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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The UFC 297 press conference got underway earlier today. While it wasn’t one of the most eventful showings, we witnessed one fan rush onto the stage and head straight toward Sean Strickland.

Strickland was doing his best to rile up the crowd ahead of his first title defense on Saturday and it seemingly worked a little too well. As he often is, the middleweight champion was the center of attention with many enjoying watching him spend time in the spotlight.

Before being confronted by a fan, Sean Strickland spoke about his relationship with forthcoming opponent Dricus Du Plessis. Despite tempers flaring between the two in the past, there are no personal issues between the two, according to the man himself.

“Here’s the thing, it was never f***ing personal,” Strickland said regarding his opinion of Du Plessis. “You had the cuck Sean O’Malley say some stupid sh*t he knows nothing about.”

“I go hard on everybody, you guys. You don’t think I deserve sh*t, bro? I go hard on all you motherf***ers. I’m proud of the motherf***er. You don’t see me lose character often, this little f***er got me there.”

Just moments after his speech, a fan bombarded the stage to embrace Sean Strickland. The two shook hands, which ultimately psyched up the entire arena.

WE GOT FANS RUSHING THE STAGE TO SHAKE STRICKLAND’S HAND IN CANADA #UFC297 pic.twitter.com/W5wkxsbPtq

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) January 18, 2024

Shortly after the confrontation, Strickland got back onto the mic and made a proposition to Dricus Du Plessis.

“Me and Dricus, we’re going to try and f***ing kill each other for you guys. Dricus, can I get an agreement? To the f***ing death. To the f***ing death. God damn respect him for that.”

Confirming his stance heading into the fight, Strickland once again dismissed any wrestling exchanges and insisted that the two would stand and bang until somebody got knocked out.

“I wrestle every day, sadly. But let’s treat this like f***ing men. Stand in the middle and put one of us to f***ing sleep, we don’t need to f***ing wrestle. I ain’t f***ing Khabib, we’re here to f***ing fight.”

Related: Israel Adesanya gives his pick for Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis

As the press conference almost reached its end, Sean Strickland shared some bold comments for the former champion Israel Adesanya.

“Izzy, the f***ing guy. The f***ing cringe lord,” Strickland said in response to a question on Adesanya. “F*** Izzy. I could have took Izzy down and beat his a** on the ground but I chose to stand with him like a man.”

“What did he do the whole fight? Run away like a b*tch. Izzy, shut your f***ing mouth.”

Watch Sean Strickland steal the show during the UFC 297 press conference below.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Brandon Moreno believes he’s one win away from his next UFC title opportunity.

A two-time former UFC flyweight champion, Moreno is set to face replacement opponent Brandon Royval in a Feb. 24 homecoming at UFC Mexico City after original foe Amir Albazi withdrew from the headlining bout this past week. Moreno dropped his belt in a split decision to Alexandre Pantoja in July, but remains one of the top flyweights in the world.

Speaking on The MMA Hour, Moreno said he has not received official word from the UFC that a title shot is next with a win over Royval, but he also doesn’t see anyone else in the division who could mount a better claim, especially after rising contender Manel Kape badly missed weight for a now-cancelled bout against Matheus Nicolau at UFC Vegas 84.

“I don’t see another guy [at flyweight] closer than me,” Moreno said Monday on The MMA Hour. “Even, for example, this last weekend, I think if Manel Kape would’ve done a nice job against Matheus Nicolau, he could’ve said, ‘I’m here for the title, for the opportunity.’ But he missed weight. Even Royval, he lost [his fight] for the title recently, so I don’t know. I think it’s very clear I’m the next for the title, but I have to make a statement [against Royval].”

Moreno, 30, remains one of the most popular and accomplished flyweights on the UFC roster. His past six bouts have been contested with some sort of title on the line, with four of those bouts coming against former two-time champion Deiveson Figueiredo.

Moreno ultimately won his epic series with Figueiredo by a 2-1-1 score, however he has not fared as well against the current champ. After losing at UFC 290, Moreno is now 0-3 in three meetings against Pantoja, although his third try was his most competitive yet.

“I felt, in that moment, a little bit disappointed,” Moreno said of UFC 290, “because I really believe I can beat Pantoja, but he made a really good kind of game plan, just holding the positions and just going for the decision and winning — which is, I don’t know, it’s a little bit frustrating because, at least me, I want to make something special for the people. But at the same time, if you want to win, you can do whatever is legal to do to get the victory, so he did it. He did it well. And he did it well in his last fight against Brandon Royval.

“So I just want to make sure [I’m] making a statement in my next fight against Brandon Royval and get the opportunity for the title next.”

