Sean Strickland doesn’t see his former opponent going back down to middleweight.

Following Dricus du Plessis’ successful title defense over Israel Adesanya this past Saturday at UFC 305, current light heavyweight champion — and former middleweight champ — Alex Pereira sent a warning to du Plessis, declaring he was “coming down to 185 one more time.”

Strickland, who was knocked out by Pereira at UFC 276 and is expected to be du Plessis’ next opponent in a rematch, doesn’t see “Poatan” making the drop back down.

“Alex’s big ass ain’t going back down to 185, dude,” Strickland told ESPN. “As a welterweight that moved up to 185, once you get used to that weight class, the thought of going back down sounds f*cking miserable.

“I think Alex should fight [du Plessis] at 205 [pounds] any day of the week.”

Pereira has his next fight booked as he’s scheduled to defend his title against Khalil Rountree in the main event of UFC 307 on Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City.

As far as Strickland’s opinion on Pereira attempting to go back down to 185 pounds, he cites Pereira’s final middleweight cut — one he got to see portions of firsthand — as a big road block.

“I remember seeing Alex for his last fight [at 185 pounds] in the back room, and dude, he looked like f*cking death,” Strickland said. “Like, when he last [cut to] middleweight, I walked through to say hi to him, and dude, he just looked like f*cking death, like to the point where I’m like, ‘Man, this ain’t good for you, dude. Go up.’

“So I think at 205 he’d [fight du Plessis] in a heartbeat, but [185] man, I can’t see him doing that. Luckily for us.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Former top-ranked UFC fighter has called out Andrew Tate for having a paper title when it comes to combat sports. Andrew Tate, known for being an internet influencer and having a stint on reality TV, once had a brief career in kickboxing.

Kevin Lee questions Andrew Tate’s Kickboxing

“The Motown Phenom” Kevin Lee was a standout collegiate wrestler before transitioning to MMA. In the UFC he had solid wins against opponents such as Edson Barboza, Michael Chiesa, and Francisco Trinaldo. He also had wars in the competitive lightweight division against the likes of Tony Ferguson, Rafael dos Anjos, and Charles Oliveira. But Lee might be best known for his stunning head-kick knockout against Gregor Gillespie.

On X, formerly Twitter, the athlete called out Andrew Tate:

“How tf did Andrew Tate convince people that he’s a world champion??”

Andrew Tate just had his home raided in Romania involving charges of human trafficking and rape, involving minors. He is awaiting trial.

Andrew Tate Kickboxing Career

Tate is best known for being on Big Brother and being an internet personality as his kickboxing career was unremarkable. Andrew Tate competed in full-contact style kickboxing which is a modified version of kickboxing that allows for fewer kicks. No major organizations use full-contact kickboxing rules, K-1, GLORY, RISE, and ONE Championship have never used the full-contact rules and it is not popular. Additionally, full-contact style kickboxing is not competitive or deep. It has close to no competitors.

Tate held titles in full-contact style kickboxing, again this is not standard kickboxing, under ISKA and Enfusion. Enfusion is a builder organization that helps funnel regional talent into the bigger leagues, such as GLORY. K-1, GLORY, ONE, and RISE are all considered major kickboxing titles, ISKA and Enfusion are not top-line championships.

Any notable kickboxer throughout history including Ernesto Hoost, Badr Hari, Buakaw Banchamek, Alex Pereira, Alistair Overeem, Peter Aerts, and others, did not compete in full-contact style kickboxing. They also competed in major organizations such as K-1 or GLORY, not Enfusion or ISKA. In summary, Kevin Lee has a point.

Below is K-1 kickboxing with standard rules, this is NOT a full-contact match.

LowKickMMA.com

One of the clear highlights of the UFC 305 pay-per-view this past weekend was the lightweight contest between Mateusz Gamrot and Dan Hooker.

Given Gamrot’s position in the division and recent wins, many expected him to get this victory to take one more step closer to a title shot. However, “The Hangman” had other plans.

He managed to win a split decision and a top five ranking spot following a great clash between them, which sent the Perth crowd crazy after witnessing the Fight of the Night bonus winner.

One fellow lightweight contender who had his eye on this clash was Paddy Pimblett. “The Baddy” recently entered the top 15 at 155 pounds with a submission win over King Green at UFC 304.

He gave his live reaction to the fight on his YouTube channel, where before the first bell sounded, he teed up the idea of meeting either man down the line.

“I could end up fighting one of these couldn’t I?”

Paddy Pimblett Agreed With Decision, Tees Up Dan Hooker Encounter In The Future

Like many, Pimblett agreed that Gamrot was the favorite going in. He did, however, make a point of stating that Hooker shouldn’t have been such a big underdog due to the caliber of opponents he has faced.

