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Paulo Costa is focused on winning the 185-pound title.

But in order to earn himself a second crack at the division crown, currently held by Dricus Du Plessis, “The Eraser” will first have to get past the “violence” of ex-middleweight champion Robert Whittaker when they throw hands in the UFC 298 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event.

UFC 298 takes place this Sat. night (Feb. 17, 2024) at Honda Center in Anaheim.

“After my fight against Whittaker, for sure,” Costa told reporters at the UFC 298 media day. “I don’t see another way different than going straight for the belt after I beat Whittaker on Saturday. I have no other way to go. I think after (I) beat him, when you look at the whole division, you have a couple of guys who fight the way that people want to see, that people like to see the fights going on. It’s me. Beating him, I’ll be the next in the line.”

Costa (14-2) would certainly be in the conversation, but may face stiff competition from middleweight phenom Khamzat Chimaev. “Borz” does not have as many big names under his belt, at least when it comes to middleweight contenders, but the promotion, as well as UFC oddsmakers, seem to be all aboard the Khamzat hype train.

“Of course, everybody knows that I don’t like the guy,” Costa said. “But I don’t think too (many) people take him so serious anymore. He didn’t beat anybody in the middleweight division, top contenders or even Top 15. How can you take this guy serious? He barely could beat Usman on 10 days’ short notice. Usman is a welterweight, he didn’t cut weight to middleweight, and everybody saw that fight.”

Costa was expected to battle Chimaev at UFC 294 but was forced to withdraw due to a gnarly elbow infection.

“I like this beef between countries and two guys,” Costa continued. “But after I beat Whittaker I will not want to hear his name — f*ck him. He needs to do something. He needs to beat somebody at least Top 10 in the middleweight (division). He didn’t yet, and I don’t think he’s capable to do that. That’s my thoughts about him.”

Chimaev (13-0) is currently unbooked.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 298 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 298: “Volkanovski vs. Topuria” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 298 fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.

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Sean Strickland really wanted to fight Jake Paul, but he claims the UFC wouldn’t give him permission.

The former middleweight champion recently got into a war of words with Paul after the 27-year-old boxer slammed Strickland for beating up an inexperienced social influencer during a sparring session. As a result, Paul challenged Strickland to come to Puerto Rico for a fight, and if Strickland won, he would pay $ 1 million out of his own pocket. If Strickland lost, the ex-UFC champ had to get a tattoo of the logo from Paul’s betting app, BETR.

Strickland said he reached out to the UFC to see if the promotion would allow him to accept the fight, but he said the request was denied.

“So Jake Paul offered me a million dollars, knowing it is impossible for me to do that,” Strickland explained on his YouTube channel. “I actually talked to [UFC Chief Business Officer] Hunter [Campbell], and I was like ‘Hunter, I will fight this man. You let Conor McGregor fight [Floyd] Mayweather, this is an easier fight, easier money, can I do that?’

“Hunter explained to me that [Paul] sells no fights. When they have fights, they give away tickets. He doesn’t make money. His target audience is children. They don’t buy pay-per-views.

“So a little depressing, because I thought to myself, you know what? I’ll take a payday beating up this f****** man. That sounds easy enough. But sadly, Jake Paul is an influencer. He sells to children. Children don’t buy pay-per-views. F***, I don’t know man, get some adults to follow you, and then we will fight.”

Paul has slammed the UFC in the past for restrictive contracts that prevent fighters from pursuing lucrative deals outside the promotion. Under terms of the promotion’s exclusive contract, fighters have to get permission to engage in any combat sport outside the UFC.

As an alternative to a sanctioned fight, Strickland offered Paul the chance to meet him face-to-face to hash out their differences behind closed doors — without cameras running.

“Here’s the thing Jake Paul, you clearly know I can’t fight you,” Strickland said. “We know this. The UFC knows this. We all know this, that me and you cannot fight. But what we can do — you can get in your fancy plane, you can fly your ass to Vegas, and we can have a little pow-wow. Because you know as well as I know what happens with that.

“I’ll do it for free. I don’t need a check. I don’t need to live stream it. I will do it for free, sir. So if that is something you want, you want to show everyone how big and hard that d*** is, let me know when.”

By all accounts, Strickland and Paul aren’t actually going to meet, nor will they likely fight, spar, or anything else outside of continued banter on social media.

That didn’t stop Strickland from taking a parting shot at Paul.

“Jake Paul, I got knocked out by a world champion kickboxer — a two-time UFC champion,” Strickland said, referencing his past fight with Alex Pereira. “You got beat by a part-time boxer [Tommy Fury] you used to try and pad your record.

“You’re an embarrassment to yourself. You’re an embarrassment to me, and you’re an embarrassment to the world. Enjoy.”

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The UFC will be the subject of a new movie starring Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, US) and Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass).

According to a report from Variety, the film “follows the journeys of two fighters who find themselves competing against each other in the Octagon. One is a young woman (Moretz) whose life is changed forever when she discovers her passion for the UFC, while the other is a former champion (Nyong’o) who is determined to reclaim her title by reinventing herself. Both want the same thing — respect — but only one can come out on top.”

Two-time UFC strawweight world champion ‘Thug’ Rose Namajunas will serve as a fight consultant and executive producer on the film. Written by Paul Harrill, ‘Strawweight’ will be the feature directorial debut of James M. Johnston, who previously worked as a second-unit director on A24’s ‘The Green Knight’ released in 2021.

It is unclear if the movie will be theatrically released or go straight to streaming.

Nyong’o will feature as the lead actress in ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ scheduled to be released on June 28. She has previously appeared in both of Marvel’s critically acclaimed ‘Black Panther’ films and she took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2013 for her role in ’12 Years a Slave.’

Her co-star — Chloe Grace Moretz — is no stranger to action, having co-starred in the 2010 comic-book-based flick ‘Kick-Ass.’ Moretz, who was only 12 years old at the time, played Mindy McCready aka Hit-Girl in the film. Moretz’s performance was heavily praised by critics and played a big role in the film earning nearly $ 100 million worldwide on a $ 30 million budget.

She also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s 2011 love-letter to movies — ‘Hugo’ — and played the title role in the 2013 remake of Stephen King’s seminal horror novel ‘Carrie.’

No release date has been announced.

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Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski puts his title on the line against undefeated Ilia Topuria in the UFC 298 main event on Saturday.  

If Topuria is able to defeat “The Great” it will cause a major shakeup of the 145-pound division.  Volkanovski has held the title since late 2019.  Fourth-ranked contender and former title challenger Brian Ortega expects an exciting fight but says, ‘It’s hard to go against Volkanovksi.’

“I think it’s going to be a great fight.  It always reaches a point, even when I faced Max [Holloway], I think almost at the same time, 14-0, undefeated guy, six fights.  I think has six finishes and everyone was like, ‘damn, Otega this,’ and then you go up a level, and then you face the champ,” Ortega told Shak MMA.    

“There’s always that question of is he ready or is he not.  Skillfully, yes.  He looks good against the people he’s faced, technically sound, a full package when it comes to striking, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, everything.  You can’t look at him and say he has one full weakness.  Let’s exploit it.  He doesn’t have that.  He’s well standing, on the ground, whatever,” Ortega continued.    

“But I do believe guys such as Volk provide, or have a different type of level of chess game and that’s why these fights are amazing to watch.  You have someone who is confident.  Someone who is already speaking like he’s the champ and defended it three times and then you have the guy who’s already been at the top of the mountain just kicking everyone down.  This is a good fight.  Personally, even as a fan, it’s a good fight.  A lot of questions will be answered after this weekend.  It’s hard to go against Volk.”  

Ortega has been sidelined since July 2022 after suffering a shoulder injury during his fight with Yair Rodriguez.  After having surgery and going through the rehabilitation, Ortega is set the return to action in a rematch with Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 237 in Mexico City on Feb. 24.       

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The amount of questions surrounding the UFC featherweight championship main event of UFC 298 between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria are astounding — not just heading into the fight, but the roads both fighters will take based on the result. Can Volkanovski continue his 145-pound dominance, or will the incredibly confident Topuria be put on the rocket ship to superstardom?

On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel will preview Saturday’s main event, the stakes involved for both Volkanovski and Topuria, and where the champion goes, win or lose. Additionally, topics include the rest of the UFC 298 storylines, UFC 300 still not having a main event and potentially will be announced at the post-fight press conference on Saturday, along with a special fan Q&A final round.

Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Eric “New York Ric” Jackman.

Watch the show live at 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT in the video above.

If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods.

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You can find his fight with Jack on YouTube if you search Darcy vendy jack Della. My friends and I always thought Darcy's knee caused jacks nose shape but looking at it now it may have been a bit bent before the fight started. Obviously no disrespect to Jack, I'm celebrating my boy by mentioning Jack because Jack is a fuckin superstar. submitted by /u/OtiseMaleModel [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts