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Dana White | Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
UFC CEO Dana White isn’t backing down on waiting for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.
Jones and Miocic were originally supposed to face off for the heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 295 in November 2023. But shortly before the event, Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle that forced him from the card, and instead of having backup fighter Sergei Pavlovich step in against Miocic, the UFC opted to postpone the fight entirely. The two are now looking to finally matchup against each other in November, and while the bout has received an increasing amount of backlash recently, White isn’t having it.
“What do I do?” White said to the media following the latest episode of The Contender Series. “A guy who is looked at as the greatest heavyweight in the UFC, this fight is set up, Jon Jones gets hurt, it’s not his fault. He has to wait and go back into f*cking training camp again. He was training. So do I just yank it away from Stipe and say go f*ck yourself and sit on the sidelines for two more years?
“If I did that, you guys would be like, ‘Oh, you f*cking disrespected the greatest heavyweight ever!’ and so would the f*cking fans. So I should just shit on Stipe because Jon got hurt and not make the fight that he was already supposed to fight?”
The growing criticism to the Jones-Miocic matchup comes both from the rise of interim champion Tom Aspinall and Miocic’s recent history. Though Miocic is considered one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, the 42-year-old has not competed in over three years, when he was brutally knocked out by Francis Ngannou, and holds no wins over current UFC fighters. In contrast, Aspinall has five wins over currently ranked heavyweights in that time, including his short notice to fight for an interim title when the UFC postponed Jones-Miocic at UFC 295.
But when reporters pushed back on Miocic being given a title shot under those circumstances, White remained adamant that this was the only realistic way to handle this scenario.
“I have two legends of the sport that wanted to fight each other,” White said. “These guys are lined up, one guy gets hurt, and this is the fight that they both want. What do you do? You don’t show the guys the respect? I guarantee you this, if Stipe wins, Stipe is going to retire. This will be Stipe’s last fight. So are you, the media, telling me I should just tell Stipe to f*ck off? ‘Good luck to you Stipe, ride off into the sunset, go fight some fires and that’s a wrap for you buddy, because Jon got hurt.’ Or do I show this guy the respect that I should show him and give them both the fight that they want? That’s the position I’m in.
“If Stipe was 32 years old, then yeah, [an interim title fight] is probably what we do. But this is probably Stipe’s last fight, win or lose, and I’m not going to disrespect the guy. He accepted the fight, he was ready for the fight, and Jon got injured.”
Of course that’s cold comfort for Aspinall, who has lobbied for a shot at the undisputed title since winning the interim belt. But White says that eventually, he’ll get his turn.
“Aspinall’s a young, badass dude,” White said. “He’s got plenty of time. These guys are going to fight in November and he will fight Jon Jones if he wins, I almost guarantee you that. And if Stipe wins, we’ll figure out what’s next for Aspinall.”
Though not yet official, Jones and Miocic are expected to face off in the main event at UFC 309 which takes place on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Machine Gun Kelly didn’t pull his punches when responding to Sean Strickland’s earlier comments.
Strickland has a knack for making enemies, often rubbing people the wrong way with his blunt personality. If it’s not a fellow UFC fighter, the 33-year-old is oftentimes feuding with celebrities — social media influencers being the most common opposition.
For the first time since Sean Strickland unleashed a barrage of abuse towards him, Machine Gun Kelly has responded.
“The art of me standing or existing makes people furious,” MGK said during an appearance on the ImPaulsive Podcast. “I don’t know this guy from a crumb of bread.”
“I didn’t now who he was when I met him. I got hip afterwards that he’s insanely racist and homophobic, and just not my type of guy. So, I would have never even wanted to shake hands with him in the first place.”
“He also is just a representative of every person who’s too scared to just be themselves. Because, if you’re comfortable as yourself, you just don’t care who anybody else is and how they are.”
Machine Gun Kelly then attempted to give advice to Strickland, though he doesn’t believe the UFC star will listen.
“He’s so dumb that I’m going to tell him right now. You should not keep saying stuff, because it just makes me look better.”
“But, you’re going to keep saying stuff. So, I know that you’ll react and say more things but you just shouldn’t.”
“As a person who’s just giving you big bro advice, learn this: shut the f*** up and don’t speak on me anymore and live your life. But, you won’t. And I’m going to continue laughing at you because you’re a f***ing idiot.”
Machine Gun Kelly talks Sean Strickland.
