UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich has reflected on his participation in the January 6 protest rally at the Capitol, an experience he says resulted in him losing his job.
January 6, 2021 is a day that will forever be marked in American history. On that day, over 10,000 protestors congregated outside the US Capitol in protest of the 2020 United States Presidential Election results. However, there are wildly varying interpretations of what the precise purpose of the protest was and whether the participants were “terrorists” or “patriots.”
Evan Vucci/AP Photo
The use of either label on the protesters is likely to draw strong reactions that are equal parts confused and angry from the opposing viewpoint, but the inaugural UFC welterweight champion Pat Miletich is confident about who and what he saw from the majority of people who were alongside him at the rally.
“That day in Washington D.C., I went there,” Miletich told ABC WQAD8. “I went there and all the people I talked to, which were people of all walks of life…All they were talking about was election integrity and freedom…The thing that actually motivated me to go was thinking about my children’s freedoms…
“There was no talk of violence. It was a love fest.”
Once a large portion of the protestors began storming the Capitol, that is when Miletich says he realized this was no longer the same event he was originally participating in.
“When that took place, myself and my friends all looked at each other and said, nope, it’s too obvious. The optics don’t look good,” he said.
When Miletich’s attendance at the protest became public, there was strong backlash, which he said contributed to the loss of his job working with an MMA promotion.
“Suddenly there was an uproar that I had been responsible for some sort of domestic terrorism and a supporter of white supremacy, which is a joke…” Miletich said. “I did nothing but show up and express my First Amendment rights.”
Pat Miletich can be found in the center, second from the left. The man to the far right is flashing what has been determined by multiple sources to be a symbol for “White Power,” a determination that is often contested.
There were reports last year of Legacy Fighting Alliance distancing itself from Miletich as a color commentator prior to an event, but the promotion was not directly mentioned by Miletich in this recent interview.
Many people who were active participants of the riot portion of the protest have faced stiffer penalties, including jail time. Among them is ex-MMA fighter Scott “Wildman” Fairlamb, who was sentenced to 41 months for assaulting a police officer during the riot.
Looking back, Miletich stands by his participation in the non-violent portion of the protest because he feels it was the exercising of his rights as an American in the fight for something bigger and that he hopes will impact future generations.
“To me, that’s what’s most important,” Miletich said. “What kind of world are we going to leave our children…
“We’ve got serious problems on our hands if citizens can’t come together and understand who the real enemy is, the problems are never going to be solved,” Miletich said.
No specifics were provided regarding who the precise enemy is or the world Miletich is fearful of that contributed to his attendance of the protest and is thus open for interpretation. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research from various sources to learn more about the Jan. 6 Capitol protest and the ideologies associated with it.
Miletich still works as a freelancer in sports broadcasting and also teaches self-defense classes in addition to training military members and law enforcement officers.
Miletich retired with an MMA record of 29-7-2 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest welterweights in UFC history. As champion, Miletich had four successful title defenses and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2014. His last professional bout was in 2008 in a victory over Thomas Denny.
MMA News had the chance to catch up with Pat Miletich last year, where the Hall of Famer discussed a wide array of topics. You can view that interview below.
MMA Fighter Miroslav Štrbák is currently in stable condition after suffering a heart attack during training.
In a recent interview with the portal sport.sk, Štrbák’s manager revealed that the Polish MMA fighter fainted during training and had to be revived. Fortunately, the timely intervention was enough to restore Štrbák’s heart rate.
“I can confirm the intervention of the rescuers we sent yesterday to help the unconscious man. After treatment, he was taken to one of the Bratislava hospitals,” said Alena Krčová, a spokeswoman for the Health Service Operations Center in Bratislava.
“Miro is currently in stable condition at the hospital. We all hope it comes out without consequences,” his manager said.
Prior to this scare, there were no signs of danger or health risks for Štrbák. He had been doing construction work throughout the week prior to his heart attack during training.
Štrbák is well-known among Polish MMA fans. He has been competing as a professional since 2011 and has a record of 19-10.
In his most recent bout, Štrbák picked up a split-decision victory over Karol Rysavy at Oktagon MMA’s Oktagon 21 event on January 30 of last year. You can watch that contest below.
Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling Face-Off, Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
It was revealed Wednesday that Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan will finally have their long-awaited rematch after their controversial first bout at UFC 259 last February. Sterling won the bantamweight championship after Yan landed an illegal knee in what was the most controversial endings to any fight, let alone title fight, in UFC history.
The trash talk has never stopped since that fight, which means it has been ongoing for the past 11 months. As recently as this week, Sterling doubled down on his belief that Yan uses performance-enhancing drugs, and Yan has continued to fire back at Sterling on social media.
But now that their rematch is set, what did the rest of social media have to say about the sequel being official? You can get the raw reactions from The Pulse of MMA down below!
I hope Sterling somehow manages to win this just so it pisses off all the trolls who've been sending him over the top abuse
My ideal outcome would be a Sterling performance impressive enough to be an exciting resurgence putting him right back in the mix while Yan stays the king of BW violence. Either way, excited as hell for the fight and for this chapter to get closure because the jokes are so old.
Aljamain has had time to rest and recover, he’s undoubtedly learnt from his mistakes. He comes from a great camp and he will be much better prepared this time. Yan by Murder
With all due disrespect, Yan vs Sterling 1 was more competitive than most of us remember. So let’s not underestimate the paper champ. Yan admitted that he felt off and didn’t follow the game plan and kinda wanted to prove a point with dominating in the wrestling game.
WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury and UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou have never been more interested in fighting one another.
If Francis Ngannou fails to come to terms with the UFC, it appears he has a big boxing matchup ahead of him once he becomes a free agent. Ngannou and the UFC are in the middle of tense contract negotiations, with Ngannou’s current deal with the promotion set to expire after his upcoming unification bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. If Ngannou loses, he will be a free agent. If he wins, White recently stated that Ngannou would be contractually obligated to fight with the promotion again.
Ngannou has recently stated that in order for him to re-sign with the UFC, he must be granted the freedom to box. When mentioning potential opponents, Fury was among the names “The Predator” listed as being on his radar.
“Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder. I would like to test myself to that level,” Ngannou said during an interview with TMZ Sports. “It’s not the same sport, although I’m the champion, I’m in the top in this division. At the end of the day, it’s just about like trained hands, trained punches, having a good delivery system to produce bombs, and I’m sure that if I deliver my own punch, it’s pretty good, I can make some damage.”
Fury’s Response Sets Off Trash-Talking Twitter Exchange With Ngannou
Image Credit: John McCoy/Getty Images
Thursday, Tyson Fury took to Twitter to get a very early jump start on promoting the very hypothetical matchup.
“How about MMA rules with boxing gloves? I can do you that favor,” Ngannou wrote.
you want to come in to my world calling me & wilder out to a boxing match. what i can guarantee you would be knocked out & also paid your highest purse to be so! so have a think 🤔 https://t.co/JtOgcydYCJ
“you want to come in to my world calling me & wilder out to a boxing match. what i can guarantee you would be knocked out & also paid your highest purse to be so! so have a think,” Fury said in his latest retort.
After I handle business on Jan. 22 I'll fight you under any special rule set you want. In a ring, an octagon or a phone booth. https://t.co/twRhBnFwwH
“After I handle business on Jan. 22 I’ll fight you under any special rule set you want. In a ring, an octagon or a phone booth,” Ngannou assured.
Today isn’t the first time Fury expressed interest in boxing Ngannou with MMA gloves. Last summer, prior to Tyson Fury’s victory over Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight, “The Gypsy King” went back-and-forth with Ngannou in the media in a similar fashion as they did today. Speaking to Michael Bisping for BT Sport, Fury said that he’d have a boxing match with Ngannou inside a cage with MMA gloves on (via MMA.uno).
“Yeah, I would fight one of those guys, I would fight Ngannou with the little gloves on in a cage, but no grappling and all that, just boxing. Cage boxing. That will be good, right? I would fight these guys, but you know it’s a totally different sport. It is like cricket and tennis. They both have bats or rackets but it is something totally different. If I fight Ngannou in a wrestling match, I am not a fighter, so they are going to take me to the ground like James Toney and they are going to tear me to pieces.”
MMA News will keep you posted if there is any progress made on this fight ever becoming a reality or if these two behemoths continue to trade barbs on Twitter.
Who do you think would win in a boxing match with MMA gloves between Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury?
The Pulse of MMA: Fan Reactions To The Sport’s Biggest Stories
In this installment of The Pulse of MMA, we look at the raw, unfiltered reactions from MMA fans to the booking of Alex Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway III.
Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway (Image Credit: Louis Grasse/PxImages & Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Yesterday, we learned that Alex Volkanovski will be tasked with beating Max Holloway for the third time when the two meet at UFC 272.
The first time Volkanovski defeated Holloway was in 2019 at UFC 245. Volkanovski was able to win a relatively comfortable decision to capture the featherweight title in Las Vegas, Nevada, three years ago.
The rematch, however, would come with quite a bit of controversy, with many (arguably most) scoring the UFC 251 rematch in favor of the former champ, Max Holloway. Nevertheless, as they say, there are only three opinions that matter, and those were swayed in the direction of the Australian.
Since that loss, Holloway has earned another crack at Volkanovski with back-to-back Fight of the Night-winning victories, first over Calvin Kattar followed by a win over Yair Rodríguez.
So what did The Pulse of MMA have to say after this trilogy bout was announced? Find out down below!
Max won both those fights. I’m surprised Volk is getting a 3rd fight
Likely. Max hurt volk in rd 1 and 2, yet despite having the superior chin and cardio he couldn’t convincingly win another rd against a “point fighter who only has weak leg kicks”. Idk how his fans ignore this and just preach that max was robbed.
This fight is A LOT of pressure on Max! If he loses a 3rd time, he’ll have to move up or hope Volk loses. The fight makes sense, though, Max didn’t get an immediate rematch this time. He beat two tough contenders and EARNED it
Sean Strickland’s actions are every bit as untamed as his words based on newly leaked footage from a sparring session turned black.
The lights that were shut off were from the poor fellow who found himself on the wrong end of a barrage from the #7-ranked middleweight. In an eight-second clip that was leaked on social media Wednesday, Strickland can be seen going full-go in a sparring session against an overwhelmed partner who would soon be rendered unconscious after a perfectly placed head kick. Peep it out down below.
This is not the first time Strickland has been seen in viral training footage. Last year, a video was leaked that captured the middleweight losing his cool with grappling partner Orlando Sanchez.
Indeed, there never seems to be a dull, pedestrian moment whenever Sean Strickland is on the scene. And as far as his unordinary sparring sessions are concerned, even when there isn’t leaked footage, there are still stories to tell.
Just yesterday, we ran a story where Strickland gave a brief summary of what it feels like to be sparring the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion himself, Francis Ngannou.
“You know, I would like to think that I fucked Francis up, but I really think that he’s very nice… He’s a good dude, man. I was actually sparring him the other day and I told Francis, ‘You’ve never experienced this in your life, but when I spar you and you’re throwing punches at me, like, I genuinely have fear. You’ve probably never felt that in your life.’ But Francis is a great guy. He throws hard, I trust him not to hurt me. Anytime he fucking wants to bang, dude, I welcome it.”
When he’s not allowing Ngannou to “bang” with him, he instead occupies his time by banging sparring partners’ domes with flush head kicks into la-la land. Hopefully, the gentleman on the wrong end of Strickland’s onslaught will not suffer any long-term, lingering effects from his knockout experience.
Strickland’s intense preparation is being put to use leading up to his February bout against #5-ranked Jack Hermansson. With a victory, that would make six straight for Strickland, not counting the KO dub he just earned on his poor sparring partner in the above video.
Would you be open to a sparring session against UFC wildman Sean Strickland?
Dana White’s accusation against Jake Paul for steroid usage was dealt a blow Wednesday when it was revealed that the YouTuber once again tested negative for banned substances.
Last month, Jake Paul landed a kill shot on his rivalry with Tyron Woodley when he KO’d “The Chosen One” in the sixth round of their rematch. Though his hand was raised after sleeping T-Wood, he still was battling accusations of steroid abuse, including from arch-nemesis Dana White.
White implied that Paul uses steroids in his recent retort to the YouTuber’s request to fight UFC-contracted stars. Instead of granting Paul his blessing, White instead threw the following proposal at him.
“I got a challenge for Jake Paul. This guy keeps saying that I’m a cokehead. He can randomly cocaine test me for the next 10 years if I can randomly steroid test him for the next two,” White said in an appearance on “The FIGHT with Teddy Atlas.”
When Paul responded with a counteroffer, calling on White to increase pay and benefits to UFC fighters, White was more direct with his accusation.
“Jake, you never responded to the challenge. You publicly stated that I use cocaine. I do not. So I told you you could randomly cocaine test me for the next 10 years. I believe that you’re a cheater, and I believe that you use steroids. So I want to randomly steroid test you for the next two years.”
Of course, Paul has denied any steroid usage with only his own testimony, but now The Sun has reported that his post-fight test results following his rematch with Woodley came back negative. This report was released the same day Paul dropped the following tweet that challenged the logic behind White’s accusation.
Dana White claimed my fights are fixed and THEN claimed I’m on steroids… So I’m on steroids to win fights that are already fixed for me to win? Sounds logical…
“Dana White claimed my fights are fixed and THEN claimed I’m on steroids… So I’m on steroids to win fights that are already fixed for me to win? Sounds logical…”
Jake Paul has never failed a drug test thus far in his young career, nor has he suffered a defeat in the boxing ring. His next opponent is yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, today is the final day for Dana White to accept Paul’s proposal that would see him retire from boxing if White agrees to his terms to improve the promotion’s pay and benefits of its fighters.
Happy New Year, fight fans! To kick off our 20th anniversary, we will be rolling out the MMA News Top 100 UFC fighters of 2021 throughout the month of January as voted on by our panel.
This list is NOT solely based on fights and performances of 2021. Being active in 2021 is what QUALIFIES one to make the list. Instead of only considering performances of the year, we are taking a holistic look at who is the better overall fighter exiting 2021 based on our selected criteria. A full explanation of the criteria can be found below.
1: Career Trajectory/Recent Performances (50%)
Where are the fighters trending right now? How much evidence-backed momentum do they have?
2: Career Success/Body of Work (25%)
Championships, wins, résumé, etc.
3: Likelihood To Be The Betting Favorite In Any Fight In 2021 (25%)
This was determined using past betting history, betting lines during 2021, and the projected odds moving forward as determined by the panel. This category is being used to get a gauge of the talent level the public feels the fighter is/was at.
Be sure to keep checking back right here at MMANews.com for frequent updates to this list throughout the month of January as we continue to update this list! You can view Part 1 here and Part 2 down below, beginning with #90!
#90: Daniel Rodriguez
Daniel Rodriguez. Credit: UFC.com
Reasoning Behind Ranking: With three victories in 2021, if this list were strictly about the year each fighter had, a case could be made that Rodriguez could crack the top 25 of our list, maybe higher. But even based on our criteria in this list, #90 is a conservative placement for Rodriguez, who is 6-1 in the UFC overall to go along with his flawless 2021 record. So why isn’t he ranked higher?
The win that most stands out for Rodriguez is his unanimous decision victory over Kevin Lee last August. However, Lee was very unproven and arguably undersized at welterweight. And other victories over Preston Parsons and Mike Perry (name recognition aside) weren’t notable enough to give him a higher placement or even a place in the UFC rankings, which loosely relates to his career trajectory. Rodriguez also lost to unranked veteran Nicolas Dalby via unanimous decision just last year.
Heading Into 2022: There is no denying that D-Rod will be pulling up to the entrance of 2022 with heavy momentum strapped to his back. And if he can replicate his 2021 success against some more proven and consistent welterweight competition, then not only will he keep earning more cash, but he’ll prove that being denied a spot in the UFC rankings and a higher spot in the MMA News year-end rankings just don’t make sense.
#89: Mackenzie Dern
Mackenzie Dern
Reasoning Behind Ranking: The numbers prove that Mackenzie Dern is one of the most respected fighters in the strawweight division. Dern is yet to be a betting underdog in any fight and has been as high as a -530 favorite during her UFC run. This respect helps her in category #3, which factors in how she is viewed by the public. Though she lost her most recent fight to Marina Rodriguez, it was a Fight of the Night-winning performance, and she has won four of her last five fights.
In terms of résumé, Dern has been able to win 7 of her 11 victories by submission, including three Performance of the Night wins in the UFC.
Heading Into 2022: Dern will be looking to execute more righteous submissions and take home more limbs as she steps into the new year. Dern is currently ranked #5 in the strawweight division and #14 in the UFC’s women’s pound-for-pound rankings.
#88: Nassourdine Imavov
Nassourdine Imavov, Image Credit: UFC.com
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Landing a spot in the Top 100 over names like Tony Ferguson, Cody Garbrandt, and Darren Till isn’t bad at all for a 25-year-old, but it’s been earned by Nassourdine Imavov with his last two performances, which saw this UFC gladiator turned Russian Sniper mercilessly execute Ian Heinisch and Edmen Shahbazyan.