As fate would have it, Moreno is no stranger to Royval as well. The two previously met in a top contenders bout in November 2020 at UFC 255, with Moreno winning via first-round knockout to earn his first UFC title shot. Moreno views the Royval of today as a “completely different opponent” who has improved significantly since that performance, but he remains confident that history will repeat itself when the two flyweights rematch in February.

After that, Moreno hopes his next assignment comes at the UFC’s upcoming Mexican Independence Day event, which in 2024 is expected to be held at the Las Vegas Sphere.

“You never know, maybe I can fight for the title at the next Noche UFC,” Moreno said.

“Dream scenario is to fight at Noche UFC, but let’s see what happens before that, because I hear Pantoja wants to fight in May in Brazil but I don’t know if that’s a little bit soon for me. So I don’t know, man. I have a really good opponent in front of me with Royval, I have to be very focused on him because I know he will be very motivated — with nothing to lose, everything to win — so I have to be focused on him, and then see what is next for me.”

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Israel Adesanya may not be fighting this weekend (Sat. Jan. 20, 2023) at UFC 297, but he’s certainly an interested party. Sean Strickland defeated Adesanya and took his Middleweight title back in September in one of 2023’s biggest upsets, and prior to that fight, Adesanya had built up a pretty nasty rivalry with Dricus Du Plessis.

He’s quite possibly going to face the winner of their main event showdown sometime later in the year. Maybe even at UFC 300? Whatever the timeline for his return, “Stylebender” could very possibly be fighting the winner, which makes his breakdown of the match up and subsequent Du Plessis prediction all the more interesting.

Whether it’s genuine analysis from the former champion or simple wishful thinking, Strickland doesn’t want to hear any of it. At the UFC 297 presser, he took a brief moment to address Adesanya’s prediction … or at least berate Adesanya for his performance in their UFC 293 showdown.

“Listen Izzy, the f—king guy, the f—king cringelord, the pup play himself. F—k Izzy,” Strickland said (via MMAFighting). “I could have took Izzy down and beat his ass on the ground but I chose to stand with him like a man. What did he do the whole fight? Run away like a b—ch. Izzy, shut your f—king mouth.”

Insomnia

Cedric Doumbe sold out PFL Paris in 20 minutes. The man is a genuine star!

Sean Strickland’s rant at the presser has escaped beyond the usual MMA sphere, and the results are … awkward.

The amount of anger in the replies to this tweet is high comedy!

On a related note, Alex Pereira will likely be in attendance of UFC 297.

Conor McGregor partnering up with BKFC — who would have predicted that even two years ago?

Joe Pyfer and Joe Rogan review the clip of his record-breaking power punch.

Sergei Pavlovich undergoes a hardcore and freezing baptism!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Some throwback “Stillknocks” finishes:

An old school example of the same-side high kick landing flush.

Liam Harrison beating the legs off his opponent:

Random Land

The force of this landslide is scary.

Midnight Music: Blues, 1961

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC 300 will be a massive card, but there was never a plan for any former stars to return for the historic event on April 13.

That’s according to UFC CEO Dana White, who promised that matchmaking for that card is still taking place. He said several more marquee bouts are expected to be added, but the promotion never sought out names like Ronda Rousey, Georges St-Pierre or Brock Lesnar to make a surprising return.

Back at UFC 200, Lesnar returned to the sport after a lengthy layoff, but White added an option like that was never even explored.

“Ronda’s not coming back,” White told Sportsnet in Canada. “GSP’s not coming back. Brock Lesnar’s like 45 years old or pushing 50. None of those calls were made.”

Considering the significance of the event, it’s easy to imagine the UFC would pull out all stops to build the card. Unfortunately, many of the names on that list have been retired or out of competition for several years at this point.

Rousey last competed in 2016, when she suffered a second straight knockout loss before leaving the UFC to pursue a career in professional wrestling. She recently exited the WWE at the end of her contract, but she has stayed busy raising her family and continuing to perform in the wrestling ring on the independent circuit.

As for St-Pierre, his most recent fight happened in 2017, and at 42 years old, he’s made it clear that his fighting days are behind him. The same goes for Lesnar, who will celebrate his 47th birthday in July.

White says those kinds of matchups were never entertained, but he promises UFC 300 will live up to expectations, especially when it comes to the depth of the event.

There’s already one title fight between strawweight champion Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan, and it’s expected more championships will go up for grabs that night. Add to that, UFC 300 already touts seven former champions, and it sounds like there’s more to come before the matchmakers are finished.

“I don’t think there’s going to be anything out of left field,” White said. “This is just going to be a type of card we’ve never done before. Every fight is a must see fight.”

White didn’t say how soon he would be announcing more fights for UFC 300, but he’s been steadily releasing information over the past few weeks. As of now, UFC 300 still doesn’t have a main event, so that’s undoubtedly the biggest slot to fill in the near future.

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