“The Baddy” wasn’t surprised to see “Gamer” get takedowns, but over the course of the fight, he watched as “The Hangman” kept pouring on the pressure with his forward momentum.

The fight was a close one, which the scorecards and Pimblett’s reaction seconded. But the former Cage Warriors champion did agree that Hooker did enough to get his hand raised.

While there may be 10 ranking spots between them, “The Baddy” would be open to testing himself against the fan favorite in the future.

“Fight of the night so far of what I’ve watched. Let’s see the decision anyway. I reckon Hooker, lad, to be honest. 29-28 Gamrot. 29-28 Hooker, upset, Dan Hooker back in the top five,” Pimblett said. “Could be a nice fight for me in the future.”

• Read More: Mateusz Gamrot Sets Sights On Next Opponent After UFC 305 Setback: ‘If The UFC Likes It…’

Continue Reading Paddy Pimblett Reacts To Dan Hooker’s Upset Win Over Mateusz Gamrot At UFC 305: ‘Could Be A Nice Fight For Me…’ at MMA News.

MMA News

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Ilia Topuria’s confidence has only grown since he became the UFC featherweight champion.

In his first title defense, Topuria will be met with one of the toughest challengers imaginable. At UFC 308 on Oct. 26, Topuria attempts to take out the division’s former champion and current BMF champion Max Holloway in an expected battle for the ages.

If that isn’t your most-anticipated fight currently booked, please explain yourself in the comments below. After Holloway’s stunningly epic lightweight performance to capture the BMF crown against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, the proud Hawaiian could have been “Blessed” with a heavyweight title shot and fans would believe he’d have a shot to win.

Unfortunately for Topuria, his request to have both belts on the line in this upcoming matchup was not met by the promotion.

“No, the BMF title is not going to be on the line,” Topuria told MMA Junkie. “To be honest, I don’t care. They took that decision, and at the end of the day, it’s like, when I’m going to beat him he can’t say he’s a BMF or however they want to call him. I’m just concentrating on my title defense and that’s it. I don’t care about anything else.”

Topuria shocked the world when he fulfilled his self-proposed prophecy by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in round two of UFC 298’s main event in February. We knew the undefeated 15-0 “Matador” was a legitimately elite 145-pound fighter. Doing what he did to “The Great” featherweight legend was still a sight to behold regardless.

Against Holloway, Topuria is expecting an even better performance out of himself, which simply seems impossible, all things considered. Holloway, 32, has fought some of the greatest fighters in and out of his weight class throughout his 33-fight career (26-7) and hadn’t suffered a knockdown until the aforementioned last fight against Gaethje.

Despite that, the 27-year-old champion believes all he needs is one to get it done.

“No doubt about that,” Topuria said of his knockout prediction. “What makes me so excited about this fight is that no one could knock him out. There’s no way I’m not going to knock him out. I will be the first one to knock him out because every time I watch him fight I’m like, ‘I’m way better than him.’ If you put me with him in kickboxing or boxing, even in a chess match, I beat him. Whatever you want to do, boy, I can beat you.

“I respect Max Holloway. He’s been a great fighter. He gave us great fights. He seems to be a good person. I respect him. But I don’t know, I feel like I’m way better than him everywhere. It’s going to be a complete masterpiece. You will see. I will knock him out in the first round. There is no doubts about that. It’s going to be much easier than with Volkanovski, because I considered Volkanovski is way more difficult matchup for me, and he beat that guy three times.”

TOP STORIES

Beef. Ronda Rousey felt she had to save women’s MMA, no one wanted to watch ‘that cheating ass b*tch’ Cris Cyborg; Cyborg responds

Backlash. Dana White calls Merab Dvalishvili ‘next-level stupid’ for posting cut picture before UFC 306

Trouble. UFC veteran Casey Kenney arrested on kidnapping, multiple assault charges

Take. Sean Strickland shares his ‘unpopular opinion’ on Israel Adesanya: ‘Izzy’s not that f*cking good’

Accountability. Dana White takes full responsibility for Francis Ngannou scrubbing from UFC 305 video: ‘Blame me for that’

Locked. Chad Mendes still under UFC contract, cites condition for potential return

Onward. Dan Hooker says UFC targeting Charles Oliveira matchup next: ‘That’s a good fight’

LET’S WATCH

No commentary.

Full fights.

PFL Fight Week.

Belal’s celebration tour.

Chandler loves water.

Subs with Craig.

Fancy Shoulder Ripper.

LISTEN UP

No Bets Barred. MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew talks changing of the guard at UFC Vegas 96, plus a major announcement.

MORNING MUSIC

We always vibe for new Wallice around here.

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

This month’s full playlist:

SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Rivalry renewed.

Backup…

Media day.

Reaction.

Normal.