Full podcast here:https://t.co/f97Tj3gfyp pic.twitter.com/2BrcrSQ1p1
Meeting in the flesh at a Power Slap event spurred one of the strangest internet feuds in recent history.
Strickland has been gunning for MGK’s head since their encounter. It didn’t take long for the UFC standout to respond to the rapper’s comments.
“Getting lectured by a guy who drinks blood and wears a purse,” Strickland said on X. “Dawg, you had a mid-life crisis and tattooed your entire body.”
“The ‘The X community of intolerance’ y’all, I’d hang out with you toxic trolls any day over this c***. Go back to cutting yourself you f***ing weirdo.”
Watch Machine Gun Kelly discuss Sean Strickland feud and more below.
The Hawaiian all-time great looked like all hope was lost to regain his once-held Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight title after three losses to his fellow former champion, Alexander Volkanovski. That all changed at UFC 300 when Holloway returned to the Lightweight division and dispatched Justin Gaethje with arguably his greatest career performance.
Holloway, 32, picked apart the perennial 155-pound contender and former interim champion over five rounds before a maddening last-second knockout to gain the Baddest Motherf*cker (BMF) championship (watch highlights). The upset win has led Holloway back to a chance for Featherweight gold as he’ll challenge the champion, Ilia Topuria, at UFC 308 on Oct. 26, 2024. Once again, “Blessed” promises to deliver fireworks.
“Everybody thought UFC 300 was amazing. Wait until they get to see the outcome of UFC 308, it’s going to be a good one,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Fighting).
“I can’t wait,” he continued. “I’ve been going hard over the last few years trying to regain my throne. A lot of people laughed, but we’ll see who gets the last laugh come October 26.”
Should Holloway get the job done at UFC 308, not only would he become a two-time UFC champion, but he’d add the first blemish to the resume of the flawless 15-0 “Matador” Topuria. Despite having accomplished as much as he already has in his 33-fight career (26-7), the legend is taking things as seriously as ever going forward.
“Never, ever give up,” Holloway said. “A lot of people said I wouldn’t be in this position, I wouldn’t be able to be fighting for the Featherweight title again. And I’m here, and I can’t wait to get it going. Camp is just starting, we’re buckling down, and I’m excited.
“I think this fight is the most anticipated fight in all of this year,” he continued. “A lot of people were looking forward to UFC 300, especially because of with who was on that card, but being [on] UFC 308, me and Ilia, main-eventing, I think this is one of the most anticipated fights of this year and I can’t wait to go out there and show the world.”
Mariya Agapova is removing her gloves and she’s taking her talents to BKFC.
The promotion announced via Instagram stories on Tuesday that Agapova has signed with the bare-knuckle outfit following a six-fight run in the UFC. No information in regards to a debut date, or opponent was revealed.
Agapova hopes a change of scenery can get her fighting career back on track.
The 27-year-old was highly touted as a prospect entering the UFC, and delivered a first-round submission of Hannah Cifers in her octagon debut. From there, things began to fall off, as Agapova was on the receiving end of one of the biggest upsets in UFC history in a loss to Shana Dobson in August 2020.
“Money Mashka” ended her UFC tenure going 1-3 in her past four outings, getting submitted in her final three promotional appearances.
BKFC also announced the signing of one-time UFC heavyweight Braxton Smith, who was finished in the first round by Parker Porter in his only UFC fight at UFC 288 in May 2023.
After jumping up seven spots to take his place in the middleweight top five, Caio Borralho believes a fight against former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya should be next.
On Saturday night, ‘The Natural’ extended his unbeaten streak to 16 and surged up towards the top of the 185-pound rankings with an exceptional performance against Jared Cannonier in the UFC Vegas 96 headliner.
With the win, Borralho now finds himself surrounded by some seriously talented company, including fellow top-fivers Nassourdine Imavov, Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya, and Sean Strickland.
Already looking ahead to his next challenge inside the Octagon, Borralho thinks that a scrap with ‘The Last Stylebender’ could be his best route to an eventual title fight with reigning middleweight world champion Dricus Du Plessis.
“I think Adesanya might be the best fight for me right now,” Borralho told Laerte Viana. “If I had to choose one more before the title, I think it would be Adesanya and then the title.”
Caio Borralho suggests lack of focus may be the cause of Adesanya’s recent struggles
However, Borralho isn’t sure that he’d get the same ‘Stylebender’ he watched dominate the division for so many years.