In fact, Imavov is the only person to ever finish Henisch, who has proven to be one of the most durable fighters at middleweight. Both Heinisch and Shahbazyan have been ranked in the past, and these victories in addition to the fact that 9 of Imavov’s 11 wins being finishes speaks to his current career trajectory. Imavov did suffer one loss on the year, however, to Phil Hawes in a majority decision loss in February.
Heading Into 2022: Nassourdine Imavov enters the year ranked #12 in the middleweight division. Maybe after his last two performances, the betting odds will give him more separation from his opponents than he’s had in the lines thus far. And maybe this Russian will continue to earn respect with more finishes to come and a potential higher MMA News ranking in our 2022 list.
#87: Sean O’Malley
Sean O’Malley (Image Credit: Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Reasoning Behind Ranking: “The Sugar Show” arrives at #87 on our list in what was a very tricky placement. On one hand, O’Malley’s recent performances are top-50 worthy, and he has never appeared overmatched throughout the course of an entire fight. His 15-1 record’s only glitch came from an ending that was arguably a matter of circumstance more than Marlon Vera’s intentional precision.
The biggest factor that puts O’Malley here is that he’s earned 12 of his 15 wins by finish, including five of his seven UFC victories.
O’Malley went 3-0 in 2021 with all three wins by KO/TKO.
Heading Into 2022: The question on everyone’s mind is: How will O’Malley stand up to tougher competition? It’s one of the most exciting questions entering the year for MMA fans as a whole. We shall certainly find out. In the meantime, O’Malley is ranked #12 at bantamweight, and his highly anticipated next opponent has not yet been uncloaked.
#86: Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Although Ilia Topuria is currently on the outskirts of the UFC’s featherweight rankings, he was previously ranked in 2021 and is 3-0 in the promotion with a flawless 11-0 career record overall.
Additionally, Topuria holds a victory over one of the most feared men in his division, grappling standout Ryan Hall. In that contest, Topuria was able to act as both the bull and the Matador when roping in a knockout of Hall in what was the American’s first loss in the UFC.
The primary reason Topuria is not ranked higher is because of his low sum total of fights. However, his well-rounded skillset has earned him respect from the oddsmakers, and there is major room for ascension for Topuria in next year’s list.
Heading Into 2022: Topuria has his first fight of the year booked when he takes on fellow prospect Movsar Evloev at UFC 270, where someone’s 0 will have to go. A victory here will most likely bring Topuria back into the UFC rankings and possibly even score him a top-10 opponent after that.
#85: Dan Hooker
Dan Hooker (Image Credit: Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Dan Hooker could have very easily missed this year’s list altogether. Instead, he finds himself ranked over accomplished names like Tyron Woodley and Tony Ferguson and over prospects like Sean O’Malley and Ilia Topuria. The difference between being unlisted and his #86 spot comes down to the fact that Hooker did pick up a win in 2021 unlike the proven names. As for the prospects and the others, how many names beneath him would be expected to fare any better against Islam Makhachev or Dustin Poirier?
Hooker’s résumé is somewhat underrated, as the New Zealander holds wins over Paul Felder, Al Iaquinta, Jim Miller, and perhaps the biggest reason why he’s ranked where he is: a TKO win over someone placed much higher on this list: Gilbert Burns.
That said, it’s no mystery why he isn’t ranked higher. Hooker has lost three of his last four fights, two of which coming by first-round stoppage, first to Michael Chandler, then to Makhachev.
Heading Into 2022: Hooker’s current ranking at #8 in arguably the deepst division in the UFC (lightweight) adds further validity to his placement at #85 on our list. The New Zealander will now be returning to featherweight, however, where he’ll look to drop down and resume his Hangman ways.
#84: Michael Chiesa
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Michael Chiesa is the first person on our list who won a main event in 2021. That victory came over someone who will appear later, Neil Magny, and it was arguably the most impressive performance of Chiesa’s career. That along with the three prior welterweight victories earned by Chiesa, including over former UFC champion Rafael dos Anjos, is what earned “Maverick” this placement.
Of course, this credentialed grappler would be forced to release his initial strangehold of the welterweight division after back-to-back losses against Vicente Luque and Sean Brady. This is what prevented the #10-ranked welterweight from a higher position.
Heading Into 2022: Overall, Michael Chiesa has still been successful at welterweight with a UFC record of 4-2 in the division. At one point last year, his name was floated around as a potential opponent for Kamaru Usman. He’ll have some work to do in 2022 if that convo is to be brought back up again anytime soon.
#83: Amanda Ribas
Amanda Ribas
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Despite her setback to #3-ranked strawweight Marina Rodriguez, Amanda Ribas’ career trajectory remains one of the most promising at 115. Her record in the promotion is 5-1, including a victory over our #89-ranked fighter, Mackenzie Dern, and she has some effective striking to match her elite ground game. In her most recent contest, Ribas defeated the current 11-ranked strawweight Virna Jandiroba via unanimous decision.
More than anything, it’s the impressive skill set that Ribas contains along with some evidence-backed results that land her at #83, and she remains one of the brightest prospects in the promotion, similar to Sean O’Malley who also has one recent defeat. In Ribas’ case, however, she holds two wins over ranked opponents.
Heading Into 2022: Amanda Ribas enters the year ranked #9 in the division. If you eat, sleep, and drink positive energy the way Amanda Ribas does, it should be easy to remind yourself that you were up one dominant round prior to your lone loss inside the Octagon against Marina Rodriguez. If she can clean up some defensive deficiencies while remaining at her aggressive, high-energy best, it’s easy to imagine Ribas being a top-5 strawweight by year’s end or firmly in the title picture.
#82: Tai Tuivasa
Tai Tuivasa
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Tai Tuivasa went from the prospect list to the chopping block and now to the edge of the heavyweight top 10. Purely based on 2021 performance, Tai Tuivasa could be placed within the top 20 of our list. He went 3-0 on the year with all three wins by KO, including one over a ranked opponent in Augusto Sakai.
His previous setbacks against arguably his toughest opponents prevent Tuivasa from being higher than #82. However, the new-and-improved “Bam Bam” has now changed his recipe by fighting with some more control mixed in with the usual chaos. And as a result, he’s added some scary spice to the UFC’s heavyweight division.
12 of Tuivasa’s 13 career wins are by knockout, and this heavyweight sleeper may be a mind-numbing barbiturate for his opponents, but he continues to lift fans out of their seats with one knockout banger after another.
Heading Into 2022: If Tai Tuivasa can match his 2021 success in 2022, there’s going to be a lot more shooeys, a lot more partying, and a lot more respect in next year’s MMA News rankings. Make sure you follow this big, bad man from the walkout to the beer-laden exit, as every second that he’s on screen is unpredictable and must-see.
#81: Jairzinho Rozenstruik
Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Jairzinho Rozenstruik’s placement over Tai Tuivasa is a strong example of why our list is not dependent solely on the year’s performances. Tuivasa went 3-0 in 2021 while Rozenstruik went 1-2. However, those two losses came against Curtis Blaydes (#4) and Ciryl Gane (#1), two men who would assuredly be strongly flavored over Tuivasa. And the one victory on the year for Rozenstruik came over Augusto Sakai in a TKO victory that predated Tuivasa’s win over him. Furthermore, Tuivasa’s other 2021 wins over Greg Hardy and Harry Hunsucker were against opponents Rozenstruik would also be expected to beat.
Because of his increasingly tentative style as of late, it’s easy to forget that Rozenstruik’s UFC résumé includes KO victories over three former UFC heavyweight champions. In fact, each of Rozenstruik’s six promotional wins have been by KO/TKO. That’s because whenever Bigi Boy unleashes and allows his hands to go psycho, his opponents are the ones who typically end up sedated.
Heading Into 2022: Rozenstruik remains ranked comfortably within the division’s top 10 at #7 and snuggly in the MMA News year-end rankings at #81. He is in an interesting spot in the heavyweight division at the moment. Coming off a lopsided loss to Curtis Blaydes and alternating wins and losses in his last five fights, Rozenstruik will more than likely be facing someone ranked beneath him in his next fight…perhaps against the aforementioned Tai Tuivasa to settle who is the better fighter and deserving of the higher MMA News ranking!
Stay tuned to find out who is next on the MMA News Top 100 Fighters Of 2021 in Part 3!You can view Part 1 here
Mike Perry and Julian Lane will be settling their beef at the February 19 Knucklemania event in Hollywood, Florida.
Tuesday, MMA reporter Chris Taylor first broke the news of this upcoming scrap, and it has since been confirmed by multiple sources. This announcement comes after Lane was unwilling to take no for an answer after challenging Perry to a fight earlier this year.
How This Odd Pairing Came Together
In October, Mike Perry announced that he would be joining the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship ranks. Here’s some of what Perry had to say in the official press release that announced his arrival:
“I will dismantle the opposition and reach the glory I have longed for my entire life. I will be crowned king of the streets and king of combat sports! They will make me a Platinum Crown and carry me on the bloody backs of my defeated rivals! I am here to go straight to the top and make anyone think twice about entering my world! BKFC is my world!”
Within hours of this announcement, former Ultimate Fighter contest Julian Lane, aka the ‘Let me bang, bro’ guy of MMA lore, volunteered to be the first man to “oppose” Perry in the BKFC. Unfortunately, Lane’s desire to bang was rebuffed, just like long times.
At BKFC Tampa last month, Perry made an appearance to do some commentary. However, he was being harassed by Lane, who was throwing material at Perry from the audience. This led to Perry exiting the commentating table to confront him.
UFC middleweight Marvin Vettori has invited Jake Paul to a private sparring session.
Jake Paul has made no secret of his preference to face MMA fighters throughout his boxing career. Two of his viral KOs came against former champions of the sport in Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. He has also set his sights on potential boxing matches against Jorge Masvidal, Nate Diaz, and Kamaru Usman, among others.
One name that isn’t on the list but would like to box Paul is “The Italian Dream” Marvin Vettori. Tuesday, Vettori posted the following challenge to Paul with a video attached of his colleagues discussing the potential session.
Hei Fake Paul @jakepaul let’s set up a sparring. I’ll match any bet you want. You claim anybody, anytime, anywhere but you won’t go further then 6 rounds I promise you that. Put your nuts on the table, I wanna feel if you can really box.#FakePaul#theitaliandreampic.twitter.com/0FBuSzAGu2
“Hei Fake Paul @jakepaul let’s set up a sparring. I’ll match any bet you want. You claim anybody, anytime, anywhere but you won’t go further then 6 rounds I promise you that. Put your nuts on the table, I wanna feel if you can really box.”
Ironically, it was just last year that Vettori blasted the media for its ongoing coverage of Paul. Yet, surely the outspoken middleweight must know that such a challenge, with Paul’s name directly attached to it, would receive wide attention and go viral.
In any event, Vettori is not the only person to express an eagerness to spar Jake Paul. In the case of Claressa Shields, not only did she invite Paul to spar with her, she even proposed putting up $100,000 in a winner-take-all encounter. The YouTuber never responded to the “GWOAT’s” challenge, nor has he responded to Vettori’s as of this writing.
Paul most recently knocked out Tyron Woodley in their rematch on December 18 to advance his boxing record to 5-0. Marvin Vettori last competed in October with a unanimous decision victory over Paulo Costa.
Who do you think would win in a boxing match between Jake Paul and Marvin Vettori?
Happy New Year, fight fans! To kick off our 20th anniversary, we will be rolling out the MMA News Top 100 UFC fighters of 2021 throughout the month of January as voted on by our panel.
This list is NOT solely based on fights and performances of 2021. Being active in 2021 is what QUALIFIES one to make the list. Instead of only considering performances of the year, we are taking a holistic look at who is the better overall fighter exiting 2021 based on our selected criteria. A full explanation of the criteria can be found below.
1: Career Trajectory/Recent Performances (50%)
Where are the fighters trending right now? How much evidence-backed momentum do they have?
2: Career Success/Body of Work (25%)
Championships, wins, résumé, etc.
3: Likelihood To Be The Betting Favorite In Any Fight In 2021 (25%)
This was determined using past betting history, betting lines during 2021, and the projected odds moving forward as determined by the panel. This category is being used to get a gauge of the talent level the public feels the fighter is/was at.
Be sure to keep checking back right here at MMANews.com for frequent updates to this list throughout the month of January as we continue to update this list!
#100: Erin Blanchfield
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Reasoning Behind Ranking: With a Cold-Blooded performance over Miranda Maverick and five straight wins overall, the career trajectory category was the strongest reason behind her placement in the top 100.
Heading into 2022: At only 22 years old, Erin Blanchfield is arguably the biggest prospect at flyweight and perhaps all of the UFC’s women’s divisions, not just for the year ahead but for far beyond. Sitting at #100, the stage is set for Blanchfield to continue marching straight ahead with ice in her veins before possibly making the biggest jump of any fighter from this year’s placement to the next.
#99: Casey O’Neill
Casey O’Neill
Reasoning Behind Ranking: “King” Casey O’Neill has big plans to rule the fight game, and after going 3-0 in 2021 with three finishes, the 24-year-old may be well on her way. With a composure far beyond her years, O’Neill seems to welcome the pressure without folding a single crease and has been a blueprint of what a true MMA prospect looks like.
Heading Into 2022: O’Neill (#15) is in no hurry to rise up the ranks and is taking it one step at a time. Her next fight is scheduled against Roxanne Modafferi on February 12.
#98: Jack Shore
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Undefeated after 15 professional fights and a 4-0 UFC record, Jack Shore looks like he has it all. Former UFC champion Michael Bisping has compared Shore to Georges St-Pierre himself, which is some high praise coming from a high place. At 26 years old, we’ve only caught a whiff of Shore’s potential, so his number could be much higher in the 2022 MMA News rankings.
Heading Into 2022: Shore was originally slated to face fellow undefeated fighter Umar Nurmagomedov in his first bout of 2022 but will now be tasked with another Russian, Timur Valiev. This will be a stiff test for Shore, as he looks to shift his hype train into a Supersonic helicopter.
#97: Tyron Woodley
Image Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Reasoning Behind Ranking: As will often be the case in these rankings, body of work and résumé plays a role in ranking position over prospects still on the rise, not only because they are more proven but because if they were placed against similar competition as most prospects, someone like Tyron Woodley would still be expected to win despite his decline.
However, that decline is very real and noticeable, with “The Chosen One” losing four consecutive bouts, not counting the Paul boxing losses. This losing streak and rapid fall from grace are why the former champion only barely made the list.
Heading Into 2022: Tyron Woodley may or may not compete in MMA this year, but he has expressed an interest to do so and to have an active 2022. And even if it does not and cannot come against Jake Paul, Woodley will no doubt be entering the new year with Revenge on his mind.
#96: Lerone Murphy
Lerone Murphy, Getty Images
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Lerone Murphy is undefeated and has maintained his flawless record after four UFC fights against some stiff competition. In 2020, Murphy earned Performance of the Night with his TKO win over formerly ranked featherweight Ricardo Ramos. In 2021, he defeated proven veteran Douglas Silva de Andrade as well as earned a KO win over Makwan Amirkhani.
Heading Into 2022: Thus far, Murphy has given no indication that he will be denied heading into 2022. He is likely one win away from finding himself in the featherweight rankings and could very well be deep in the top 10 by the end of the year and earn himself a much higher place on next year’s MMA News Top 100 list!
#95: Sodiq Yusuff
Sodiq Yusuff, Image: James Elsby-USA TODAY Sports
Reasoning Behind Ranking: “Super” Sodiq Yusuff has a UFC record of 4-1, with the one loss coming against a fighter in Arnold Allen who has not lost in eight years. In two of his four UFC wins, Yusuff displayed just how much power this one man has.
With his measured approach and calculated cruelty, the 28-year-old Yusuff has proven to be one of the top prospects at featherweight.
Heading Into 2022: Yusuff enters the year ranked #12 at featherweight. There are currently rumblings that Yusuff will be making his first Octagon appearance of the year against “Bruce Leeroy” Alex Caceres.
#94: Cody Garbrandt
Cody Garbrandt (Image Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Reasoning Behind Ranking: While it is no secret that Cody Garbrandt has had his share of struggles as of late, there is also no denying that he’s made a big noise during his seven-year UFC run. This includes becoming bantamweight champion after a career-defining victory over arguably the greatest bantamweight of all time, Dominick Cruz.
Additionally, Garbrandt was able to make the cut due to his most recent victory being only two fights ago in a devastating KO over Raphael Assuncao that won him performance of the night. Garbrandt also made the list due to him being the betting favorite in two of his last three fights (category #3).
Heading Into 2022: Entering 2022, Garbrandt has lost five of his last six fights, which definitely makes his placement on the list up for debate. However, Garbrandt is always one win or KO away from showing that it’s not too late for this 30-year-old to recapture his glory days. And if he has it this way, that KO will come against “Suga” Sean O’Malley.
#93: Pedro Munhoz
Pedro Munhoz vs. Cody Garbrandt, UFC 235
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Pedro Munhoz remains a top-10 bantamweight in the UFC, but he only falls at #94 due to the Brazilian losing two consecutive fights via unanimous decision (José Aldo, Dominick Cruz) and losing four of his last fight fights.
