January 21st at the Forum in Inglewood, CA. Make sure to follow him on twitter @Silverback_mma to see everything coming up in2017.

“Bearjew” Has Next Opponent, Wants For Four More in 2017 (Exclusive Interview)

Scotland’s rising star Paul “Bearjew” Craig has been the talk of the Light Heavyweight division since finishing Luis Henrique Da Silva via submission in his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 22 in December. A performance that not only earned him fans all around the world, but also a Performance of the Night bonus.

Paul spent some time with Tim Thompson and Josh Stephens on this week’s episode of the MMANews Podcast powered by Pony Keg Sports and talked about still trying to come down from the high of his UFC debut, his life in Scotland now that he is a big star, and how many times we can expect to see him step into the Octagon in 2017.

Just today it was announced that Paul will be fighting Tyson Pedro on March 4th at UFC 209 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Paul gave the guys his plans for 2017, “…I want to be active. That’s why. I don’t have a long time left on my clock in regards to fighting. I want to go out of this sport with my mind in tact and my body the same. I want to do as much damage as I possibly can, so two fights before the UFC Glasgow (Scotland) is achievable and I would like it to happen…”

Make sure to listen to the full interview and the third episode of the MMANews Podcast powered by Pony Keg Sports below.

You can contact the guys via e-mail at [email protected] and follow them on Twitter @PonyKegSports and @MMANews_Tim. Make sure to also follow Paul on twitter @PCraigmma to find out the latest on his career.

Make sure to listen to the full interview and the third episode of the MMANews Podcast powered by Pony Keg Sports below.

Beating Decisions And Bad Haircuts: Exclusive Interview With Eli “Tomahawk” Tamez

In February of 2015 Eli “Tomahawk” Tamez had just beaten Saul Elizondo via split decision and was undefeated at 9-0. That was his 5th win in a row for Legacy Fighting Championships and the Texas native seemed to be on pace to become a name to know in the Bantamweight division. At least that’s what it looked like from the outside. Eli was growing frustrated with the amount of decisions he had been going to and decided he needed some time off to focus on himself and his skills. Now, nearly two year late, Tamez is ready to show how he’s grown when he takes on Ulyses Aguila at the inaugural Legacy Fighting Alliance show on January 13th. We had the chance to talk to Eli about the time off, the fight, being in camp with a newborn, and what it’s like being a hairstylist who also kicks ass.

Eli wanted to get back to the basics with some time off. ” I wanted to get back into training and loving it. I kinda wanted to feel that hunger to compete and fight again. Ya know, first things first I just needed to kind of hone in on certain skills and work on certain things, and ya. I kinda put that first.”

Now hungrier than ever, Tamez tries to get to 10-0 and earn a finish that he has been working so hard for. Watch Eli “Tomahawk” Tamez fight Saulk Elizondo at LFA 1 on January 13th live on AXS TV from the Bomb Factory in Dallas, TX.

“Beatdown” Brown On Dream Fights With Nate Diaz & Dangerous Kangaroo’s (Exclusive Interview)

Damien “Beatdown” Brown won his second consecutive UFC fight this past November with a split decision victory over Jon Tuck. A back and forth fight in which Brown showed his heart after getting dropped and busted open in the opening round. Brown spent some time with hosts Tim Thompson and Josh Stephens on the MMAnews Podcast powered by Pony Keg Sports to talk about that fight, when he wants to fight in 2017, his full-time job as a correctional officer, his dream match of fighting Nate Diaz, and his thoughts on the now infamous video of a man punching a kangaroo to save his dog.

If you were on the fence before, Brown is here to confirm that punching a Kangaroo is a terrible idea. “…Kangaroo’s are dangerous man, they will attack and tear humans apart. They are very dangerous…” and he added, “I probably wouldn’t be running up and punching kangaroo’s to be honest with ya.”

Brown also was asked about who his dream fight would be against. Without any hesitation, the answer was Nate Diaz. “Cuz he comes to fight… If a guy is going to come stand in the middle of the cage, talk, and wave his hands around and then start throwing down with ya. That’s exactly what I want…”

Make sure to listen to the full interview and the second episode of the MMAnews podcast powered by Pony Keg Sports below. You can contact the guys via e-mail at [email protected] and follow them on twitter @PonyKegSports and @MMANews_Tim. Make sure to also follow Damien on twitter @beatdown155 to find out who he will be fighting in 2017.