After winning 12-straight at middleweight, Adesanya has lost two of his last three, including back-to-back losses against Sean Strickland and Du Plessis. Now 35 years old, it’s not unreasonable to think that father time is beginning to catch up with the City Kickboxing star.
Still, Borralho knows that even if the ‘Stylebender’ has lost a step, he’s still a dangerous man to trifle with inside the Octagon.
“Maybe [Adesanya’s] not the same focused guy he was before, but he’s still the same guy with the same technique, skill and dominance,”
Is Caio Borralho vs. Israel Adesanya the fight to make following last weekend’s fight card at The APEX?
It is common knowledge in MMA circles that Sean Strickland has a rocky relationship with Colson Baker, a.k.a. Machine Gun Kelly. Back in February 2024, the former UFC champ ran into the rapper during a Power Slap event where he commented about MGK’s outfit.
The interaction went south quickly and Strickland had to be escorted out of the venue. Since then, he’s frequently talked about Kelly’s clothes and lifestyle. Megan Fox, who’s currently dating Baker, even reached out to Strickland via Instagram DMs regarding some of these remarks.
MGK finally broke the silence on Strickland and advised the fighter to not talk about him anymore. Unsurprisingly, the former UFC middleweight kingpin already has a response…
Machine Gun Kelly Asks Sean Strickland To ‘Shut The F** Up’ After Calling Him Racist And Homophobic
Baker opened up about his interactions with Strickland on the latest episode of IMPAULSIVE podcast, hosted by Logal Paul and Mike Majlak. The hip-hop artist claimed that he would’ve avoided meeting the UFC star in the first place if he had been aware of the latter’s racist and homophobic statements.
“I don’t know this guy from a crumb of bread, Right, I didn’t know who he was when I met him. I got hip afterward that he’s like, insanely racist and homophobic and just not my type of guy so I would have never even wanted to shake hands him with him in the first place. But, he also is just a representative of every person who’s too scared to just be themselves because if you’re comfortable as yourself, you don’t care who anybody else is.”
Kelly then suggested Strickland to live his life and stop commenting on him. The rapper called the UFC fighter insecure for caring about other people’s appearance and verbally bashing them for it.
Baker stated that Strickland would most likely respond to his aforementioned remarks which would be more detrimental to the fighter.
“He’s so dumb that I’m going to tell him right now. You should not keep saying stuff because it just makes me look better but you’re going to keep saying stuff so I know that you’ll react and say more things but you’re, you just shouldn’t. As a person who’s just giving you big bro advice, learn this, shut the f**k up! And don’t speak on me anymore. And live your life, but you won’t, and I’m going to continue laughing at you because you’re a f*****g idiot.”
MGK wasn’t wrong as Strickland has already replied to him on X. Yet again, he has targeted the rapper for his tattoos and accused him of drinking blood. He also claimed to be more comfortable hanging out with online trolls instead of the singer.
Getting lectured by a guy who drinks blood and wears a purse.. Dawg you had a mid life crisis and tattooed your entire body. The "the x community of intolerance" yall I'd hang out with you toxic trolls any day over this cunt… Go back to cutting yourself you fucking weirdo https://t.co/4CY2L7gypT
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) August 27, 2024
All in all, it is safe to assume that the beef between Strickland and MGK is far from over. Fans of both celebrities are already engaging in heated online debates and it is unlikely that the two sides will find common ground soon.
READ MORE: Sean O’Malley’s Coach Calls Merab Dvalishvili ‘Scary’ But Highlights Major Flaw In His Game: ‘Too Close To The Fight Now To Fix’
Continue Reading Sean Strickland Responds To Machine Gun Kelly’s ‘Big Bro Advice’ As Rapper Wanted UFC Star To Not Talk About Him Anymore at MMA News.
Welcome to r/mma's discussion of Contender Series 2024: Week 3, from Las Vegas, Nevada, United States! Please keep the fight discussions in here. We also have a fight thread in our Kbin community for those who would prefer not to use Reddit but would still like to talk about the fights.
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Card Info Airing on ESPN+ on Tuesday 08.27.2024 at 08:00 PM ET
Main Card
Division
Fighters
Middleweight
Andrey Pulyaev vs. Liam Anderson
Featherweight
Michael Aswell vs. Bogdan Grad
Middleweight
Marco Tulio vs. Matthieu Duclos
Bantamweight
Malcolm Wellmaker vs. Adam Bramhald
Flyweight
Jack Duffy vs. Nick Piccininni
^(Fight card order and start times may be inaccurate.)
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