Just Angie.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Thomas Almeida (22-5) vs. Taylor Moore (12-8); Art of Scrap 9, Sept. 14

Karine Silva (18-4) vs. Viviane Araújo (12-6); UFC 309, Nov. 16

FINAL THOUGHTS

I am so ready for Topuria vs. Holloway that it isn’t even funny. It should be illegal to have as wide of a gap between Max’s last fight and this one.

Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Tony Ferguson is no stranger to the weird side of MMA, and a recent Sean Strickland story has only added to Ferguson’s unique nature.

‘El Cucuy’ is arguably one of the biggest upset stories in the UFC. The veteran went on a legendary 12-fight winning run inside the octagon, all without failing to capture the undisputed lightweight title. Now, he finds himself breaking the company record for the longest losing streak with eight straight losses in the cage.

When two of the most eccentric fighters in the sport sit down to talk, something unusual is bound to happen. That was the case when Sean Strickland and Tony Ferguson shared a phone call some years back.

“Tony is mentally f***ing ill,” Strickland said on the Versus Us Podcast. “So, my experience with Tony was, I was friends with him. We would talk occasionally.”

“He’s like, ‘Hey, I’m putting together a fight team in Huntington Beach.’ I’m like, ‘Ah, sh*t, alright Tony. Well, let me know if you need sparring.’ I was [at welterweight] at the time. I was like, ‘I got you.'”

Related: Sean Strickland heaps praise on ‘piece of sh*t’ Jon Jones

“I was like, ‘Let me know if you need sparring anytime.’ He’s like, ‘But, Sean. No. It’s super secretive… If you’re going to come train with us, I don’t want you training with anybody else.’ Like really f***ing weird.”

“[It was like] you’ve got the voices in your head weird. And I was like, ‘Tony, alright dog. I’m down dude, I’ll see you…’ And I just immediately hung up.”

Strickland continued, explaining further why he believes Ferguson may have been dealing with some problems.

“He accused one of his coaches of stealing from him. And [it’s] a guy that I know. He’s like, ‘Tony, I’ve never been to your house, bro. I don’t even know where you live. How did I break into your house and steal your sh*t bro? I don’t even know where the f*** you live, Tony.'”

“Tony, dude. That’s a whole bag of f***ing crazy.”

Listen to Sean Strickland’s story about Tony Ferguson and more below.

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Dustin Poirier didn’t capture Lightweight gold at UFC 302, but he impressed just about everyone watching in his gutsy attempt to upset Islam Makhachev (watch here). A notably impressed viewer was former United States President Donald Trump, who was attending live in Newark, New Jersey back in June.

On a recent episode of This Past Weekend with comedian and fight fan Theo Von, Trump recalled the Lightweight title clash and heaped praise on Poirier. In particular, Trump was impressed by Poirier’s resilience and refusal to go down easily to the overwhelming wrestler.

“Oh, he’s great,” Trump said of Poirier (via SportsKeeda). “… He’s a warrior! That last fight he had [versus Makhachev]. Whether you like it or not, he is a warrior.”

Trump continued, “No, he didn’t lose that fight. He really… Man, his fighting was tough. He was tough and didn’t expect that same fight. But he oftentimes, well he makes people suffer. There’s no question about it. You know, he’s all, he’s a pro. He’s a professional. As that fight went along he just got stronger and stronger. And he was getting pounded, and he was going to be choked out about four different times and he just wouldn’t let it happen.”

Alas, Poirier did, in fact, lose that fight. “The Diamond” gave Makhachev hell and landed more strikes than anyone else on the bloodied champion, but ultimately a fifth round ankle pick and subsequent d’arce choke kept the title in Dagestan.

Speaking of, Trump recently revealed that Makhachev’s coach and longtime training partner, Khabib Nurmagomedov, was his favorite UFC fighter … much to Conor McGregor’s chagrin. Think we’ll get another response from “The Notorious” for this praise of his other rival?

Insomnia

Sean O’Malley is looking fast, loose, and accurate in this mitts footage.

Pure Robocop energy in these shots.

Get to know one of the latest Ultimate Fighter (TUF) finalists!

Oh yeah, this clip definitely belongs in Midnight Mania.

I hope this man is being paid well to suffer Ilia Topuria’s body punching this often.

Casey Kenney’s domestic abuse allegations combined with a two-fight losing streak would appear to be the end of his UFC career.

The only thing more surprising than Henry Cejudo being able to make 125-pounds at 37 years of age would be if he actually performed well afterward. Bad idea!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

A few nasty left hooks in this clip with different setups each time.

Threw that same left hand to the body three times in a row then all of a sudden …

Doubling up on same-side punches catches opponents off-guard all the time, stance shift or no shift.

Random Land

Inside an Alaskan glacier.

Midnight Music: Samba, 1963

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

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts