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Another Sean Strickland media scrum is in the books, which was filled with a ton of quotable quotes, as per usual.

Thanks to his colorful persona, Sean Strickland has been drawing headlines while also getting himself in higher-profile fights. This weekend, he will headline UFC Vegas 66 against Jared Cannonier. It will be the organization’s final event for 2022.

As per usual, “Tarzan” was in rare form during his pre-fight media scrum on Wednesday. Among his many interesting takes is the parallelism he drew between his chosen career and those in the adult film industry.

“Porn stars. What’s the difference?” he asked the media.

“We f—ng diet, we get really f—ng skinny. A couple of us get abs. We wear these tight little outfits, little f—ng spandex, with our little cock bulge and our cup. And we go out there, we take our f—ng clothes off, and fight in front of thousands of people.

“Then these people are like, ‘yeah, f—ng punch him in the face! Take him down! F—ng dry hump him! Twist his dick!’”

The conversation began after a reporter asked Strickland about a response he gave to MMA veteran Josh Thomson, who was discussing how fighters are treated in the UFC.

“I didn’t know that in the business of ‘Hey, I’m gonna take human beings and make them fight for money,’ if giving a f—k about them was part of the job title,” he said, explaining his response.

“Like, if I’m the CEO of the UFC, and I’ll be like, ‘Hey, what big, scary motherf—rs can we pick to fight each other?’ And afterward, I’m like, ‘But you know, man, I hope they’re having a good Christmas. I hope life is good for them…’

“No, we’re f—ng cattle.”

Strickland eventually clarified that he does enjoy what he does for a living. But he also prides himself on having a better grip on reality.

“I love my job, but I’m not gonna go looking in a f—ng mirror and think I’m like some f—ng… I’m Lebron James. I’m not.

“I’m a f—ng prostitute. I take my f—ng clothes off, Dana says go fight that guy. I’m like, ‘alright, Dana. How much?’ And he gives me a number, and I’m like, ‘F—k it, let’s go, Dana! I’ll fight that motherf—r!’

“I’m not disillusioned with what I am.”

As for his opponent, Strickland also had something to say.

“‘Killa Gorilla,’ you know? F—ng scary name. How nice would it be if his nickname was Curious George? Oh f—k yeah! That would be nice.

“You got the Killa Gorilla. Let’s f—ng go. He sounds like a scary motherf—r, dude. Sounds like I don’t want to share a cell with that guy.”

UFC Vegas 66 happens on Saturday, December 17, at the APEX.

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Veteran judge Doug Crosby is under review by the athletic commission.

A controversial judge who scored the UFC 282 co-main event in favor of Paddy Pimblett is under review by the Mohegan Tribe Athletic Department, per MMA Fighting.

The judge in question is Doug Crosby. He came under fire for his 50-45 scorecard in last weekend’s Bellator 289 main event featuring Danny Sabatello vs. Raufeon Stots, scoring the bout in favor of Sabatello, who lost the fight.

Crosby was the only judge on the panel to score the bout for Sabatello, with fellow judges Eric Colon and Bryan Miner scoring the fight 48-47 in favor of Stots, who won via split decision.

Mohegan Athletic Department Director of Athletics Mike Mazzulli said Crosby is now under review by the commission and that this isn’t an issue they are taking lightly, stating: “One judge had Sabatello winning all five rounds, which is controversial. But ultimately Stots won the decision, which is the correct result. In an effort to make this a learning moment, I have informed all three judges we will be reviewing the fight together.”

“This is a very serious situation, he added. “The Mohegan Tribe Athletic Department always looks out for the best interests of all fighters. In the past the Mohegan Tribe Athletic Department has sanctioned officials that are not performing to the level that is required. Such sanctions, when they occur, are not made public.”

The veteran judge also had Pimblett beating Gordon 29-28 despite 23 of the 24 MMA media outlets scoring the contest in favor of Gordon (h/t MMA Mania). Pimblett believes he won the fight fairly and branded those who criticized his performance as haters.

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From fighters to fans to pundits, even the UFC broadcast booth had trouble believing the scorecards for Paddy Pimblett’s win over Jared Gordon.

As wild as it is to say, the major topic of discussion coming out of UFC 282 was not the fact that the UFC failed to crown a light heavyweight champion, as planned. Or even that they ditched both Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev as title contenders after they fought to a split draw in the PPV’s main event.

Instead, the story that has captured fans, pundits, and headlines had everything to do with an un-ranked lightweight bout that served as the night’s co-main event. There, rising star attraction Paddy Pimblett fought Jared Gorden to a unanimous decision victory, with all three judges giving the ‘Baddy’ two rounds to Gordon’s one. A tally that put them square in the minority among viewers, who seemingly were near-unanimous in their belief that ‘Flash’ Gordon should have gotten the nod.

Even the UFC broadcast team was surprised by the result. Well… maybe surprised isn’t the right word. Joe Rogan was in the Octagon when the decision was read, and his face said it all.

For his part, Pimblett seems firm in the belief that he was the better man in the Octagon that night, telling media that “Fights get scored on damage now. I landed a lot more damage.”

That likely means he’ll be leaving Gordon in the rear view mirror, as the Liverpudlian looks for bigger, more notable bouts. In a post to his Twitter account, however, Gordon made the case for a rematch, writing that “With all the controversy with our fight, I’d love to run it back with you in London.”

Oddsmakers have Pimblett sitting at a -140 favorite line, in the unlikely event that he and Gordon fight again.

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Dricus du Plessis doesn’t think Alex Pereira will hold on to the UFC middleweight title for long.

Coming off the biggest win of his career with a stoppage victory over Darren Till, South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis (18-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) doesn’t think it will be long before he fights for the UFC middleweight title.

In fact, ‘Stillknocks’ anticipates a title shot next year but doesn’t think it will be against current champion Alex Pereira, suggesting ‘Poatan’ loses to former champ Robert Whittaker.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani in a recent interview (h/t MMA Fighting), du Plessis credited Pereira as an ‘amazing fighter’ but thinks his title reign will be short-lived, anticipating ‘Poatan’ loses the belt by the time he fights ‘Izzy or Rob Whittaker’ for the title next year.

“I’d be surprised if I don’t fight for the title [in the next year],” Du Plessis said during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour. “I’d be surprised. I said this year, I would be in the top 10 before the end of the year, and that’s happening. I honestly believe I’ll be in the top three in my next two fights.”

“Probably Izzy or Rob Whittaker,” Du Plessis replied when asked who he thinks will be champion when he fights for the middleweight title. “That’s the two guys I see. I don’t think [Alex Pereira is still champion]. I think Alex is an amazing fighter. I think Robert Whittaker beats him. I honestly think Whittaker can beat Alex.”

Du Plessis then explained why he thinks Whittaker beats Pereira but struggles with Adesanya, suggesting a ‘mental block’ is preventing ‘The Reaper’ from defeating ‘The Last Stylebender’.

“Alex is a big dude,” Du Plessis said. “I saw him again on Saturday. He’s big for the weight, but I do think his style, which is more of a flat-footed style, he punches like a truck and he kicks hard and his striking is really good. I just think when it comes to mixed martial arts as a whole, I think Robert Whittaker has a style to beat Ales Pereira.

“I think Whittaker is struggling with Izzy because maybe a mental block, and Izzy is really good at movement, so it makes it hard to take him down. He’s moving a lot, where I believe with Pereira, he’s a much more stagnant fighter. He stands in one spot with his feet planted, and he hits hard. I think that’s something that Whittaker will be able to take advantage of and take him down, and we saw when he’s on the ground and he’s put on his back, or he’s at the bottom, he’s not that great. I think Whittaker takes him down and TKOs or submits him.”

A rematch between Pereira and Adesanya is expected to take place next year, with du Plessis likely only a couple more wins away from reaching title contention himself. Expect the streaking middleweight to surge into the top ten once the UFC updates its rankings next week.

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A brief history of the prestige division that no longer shines as brightly.

Chris Rini

Hey all, I’m working overtime getting ready for the holidays and this new painting exhibition, but I’d encourage you to get yourself a copy of The Fine Art of Violence books (digital or hard copy) for yourself, a person you love, or gently encourage someone who loves you to get you one. Enjoy a new painting vlog, take care of yourself, and I’ll talk to you Monday.

Chris

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If Dana White sounded unbothered by allegations of fight fixing surrounding the James Krause gambling scandal, that tune seems to have taken a dramatic change recently.