However, Munhoz does have a victory this year over Jimmie Rivera in what was a Fight of the Night winner. He also holds an impressive KO victory over our #94-ranked fighter, former champion Cody Garbrandt on his résumé as well as a win over another fighter who will appear later in these rankings, Rob Font.
Heading Into 2022: Coming off a loss to Dominick Cruz at UFC 269 to end 2021, the 35-year-old Munhoz will fight to keep his spot in the bantamweight top 10 and prove that he’s still a Young Punisher who is ready to start killin’ ’em again. There is currently no word yet on who the first man in that potential murder lineup will be.
#92: Darren Till
Darren Till, Image Credit: 2018 Alex Livesey – Zuffa LLC
Reasoning Behind Ranking: Darren Till has lost four of his last five fights and narrowly made the top 100 due to holding two wins over other fighters ranked on this list and his likelihood to be the betting favorite in 2021 compared to others. Additionally, Till has a very high unlikelihood to ever be a heavy underdog due to his technical fighting style, which often has opponents fighting at his pace.
If you need another reason for Till making the list at #92, one need only look at the night he gave former champion and pound-for-pound ranked Robert Whittaker all he can handle just one fight ago, taking two rounds on all three of the judges’ scorecard. Not many fighters have the ability to do that or the potential for greatness that still remain within this 29-year-old.
It’s also worth remembering that Till has only fought the best of the best over the past three years, which leaves him more open to setbacks than many prospects who’ve seen more recent success but against lower competition.
Heading Into 2022: Darren Till enters the year still ranked as the #8 middleweight in the UFC. His next fight remains unclear at this time, but there have been informal talks of a potential fight against Uriah Hall.
#91: Tony Ferguson
Tony Ferguson
Reasoning Behind Ranking: It wasn’t too long ago that a #91 placement for Tony Ferguson would seem blasphemous. Today, after suffering three bad losses in a row, the ranking will likely warrant some explanation and be considered too high by some readers.
Tony Ferguson’s recent struggles are clearly behind the low ranking, but how did Ferguson make the list at all? Well, in category #2, which factors in career body of work and résumé, Ferguson remains tied for the most consecutive victories in lightweight history. In terms of category #3, which factors in respect from bettors and oddsmakers, Ferguson was a betting favorite against current champion Charles Oliveira in December 2020, and he was only a +130 underdog against #3-ranked Beneil Dariush in his most recent fight.
Finally, in terms of the most heavily weighted category of recent performances, while it’s true Ferguson’s defeats were one-sided, they came against the current champion, the current #1 contender (Justin Gaethje), and the current #3 contender (Beneil Dariush).
Furthermore, a strong case can be made that Ferguson’s fight against Gaethje was more competitive than the prevailing narrative would have you believe. After all, Gaethje may very well have been saved by the bell after a devastating uppercut to close out the second round.
Heading Into 2022: Tony Ferguson is still ranked at #7 in one of the deepest divisions in the UFC despite his recent struggles. Far from considering retirement, El Cucuy is eying a potential bout against Michael Chandler to kick off 2022 and get back in the win column to prove that the Boogeyman’s party has just begun.
Stay tuned to find out who is next on the MMA News Top 100 Fighters Of 2021 in Part 2!
MMA fighter Radek Roušal was recently barred from competing in Czech organization Oktagon MMA due to his visible neo-Nazi tattoos.
Roušal was scheduled to make his MMA debut against Nikolas Krivák in a last-minute booking, but the bout was called off when officials noticed a depiction of Adolf Hitler tattooed on Roušal’s right hand. Additionally, Roušal had a tattoo of an SS (Schutzstaffel) officer, which was a corps of political soldiers of the Nazi party.
Oktagon MMA promoter Ondřej Novotný addressed his reaction when he observed Roušal’s controversial body art.
“This doesn’t exist for you come up to us and look like this,” Novotný told idnes.cz. “We have it in the contract, we could give him a fine. Even on the chest, he has (apparently the cap of an SS officer, the skull could also refer to the Death Skull Unit of the SS organization responsible for managing the extermination camps). Whatsoever!… We didn’t study what it looked like, nor did the photographers and cameramen notice. No one had talked about it before… We didn’t know about it, certainly not.”
Roušal & His Team Share Their Side Of The Story
Roušal did not deny the presence of neo-Nazi tattoos on his person, but he chalked it up to bad decisions made during a naive, desperate, and vulnerable stage of his life.
“I grew up in a problematic community of people that gave rise to this tattoo,” he explained. “At that time, I did not know what to do with life, I was young and this tattoo was stupid. Later, I started doing martial arts, which led me to a completely different life and view of the world. I have more tattoos that I regret, I’ll gradually re-tattoo them all.”
Novotný rejected this explanation when it was told to him directly from Roušal.
“He explained it to me,” adds Novotný. “I told him he was crazy. I’m not a tattoo expert, but how long can it take to re-tattoo this? Two days? It’s nice that he basically distanced himself from it, I trust him and I’m able to understand everything, but this is not and it can be done faster.”
Roušal’s gym Muay Thai Brno also issued a statement on the matter, which addressed the matter of having the tattoos removed.
“Radek and I have been dealing with the situation and the tattoo removal, which, according to his words, originated years ago in youthful indiscretion, has been ordered for a long time with a deadline for January. However, the offer for the match came at the last minute, before its removal.
“Our gym is unequivocally against manifestations of any racial or other discrimination and intolerance. We meet people of all nationalities and skin colors, we cooperate with various non-profit organizations, including those dedicated to working with minorities. At the same time, we also lend a helping hand to those who can learn from their mistakes and mistakes.”
Roušal remains 0-0 as an MMA fighter and is 0-1 as a kickboxer. His tale shares similarities with the story of UFC flyweight Andrea Lee’s ex-coach and estranged husband, Donny Aaron, who also has neo-Nazi tattoos.
At the time, Lee defended Aaron’s character in the middle of the controversy; yet, Aaron stated that he would not get the tattoos removed. Lee and Aaron are no longer together after Aaron was charged with domestic battery abuse against Lee.
Joanna Jędrzejczyk claims she could be fighting for the world title next if she wanted, but she has no intentions of sitting out for the required wait time.
Former UFC strawweight queen Joanna Jędrzejczyk has not competed since March 2020 in her Fight of the Year-qualifying war against Zhang Weili. Zhang barely squeaked out a split-decision victory and went on to battle Rose Namajunas in back-to-back title fights that saw Zhang come up short both times.
Meanwhile, Jędrzejczyk has been inactive since this classic struggle, waiting for the most suitable moment to make her long-awaited return. First, Jędrzejczyk expressed that she was not interested in competing while there were still no fans allowed in arenas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She then voiced discontent with her current UFC contract, even though company president Dana White used her as an example of fighter wealth present on the company roster.
Joanna Jędrzejczyk Claims She Could Fight For Title In November/December
TORONTO, ON – DECEMBER 8: Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland enters the ring prior to her fight against Valentina Shevchenko of Kyrgyzstan in a flyweight bout during the UFC 231 event at Scotiabank Arena on December 8, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
Last November, Jędrzejczyk did name three potential names for her return fight, however. She expressed interest in facing either the winner or loser of the Namajunas/Zhang rematch at UFC 268 or Carla Esparza. With Esparza now being pegged as next in line for Namajunas, that leaves Zhang.
Jędrzejczyk acknowledges this as her most likely next fight but also claimed that she could be fighting for the world title in the fourth quarter of 2022 if she so chose (via BBC Sport).
“I thought it might be Carla Esparza, but it’s been confirmed she is next to fight for the championship,” Jędrzejczyk told Polish TV show Kanal Sportowy recently. There was also [Maria] Rodriguez, but she fights [Xiaonan] Yan in March so that leaves Weili.
“I don’t see any other fight. [UFC president] Dana [White] made me an offer to fight for the championship, but I would have to wait until November [or] December and I don’t want to wait. I want to fight.”
Due to her inactivity, Jędrzejczyk is currently no longer in the strawweight rankings. She has lost two of her last three fights and four out of her last six. She also holds two title-fight losses to current champion Rose Namajunas.
What are your thoughts on Joanna Jędrzejczyk’s claim that she was offered to fight for the title at the end of 2022?
Julia Rose, girlfriend of Jake Paul, has lashed out at a fan for suggesting the YouTuber “fight a boxer.”
Jake Paul is rounding the new year with a joyous victory lap after knocking out Tyron Woodley last month. Since picking up that win, Paul has continued his crusade of MMA talent, looking to fight other fighters such as Nate Diaz, Kamaru Usman, and Jorge Masvidal.
These call-outs haven’t helped the narrative of Paul cherry-picking non-boxers as his opponents, with MMA fighters being considered easy targets by some. People who have pointed this out include UFC President Dana White, mainstream sports personalities like Stephen A. Smith, and of course, fans across the world.
In the comments section of a recent Instagram post by Julia Rose, one particular fan offered a way for Paul to kill this narrative: by fighting a real boxer. This led to the gentleman getting cursed out by the YouTuber’s girlfriend.
“@jakepaul fight a boxer,” the fan said with a laughing crying emoji attached.
“@jordyn_gutierrez10 please shut the fuck up respectfully. He tried to fight a boxer and that ‘boxer’ was a fucking pussy. You fight a fucking boxer,” Rose snapped back.
The boxer Rose is referring to is Tommy Fury, who was the original opponent lined up to meet Paul on December 18. Rose herself took part in the fight’s promotion, offering to mud-wrestle Fury’s girlfriend leading up to the event. However, it was all for naught, as Fury withdrew from the bout due to rib issues, prompting Woodley to step in on short notice.
Fury himself has questioned why Paul is still calling out MMA fighters, and he seems willing to rebook their fight. There is no word yet on if that will happen, but you can add that to the many 2022 Jake Paul storylines that await us.
After taking down over 300 pounds, DJ Varela now eyes his next venture of becoming a professional MMA fighter.
During an episode of the Truly webseries Brand New Me, Varela documents his journey from once being over 500 pounds to now being fit to begin MMA training after a drastic weight loss.
Varela was not always overweight. In high school, he was very active in sports and lived a healthy lifestyle. However, when he began working as a nightclub promoter at 24, he began to live more excessively, including constant snacking and heavy drinking. Before he knew it, he tipped the scales at over 500 pounds.
He then decided to join a gym and work with a personal trainer. In what serves as a source of inspiration for those beginning their New Year’s resolutions, Varela lost over 300 pounds over the course of 18 months (via MensHealth.com).
“My workout routine has evolved throughout the years,” Varela said. “In the beginning, it was mainly based off of strength training, now it’s moreso based on technique and being more functional… Being an MMA fighter has been a dream of mine since my weight loss journey.”
As any fighter will tell you, a key ingredient to being a successful mixed martial artist is confidence. Once lacking in that area, Varela’s hard work and commitment have now instilled the self-belief he always envisioned for himself and that he hopes will translate inside the cage.
“When I look in the mirror now, I see the person I always visualized,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the future as far as making sure my body, my mind and spirit can be where they need to be to compete as a mixed martial artist. I’m going to continue to evolve and become more and strengthen up my body. The first way out is in, so look inward to the answer that you need, once you find that answer, go from there.”
You can watch Varela tell his journey in his own words as well as catch a glimpse into his early MMA training in the video below.
The following article was published on this day two years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Two Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 2, 2020, 10:52 PM]
HEADLINE: Justin Gaethje Responds to Dana White’s Accusations
After taking the time to ponder who and what Dana White was referring to when he stated he has been turning down fights, Justin Gaethje has come up with some answers as well as a response to the UFC President’s accusations.
Despite the fact that Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje were both available and right next to one another in the rankings, the UFC decided to go with Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone in an unofficial, one-sided #1 contender fight in the direction of Conor McGregor instead of a McGregor/Gaethje pairing. What’s more, even though the fight is taking place at 170 lbs, McGregor would leapfrog Justin Gaethje for a lightweight title shot if he gets past Cerrone.
Dana White explained this by obtusely stating that Justin Gaethje “knows what’s going on.” More recently, Dana White became more specific, stating that Gaethje has been turning down fights. After catching wind of Dana White’s remarks and racking his brain, Gaethje has drawn a conclusion for what White is referring to.
“I’ve been trying to figure out what he’s talking about,” Gaethje said on a recent appearance on MMA Tonight. “I know when he did that interview not too long ago when he kept saying, ‘Justin Gaethje knows what’s going on, he knows what’s happening,” I literally had no idea what he was talking about. So it was pretty crazy.
“But I was just thinking about it with my dad, talking about it with my dad, and I’m pretty sure it was…they offered me Tony Ferguson when Tony Ferguson fought Cowboy in June. And they were looking for a replacement for that fight in May, in the beginning of May. And I told them that wasn’t enough time, but if they pushed it back a little bit farther, I would take that fight.
“Then, they asked if I wanted to fight Tony on the Abu Dhabi card, and I said yes, and (Ferguson) said no,” Gaethje continued. And so I took the Cowboy fight just after that. And then just recently, I believe he offered me Charles Oliveira in Brazil or Dan Hooker in New Zealand all while the champion did not have a fight and McGregor was coming back and still looking for a fight. As far as I know, that’s what the deal is. I don’t know.”
Justin Gaethje would then theorize that Dana White’s decision to make the McGregor/Cerrone fight is a result of White answering to powers that be even higher than himself. He believes that White is not intentionally trying to damage Gaethje’s name or lob personal attacks against him but is simply following orders to put McGregor in a position to rematch Khabib Nurmagomedov as soon as possible.
Justin Gaethje still has no opponent lined up and is relegated to watching both UFC 246 and UFC 249 from the sidelines at the moment. In his most recent bout, he knocked out Donald Cerrone in the first round at UFC Vancouver, only to watch Donald Cerrone go on to headline UFC 246 opposite Conor McGregor in a little over two weeks from now.
What are your
thoughts on Justin Gaethje’s response to Dana White’s accusations?
With over an hour of conversation, naturally, any other random topic is liable to come up. Such was the case when O’Malley was asked if he has ever had to get violent with a fan or civilian.
According to the rising star, the closest thing to it is when a stranger challenged him to a spar and wound up…well, you read it.
“He didn’t believe that I was a fighter. Tim [Welch] worked at this UFC gym, so they had a ring, and we brought him over there, not in like a mean way, he wanted to fight me, not fight, he wanted to spar. I fucking kicked him in the body and he shit all over the mat. Literally shit all over the mat. But we didn’t know, we kept going, kept fighting; I stepped in it, stepped in his shit. It was horrible.
“I step in it, we finish the round, and then Tim was like, ‘There’s shit,’ and we thought it was by dog, ’cause we recorded the video. I wish we still had it, dude. It was probably seven or eight years ago… In the video you can see, we thought it was my dog, my little dog was there, so I ended up cleaning it up because I thought it was my dog. We watched the video back; you can see the shit come out of his shorts… That was the only time anyone ever kind of wanted to fight me and didn’t believe that I was a fighter.”
We recently ran a story about Khabib Nurmagomedov having a mildly similar incident, where he was prepared to fight an overzealous fan who wouldn’t take no for an answer when requesting a photo. Luckily for the fan and for our readers, there was no violence or feces involved in that incident.
Years have passed since this stomach-turning sparring session, and O’Malley is now a 27-year-old superstar in the making. By the end of the year, O’Malley may find himself with more random incidents with strangers, whether in a gym, at Walmart, or anywhere else the “Suga Show” rolls through.
But most of all, fans are always eager to see The Suga Show featured in an actual MMA fight, which includes a full clean-up crew ready to assist whenever their duties are needed.
On this day five years ago, the MMA world was still eager to see a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. In this article, Khabib does everything in his power to make the fight happen before it was ultimately booked as an interim lightweight title bout at UFC 209, which he had to pull out from due to weight-cutting complications.
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Five Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 2, 2017, 4:59 PM]
HEADLINE: Khabib Nurmagomedov Willing To Pay Tony Ferguson to Fight
Author: Adam Haynes
Khabib Nurmagomedov took to social media this morning to offer Tony Ferguson a cash incentive to fight.
Conor McGregor may be the lightweight champion of the world, but there is a strong case to suggest that no one is more deserved of a title shot than “The Eagle”. Nurmagomedov is currently the #1-ranked lightweight in the UFC, and intends to secure a showdown with “The Notorious” by ensuring a clear path is made to a bout with the Irishman.
A much-anticipated bout between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson hit the skids last week after it emerged that Dana White had called it off on the grounds of a dispute over pay from the American’s camp. White is reluctant to negotiate on a contract that has recently been signed by Ferguson, suggesting that “El Cucuy” should honor the existing terms of their agreement. White [via Fox Sports] insisted:
“We were trying to make that fight — Tony said he will not do that fight unless he makes the same exact money that Khabib makes. Khabib has a different deal. That ain’t happening. Count that out.”
“He has a contract that he just signed, not long ago. I honor every contract no matter what it is. I get into some (expletive) deals, too. You’ve got a guy who’s making tons of money but he was a champion, but that was the deal I cut. I cut that deal and I signed it and I’ve got to live with my deal.”
Hey @TonyFergusonXT if the @ufc don't want to pay you I'll pay you 200k extra on your purse let's make this fight now you have no excuse
Nurmagomedov has handled this latest setback accordingly, offering $200,000 dollars to Ferguson from his own pocket. It appears that Russia’s premier UFC star will not entertain the idea of fighting anyone else other than Ferguson, going as far as suggesting that he is being kept from reaching the top via clandestine politics by the UFC top-brass. “The Eagle” took to Instagram recently to confirm that his sights are firmly set on the 155lb throne:
“This message to UFC — it is clear to everyone that you hiding Conor from me. But stop lying to your fans like I don’t want fight with Aldo, I’m ready to fight with anyone in my division. Give me relevant fight, so you won’t be able to hide the belt from me after. But not the fight, where people say after my victory: he is too small, Khabib too big for him etc”.
While there are many fights out there for the sambo-expert, not many can deny his credentials as a worthy challenger to McGregor. With the Dubliner having all but confirmed his temporary hiatus from the octagon for the foreseeable future, Nurmagomedov knows that he must remain active and solidify his status as the next man in line for a title shot. A victory against Tony Ferguson will surely stake his claim for a “red panty night”, and propel him closer to the fight which many believe is long overdue.
On this day five years ago, the MMA world was eager to see a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. In this article, Ferguson discussed where things stood on his end before the fight was ultimately booked as an interim lightweight title bout at UFC 209, which Nurmagomedov had to pull out from due to weight-cutting complications.
The following article is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Five Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 2, 2017, 6:13 PM]
Headline: Tony Ferguson: ‘I’ve Outperformed my UFC Contract’
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans have been clamoring for a lightweight clash between no. 1 ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov and no. 2 ranked Tony Ferguson. The negotiations hit a snag and both men played the blame game. “The Eagle” claimed Ferguson wouldn’t sign on for a March bout, while “El Cucuy” said Nurmagomedov turned down a fight for January.
Ferguson appeared on The MMA Hour and made it clear he has no love for Nurmagomedov:
“I think everybody needs to realize that the gloves are still off. I don’t like this guy [Nurmagomedov]. I think my style of fighting is so much better than his. I’m not even gonna get into numbers, but my numbers speak for themselves as far as finishing people and I’ve got nine consecutive victories. I’m just a much better fighter than this dude.”
Both men are vying for a shot at Conor McGregor’s title and feel these deserve a shot. While they both agree on wanting better contracts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), “El Cucuy” wants it to be known that they aren’t buddies.
“I don’t talk to the guy. I’m not his best friend. We took a picture just so I could size the guy up. We’re gonna fight, that’s what it is. The things have to be right, they have to be on good terms.”
Ferguson said he was ready to compete against Nurmagomedov in January, that obviously isn’t going to happen. “El Cucuy” explained what went down.
“When he didn’t want to sign on the dotted line because he had too many boo-boos or he didn’t want to do it in my hometown, I was like whatever I’m gonna take a little break and see what’s up.”
There’s been lot of talk about Ferguson’s contract with the UFC. “El Cucuy” wants more money but UFC President Dana White wants him to honor the contract he signed “not too long ago.” Ferguson believes his work has exceeded the current terms.
“I have a contract, but I’ve outperformed that contract. I want equal terms, I want to be compensated for this particular bout. The UFC has a long history of changing a fighter’s compensation for a particular bout. We’ve just seen this for UFC 207 with Ronda. I got a phone call saying, ‘hey you made weight with jeans on’ and it wasn’t even a ceremonial weigh-in. I got an earful on it.”
Three years ago, Jon Jones defeated Alexander Gustafsson to once again become the UFC light heavyweight champion. As you’ll find out in the following article, it wasn’t all laughter and celebration for him after his victory, however. Jones did not take kindly to post-fight questions regarding past drug test issues.
The following story is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 2, 2019, 10:59 AM]
Headline: Michael Bisping Says Jon Jones Wasn’t Pleased With FOX Sports Interview
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Michael Bisping says Jon Jones wasn’t too happy with him and FOX Sports higher-ups following UFC 232.
Jones emerged victorious at UFC 232. He took on Alexander Gustafsson for the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship. “Bones” won the bout via third-round knockout. When Jones was interviewed by the FOX Sports panel, there was some tension, and “Bones” even apologized on air for being a bit fired up.
Bisping Reveals Jones’ Off-Air Rant
Bisping recently took to his “Believe You Me” podcast and claimed that Jones was none too pleased during the commercial break:
“On the weigh-in show, we had to interview Jon Jones. And of course every time we do this, we at FOX Studios obviously is a well-polished machine. It’s not like Believe You Me, everything is planned with a fine-tooth comb. It’s proper TV, so they have to know, the producers, what questions are gonna be asked. So they tell us what questions to ask, they give us on little printed out cards.
“The only thing is, I don’t care asking difficult questions. And I asked Jon Jones some questions, which apparently he didn’t like. After the fight, we interviewed him again and when we were on commercial break he was talking f*cking sh*t to whoever the powers that be were at FOX. ‘That motherf*cker Michael Bisping gonna be asking questions again with that dumb sh*t.’”
The questions Bisping asked were related to Jones’ past drug testing issues. Jones hasn’t taken too kindly to PED-related questions and even apologized to a journalist after he blasted her for one of those questions.
Do you think Jon Jones is mishandling PED-related questions, or is he right to be upset?
In a past interview, Floyd Mayweather Sr. admitted that his son would get destroyed in MMA.
In 2008, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the pound-for-pound boxing king. And at the time, there were rumors floating around that he was flirting with the idea of entering into the MMA fighting world. Mayweather Sr. did not pull any punches when addressing this topic in an interview with FightHype.com.
“All of this he talking about right now, this martial arts shit, I’m telling you, he about to get broke the fuck up right now,” Mayweather Sr. said. “I’m telling you, he could forget all of that stuff being cute and how you supposed to hit somebody with a check hook. Man, them motherfucker’s going to take that check hook motherfucker and squeeze your guts out. I’m just being real with you man.”
Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas of USA TODAY Sports
Nearly 10 years after these quotes were made, Mayweather teased an MMA fight with Conor McGregor during the MayMac fight promotion. That never happened, and the only crossover to take place was from MMA to boxing, with McGregor leading the charge for others to follow or attempt to follow.
Mayweather retired from the sport of boxing with a professional record of 50-0. The final win on that record came against McGregor himself. Had Mayweather decided to fight in MMA, his father believed that combat sports record wouldn’t have been flawless anymore.
“If he ever want to take a motherfuckin’ loss, you bout to take one right now motherfucker,” Mayweather Sr. said. “Go ahead and try that. One of them motherfuckers grab you and bing, bing…hit the floor twice motherfucker and it’s over with.”
“Lil Floyd about to get his ass tore up man. He ain’t about to whoop them motherfuckers. He can forget that shit!”
Mayweather Sr. would continue having a field day at the thought of his son competing in MMA, essentially roasting the very thought of Floyd Mayweather the MMA fighter.
“Man, let me tell you something, they don’t even need a referee for this shit right here. They ain’t going to need a referee because he’s going to tap his own self out if he’s able,” Mayweather Sr. continued.
“They going to break his fucking limbs. One of them motherfuckers hit him upside his fucking head and he may never be the same. I’m just telling the truth.”
“He ain’t got to worry about retiring. When they get through with his ass, he will be retired. He will be retired fucking with them motherfuckers. They would love to fight him. This ain’t no fucking boxing; ain’t none of these motherfuckers scared of his ass. I’ll fight one of them motherfuckers if they just want to throw their guards up.
“I’m old and I’ll beat they ass, but when they start talking about that going to the ground, elbows and knees and all of that, man fuck that shit. I ain’t about to go in there. Them motherfuckers dangerous man. One thing about it, them guys can take a fucking punch man. Those guys will laugh at Lil Floyd when he hit them.”
How do you think Floyd Mayweather Jr. would have fared in MMA? Do you think it would have been as bad as Mayweather Sr. thought it would be in 2008?
Jake Paul and Dana White have entered the new year by picking up their feud right where it left off in 2021.
Days ago, Dana White made Jake Paul the following proposal: He would agree to get randomly tested for cocaine over the next 10 years if Paul agreed to get randomly tested for steroids over the next two years. This came after White shot down Paul’s request to box Jorge Masvidal or other UFC-contracted fighters such as Nate Diaz and Kamaru Usman.
As expected, Paul released a response to Dana White as he always does when White mentions his name. Paul expressed that he is not only willing to be drug tested, but he is attempting to resolve the fighter pay issue he’s been advocating for over the past year.
You can view Paul’s counterproposal below.
Happy new year @danawhite. Here is a real challenge for you…
I will immediately retire from boxing and fight Jorge Masvidal in the UFC if you agree to: pic.twitter.com/bJScDVITvL
Paul requested that the minimum pay per fight gets increased to $50,000, that fighters receive 50% of annual revenues, and that fighters receive long-term health care after retirement.
Paul went on to provide a deadline of five days for Dana White to accept his proposal and that the above conditions must be implemented by March 31, 2022, at which point Paul would retire from boxing, enter USADA, and fight Jorge Masvidal in the UFC. Paul then closed by encouraging UFC fighters to stand up for themselves to make a change in the UFC fighter pay structure.
Dana White & Jake Paul Accuse One Another Of Challenge Dodging
After Paul’s challenge was posted, Dana White released the following video response.
“Jake, you never responded to the challenge. You publicly stated that I use cocaine. I do not. So I told you you could randomly cocaine test me for the next 10 years. I believe that you’re a cheater, and I believe that you use steroids. So I want to randomly steroid test you for the next two years.
“And that thing that you came out with today, nobody on Earth thinks that you really wrote that. You’re too stupid. And for those of you that don’t know, if you’ve ever watched one of his fights and you see when they do the staredown, the guy that’s standing in the middle with the warlock nose and the big warlock wart on his face— apparently, that’s his manager. And that guy used to be an accountant for me. And let’s just say this: He no longer works for me, and I think he’s a scumbag.
“But if you two think that you can do it better than we do, we’re doing this whole thing wrong, you can treat the fighters better than we do, knock yourself out. Go start your own business. It’s easy to do. Get the warlock on it! The warlock can get it started for ya.
“What you and the warlock should be focused on is your business. You’re tanking. You can’t sell pay-per-views. Yeah, you’re calling out Jorge Masvidal ’cause he’s a pay-per-view superstar…Nate Diaz, Conor McGregor, Mike Tyson: These are all superstars. You’re not. You can’t sell pay-per-views. So you do whatever the hell you want to do. I’m ready to roll, buddy. I don’t use cocaine. Do you use steroids? Let’s do this, Jake.”
Early Sunday morning, Jake Paul would release the following video in response, where he also accused White of dodging the challenge put forth.
In sum, Jake Paul continued to double down on Dana White’s alleged cocaine use while roasting him in general, he expressed that his willingness to be USADA tested as part of his proposal covers White’s steroid-test challenge, and he denied using steroids. Paul also continued to criticize White for his treatment of fighters and claimed to be a bigger draw than Jorge Masvidal, using his mother’s Instagram activity compared to Masvidal’s as an example.
All in all, it appears we are at an impasse. It doesn’t appear as though Paul would like to be drug tested unless White meets his terms in restructuring the UFC’s business model as it specifically pertains to the treatment and pay of its fighters. Meanwhile, White says Paul should start his own fight business if he believes he can do it better and is calling on the YouTuber to stop avoiding his original proposal.
Ironically, White has claimed that Paul already wanted to sign with the UFC in the past but was rejected. That further supports the likelihood that the only interactions that will be done between White and Paul will be on social media and in the media as a whole.
Should there be any additional responses from Paul or White, we’ll be sure to bring you the dirt right here on MMANews.com.
What do you make of Jake Paul’s proposal to Dana White?
Ciryl Gane has never allowed himself to be affected by racism.
Ciryl Gane is something of a renaissance man. He is a superb technical fighter and interim UFC champion only three years into his professional career; he has gone on record in stating he is a terrific basketball player and soccer player who was recruited by scouts as a potential professional; and as it turns out, “Bon Gamin” is also something of an intellectual.
In a recent appearance on Clique TV, Gane was asked directly if he had experienced racism. You can find his response in the video clip below.
Don't let yourself get angered by people and things that are not worth it.
In the video, Gane states that he has experienced racism, but he never lets it affect him because it is merely a form of foolishness. Furthermore, he has had no desire to become violent when faced with racism due to violence serving no purpose against such foolishness.
Indeed, racism is a mindless, immortal beast that is born from foolishness and can be found anywhere. In fact, at the most recent UFC event, welterweight Belal Muhammad spoke about an experience with a racist fan during his UFC Vegas 45 bout against Stephen Thompson.
Instead of worrying about fools from the past or any others that may emerge in the future, Gane has more meaningful issues to concern his wits with and certainly more significant matters to fight about. He will do just that when he faces UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a few weeks at UFC 270 live on pay-per-view.
Do you think Ciryl Gane’s response to racism is something others should look to follow?
McGregor is currently expected to return this year following leg surgery, but that may not be until sometime in the summer. That leaves Chandler with a wide potential gap between opponents, with his most recent fight being the November classic against Justin Gaethje at UFC 268.
However, according to Tony Ferguson, Chandler has already agreed to fight against him. So when Chandler once again began lobbying on social media for a fight against McGregor in McGregor’s return, Ferguson decided to interject.
There’s My Bitch!!! @MikeChandlerMMA The Brass @danawhite@ufc Relayed Your Message Saying You Would Be Ready For Me April/June. Looks Like Your Trying To Delay That Ass-Whoopin’ I Owe Ya For Cutting In Line Kid- It’s Wrestling Season MF, Man Up- Champ pic.twitter.com/Er26dEMDx6
“There’s My Bitch!!! @MikeChandlerMMA The Brass @danawhite@ufc Relayed Your Message Saying You Would Be Ready For Me April/June. Looks Like Your Trying To Delay That Ass-Whoopin’ I Owe Ya For Cutting In Line Kid- It’s Wrestling Season MF, Man Up- Champ,” Ferguson wrote.
Chandler would then issue the following response soon after.
Oh Tony. There’s only a handful of guys in this game I truly respect…you’re one of them. Only because of your tenure, not your stature or your current presence in the division. I’ll beat you from bell to bell. Pray for a merciful ref. We shall see if this fight happens.
“Oh Tony. There’s only a handful of guys in this game I truly respect…you’re one of them. Only because of your tenure, not your stature or your current presence in the division. I’ll beat you from bell to bell. Pray for a merciful ref. We shall see if this fight happens.”
Why Ferguson vs. Chandler Next Makes Sense
Tony Ferguson, Michael Chandler
Last month, Ferguson claimed that he had received the El Cucuy signal, thus hinting that his next opponent had been determined. Now, it looks as though Ferguson may have been referring to Michael Chandler.
This bout would come with a backstory, as it was Ferguson who famously coined the phrase “Dana White Privilege” in reference to Chandler “skipping the line” to a title shot due to being in White’s good graces. Chandler would go on to lose that title fight against Charles Oliveira at UFC 262.
Both fighters are currently on skids, with Chandler dropping two straight and Ferguson losing three in a row. Between that fact and their placement in the lightweight rankings being only two spots apart, there is certainly some logic behind the potential fight.
MMA News will keep you updated on if there is any legitimacy to this fight pairing and, if so, when and where it will take place.
Would you be interested in seeing Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson in 2022?
It’s now been one decade since Brock Lesnar retired in the Octagon after losing to Alistair Overeem at UFC 141.
In a rare UFC pay-per-view main event that did not feature a world title on the line, Brock Lesnar made his return after a long struggle with diverticulitis to face Alistair Overeem in The Reem’s promotional debut. After a perfectly placed liver kick, Lesnar crumbled to the canvas, and Overeem was quick to follow up with some strikes to complete the academic ending.
After the fight, a fan in attendance captured Lesnar’s Octagon interview in which he vowed not to fight again.
With rumors swirling following Brock Lesnar’s retirement at UFC 141 that he would likely make a return to the WWE at some point in 2012, it wasn’t shocking that UFC President Dana White was questioned about where Lesnar stood with the company following the announcement.
“When you retire, he retires under contract. I have no idea (how long the contract is). Listen, I’ve had my moments with Brock Lesnar but I’ve had a great relationship with him and we’ll figure it out, no big deal. Never had a situation with a guy where we haven’t done the right thing,” White said.
Lesnar would indeed return to the WWE in April of 2012 and has competed in the WWE off and on over the past 10 years, mostly working as a part-time performer during this span.
He also would compete in the Octagon after all at UFC 200. Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt via unanimous decision, but that win was overturned to a no-contest after Lesnar tested positive for clomiphene.
There were talks of Lesnar potentially returning to fight Daniel Cormier following a UFC 226 post-fight altercation, but Lesnar would instead remain with the WWE and retire from MMA again in 2019.
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