Fans won’t have to go back all that far to find a time when UFC President Dana White didn’t seem to have a care in the world about allegations of fight fixing in the UFC.

“I am not worried about it at all,” White said of the controversy surrounding Glory MMA coach and professional gambling tout James Krause, and the investigation into a bout between Krause-trained athlete Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke at a November UFC Fight Night.

That was just back on December 11th at the UFC 282 post-fight presser. While the UFC boss reinforced that opinion with a reminder that the costs to athletes for engaging in that kind of illegal activity were far higher than the money they could get for throwing bouts, it seems he felt the UFC could stay clear of the fallout. “If you are that f-cking stupid—and anyone else wants to do it—knock yourself out,” White added.

It’s unclear if something has changed between then and now. Certainly the cessation of UFC-related gambling in both Alberta and Ontario provinces in Canada, along with the continued investigation surrounding Krause and his athletes, could be adding more pressure. Whatever the cause, White sounded notably more cautious on the issue in a recent interview with ESPN.

“Huge concern,” White said of the topic of ‘fight fixing’ in a sit-down interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “Now it is. Now that there’s an investigation and it could be possible that it happened. Now it’s something that we really have to—

“You know, we’ve always told fighters—as all the gambling stuff started to heat up—‘Stay away from gambling. Obviously, don’t—’ I mean, do you know how stupid you have to be to get involved in something like that? Everybody—it gets caught. You always get caught. And all they have to do is follow the money. Follow the money, you know? But there’s a lot of people in prison for really dumb stuff. People really are that stupid and, you know, things are gonna happen.

“And if this is all true, and this investigation ends up that this really happened people are going to go to prison. People aren’t going to go to jail, people are going to go to prison. And hopefully everybody else is watching and taking notes.”

In a recent interview with TSN’s Aaaron Bronsteter White reaffirmed that the UFC was barring all Krause-trained fighters from competing in the promotion until the investigation into his gambling activities has concluded.

The UFC already cut ties with Darrick Minner following his loss to Neurdanbieke. Glory MMA fighter and UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno voiced his support for Krause in a post to his Instagram account earlier in December, but recent videos show him now training at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas for his January 21st bout against Deiveson Figueiredo.

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“I think he needs at least five. Maybe six. That would be ideal.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Islam Makhachev will surpass him as the greatest UFC lightweight champion of all time, suggesting the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) standout will defend his title at least five times before retiring.

Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA) expects his prized student to rule the lightweight throne for three years before the sport passes him by, admitting that ‘nobody’, not even the pride of Dagestan, ‘can stay on top forever’.

“I think he needs at least five,” Nurmagomedov told Red Corner MMA (h/t MMA Fighting’s Drake Riggs) in a recent interview. “Maybe six. That would be ideal. Six defenses, that’s six fights and three years. Then it’s possible that the sport leaves him because nobody can stay on top forever.

“The way the almighty created a man, he first becomes strong then weak. He’s young then he’s old. Knowing that, the goal is five-six defenses.”

Makhachev’s first title defense will come against reigning featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 to determine the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. It will be his first title fight since winning the lightweight championship with a second-round submission victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280.

UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski takes place on Feb. 12, 2023, at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

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Topuria made a big statement at UFC 282.

The feud between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett doesn’t feel like it will die down anytime soon. The whole thing kicked off when Pimblett made a disparaging remark about Georgians, referencing the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia.

Since then Topuria and Pimblett have been booked on two UFC cards together (what a coincidence!). And both times Topuria has tried to get a piece of ‘The Baddy’. The first time, at UFC London in March, Topuria flew at Pimblett in a cafeteria. Most recently, at this past weekend’s UFC 282, Topuria lunged at Pimblett during the pre-fight press conference.

At UFC 282 Topuria impressively dispatched of his opponent—the previously undefeated Bryce Mitchell—and moved his pro record to a sterling 13-0.

Pimblett also got a win at UFC 282. However, his was a unanimous decision victory of Jared Gordon. Most onlookers believe that decision to be one of the worst judging decisions of the year.

This week Topuria appeared on The MMA Hour, where he made it clear that he thought Pimblett was the beneficiary of special treatment from the UFC.

“I feel like the UFC’s protecting him me,” claimed Topuria. “I don’t know why. In reality, that’s the fight to make right now, because it’s one of the biggest fights in the UFC. We can perfectly sell a pay-per-view. That fight makes more excitement for people than [many] championship fights.”

Topuria then said that he thought the decision win for Pimblett was a “Christmas gift” from the UFC and suggested that the promotion wants Pimblett to win so they can keep promoting him as a top talent.

When asked flat out if he thinks the UFC influenced the judges’ decision, Topuria declined to outright accuse his bosses of malfeasance.

“Maybe yes, maybe not,” he responded. “But look, I want to be honest. The guy is good at promoting himself. As a fighter, he sucks. He doesn’t have any skills. He’s so boring to watch. But promoting himself, he’s good, so the UFC’s supporting him, of course.”

Topuria and Pimblett currently fight in separate weight-classes (featherweight and lightweight). Topuria said he was eager to fight Pimblett, but was also excited to focus on the featherweight division and called out former title challenger Brian Ortega.

Topuria also said he thinks it’s very unlikely that the UFC sanctions a fight between he and Pimblett at this early stage of their UFC careers.

“In reality, [the UFC] never made an official offer to Paddy to fight against me. I don’t think he’s going to turn down the fight. Maybe yes, I don’t know, but the UFC didn’t want the fight, yet. I know that one day it’s going to happen.”

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’Thug Nasty’ wasn’t feeling too good heading into his fight with Ilia Topuria. 

Bryce Mitchell fought two opponents at UFC 282 on Saturday.

The first was Ilia Topuria, who dominated Mitchell from start to finish in their much-anticipated fight that set the tone for the pay-per-view. On the feet, ‘El Matador’ connected with heavy punches that blooded ‘Thug Nasty’. On the ground, he was in complete control and secured the arm-triangle choke that forced Mitchell to tap, a first in his UFC career.

The second was the flu, which Mitchell recently revealed he fought with before his loss to Topuria.

“I definitely got to let you know that really wasn’t me out there,” said Mitchell in a brief video on Twitter. “I had the flu the week before, and I thought I’d just tough it out. I didn’t feel good at all in there. That wasn’t myself. I trained a lot harder and could’ve performed a lot better, but I went in there with stuff hurting, not up to 100 percent. Like I said, I had the flu.

“I wish I wouldn’t even took the fight, but I didn’t know it would mess me up that bad,” continued Mitchell. “I thought I would be able to hang in there for all three rounds, because that’s what I trained for. I trained for my cardio to be there the whole time. It wasn’t even there one bit of the time. I’ll come back stronger. I just hate going out on that one like that. But I will be better.”

Mitchell was undefeated in the UFC, winning all six of his appearances since joining the roster over four years ago. The former Ultimate Fighter competitor entered the Topuria fight fresh off a unanimous decision win over Edson Barboza at UFC 272 this past March.

As for Topuria, he improved to 13-0 as a professional.

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It was only because of his coaches that Ponzinibbio entered the third round realizing that he needed a KO to win.

Welterweight Santiago Ponzinibbio was in dire need of an impressive win at UFC 282 coming off of two straight losses inside the Octagon. Paired up against Alex Morono, the Argentinian struggled early in his fight, but some urgency from his corner helped him turn things around late to pick up a TKO victory.

In an interview with Ag Fight, Santiago explained his thought process and what he discussed with his coach between rounds during the fight. Surprisingly enough, it seems the ‘Argentine Dagger’ was unaware he had dropped the first two rounds, but was able to find the confidence to look for a finish in the last five minutes.

“That’s what I discussed with my coach. I didn’t know I had lost the first two rounds,” Ponzinibbio admitted. “Then he told me ‘We’re definitely down two rounds. Do something different’. Thank God I thought with heart, I landed my hands and I looked for the knockout. It’s tough. Sometimes you have already been hurt, you may be injured, tired or frustrated because things aren’t happening like you expected.

“Then when they tell you you’re losing the fight, it feels like it’s all lost.” Santiago added. “There’s this pressure. Fortunately, I was able to handle the pressure and say ‘You know what?’ I’m going to walk forward, I’m going to land my shots. I know I will hurt him. I he doesn’t go down. At least I’ll have tried.’”

The win over Moreno was Ponzinibbio’s first since a 2021 decision over Miguel Baeza, and followed split decision losses to Michel Pereira and Geoff Neal. The 36-year-old returned to action in last year after more than two years on the sidelines due to numerous health issues.

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