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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Belal Muhammad wants Sean Strickland to put his money where his mouth is.

Last week, Strickland found himself in a war of words with ex-Navy SEAL David Goggins. The fitness guru and ultramarathon runner issued a challenge to the former UFC middleweight champion — three days of training for three rounds of sparring.

It sounded like a solid deal, especially after all the trash Strickland had talked about Navy SEALs not being able to hang with him in the gym. However, ‘Tarzan’ backed down pretty quickly, apologizing to Goggins and explaining that he was just “bored and angry” while waiting around for his next UFC title shot.

On the other hand, top-ranked welterweight contender Belal Muhammad believes Strickland showed the world exactly who he is by tucking his tail and running.

“I wouldn’t call it a beef. That’s what Sean is, right? He’s a troll,” Muhammad told The Schmo. “Nobody cares what he says anymore because he doesn’t have the belt anymore. So now he’s just starting to attack all these other guys, people with bigger followings and things like that, just to get attention.

“I knew what he was from the beginning, he’s fake, he’s not this tough guy that he says he is, not this crazy guy that he says he is. He’s just doing stuff for clout. I mean if he’s a man, you challenged David Goggins, do David Goggins’ workout, let’s see if you can push through. Let’s see how big your heart is” (h/t Sherdog).

Belal Muhammad closes in on first UFC title fight

Muhammad will attempt to cash in on his first UFC title fight on July 27 when he heads to Manchester for a main event matchup with reigning welterweight world champion Leon Edwards. The fight has been a long time coming for ‘Remember The Name’ who is sitting on a nine-fight win streak, his last victory coming against Gilbert Burns all the way back in May 2023.

In December, ‘Rocky’ successfully defended his title for the second time with a decisive decision victory over Colby Covington at UFC 296.

Edwards and Muhammad previously met at a Fight Night event in 2021, but the bout came to an end 18 seconds into the second round when Edwards inadvertently poked ‘Bully B’ in the eye. With him unable to continue, the fight was declared a no-contest.

More than three years later, they’ll run it back in the UFC 304 headliner with the 170-pound crown hanging in the balance.

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The fractured state of the UFC’s heavyweight title picture has been a topic of discussion this week as Tom Aspinall’s fight against Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 draws near.

The Brit is set to become only the third fighter in UFC history to defend an interim title when he steps into the Octagon in Manchester, England, on July 27, following in the footsteps of Antônio “Minotauro” Rodrigo Nogueira and Renan Barão.

Aspinall fought for the interim belt on 17 days’ notice last November, knocking out Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295. Jon Jones was originally set to face Stipe Miocic in the main event of that pay-per-view but a torn pectoral tendon and emergency surgery put paid to those plans.

In the months following UFC 295, Aspinall campaigned hard for a unification bout with Jon Jones, but it seems both “Bones” and UFC CEO Dana White remain committed to the original plan of Jones fighting Miocic later this year.

Overeem Says Jones Likely To Beat Aspinall In Potential Fight

Former UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem believes that Aspinall should be the one getting the title shot when Jones finally returns to competitive action, as 42-year old Miocic hasn’t fought since a loss to Francis Ngannou in March of 2021.

“He should (be fighting Jon Jones),” Overeem said during an appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast this week. “Stipe hasn’t fought for many years now. But it was a little bit vague how that went, right?”

When asked who he thinks would win a possible fight between Aspinall and Jones, Overeem leaned toward the former light heavyweight champion. However, he also suggested the UFC may have missed a trick by not making another fight that was rumored before Jones picked up his injury.

“Who is gonna win? I think Jon. But Francis (Ngannou) and Jon would have been very exciting. I know that there was some (talks about making the fight). And they both wanted it, but the timing…and now Francis is gone. That was the fight to make, right?

“Stipe’s not fought in a long time. What is he doing in the meantime, right, because when you have a fight there’s a camp, there’s development. And when you’re not doing that, you’re doing other stuff. Ok, maybe he has a high focus, high dedication to training…but you’re not fighting. And Jon is fighting…not that much, but he is fighting.”

• Read More: Alex Pereira Not Willing To Take On Tom Aspinall Due To Interim Title Status: ‘It Doesn’t Interest Me In This Moment’

Continue Reading Alistair Overeem Favors Jon Jones To Beat Tom Aspinall But Names 50-50 Matchup For Him: ‘That Was The Fight To Make…’ at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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Israel Adesanya seeks to regain the UFC middleweight title when he challenges Dricus du Plessis in the main event of UFC 305, and longtime rival Alex Pereira is openly rooting for his success.

Pereira, who fought Adesanya four times across two sports, said on his YouTube channel that he holds no grudges towards Adesanya, and unlike his former opponent, who picked Pereira to lose in fights with Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka, “Poatan” wants Adesanya to emerge victorious against du Plessus on Aug. 17.

“[People] asked me about Adesanya and du Plessis, I said I don’t see Adesanya losing,” Pereira said. “Just because he said that about me doesn’t mean I’ll say it back. It’s what I think. I don’t think he loses this fight. I hope he wins because he has a beautiful story. I think he has to continue his story.”

Adesanya beat Pereira in April 2023 but lost his title to Sean Strickland five months later, then took a year off before booking a title bout with du Plessis, who dethroned Strickland in the meantime.

“He isn’t that young anymore,” Pereira said of Adesanya. “He talked a little about wanting to stop [fighting], I think he has that in mind. I think he should continue his plans. I don’t think he finished his plans, I don’t know. If he had finished his plans he would of stopped already, so if he’s still there, he still has a dream, something to do in the sport still. I’m here, supporting him. I already fought him, I’m not going to say he should lose. I’m not mad at him, no grudges.”

Pereira and Adesanya embraced after their MMA rematch backstage at UFC 287 in 2023, when “The Last Stylebender” scored his first victory against Pereira after losing twice in kickboxing and once inside the octagon. Pereira later mentioned the possibility of training together once it was official that their paths will no longer cross.

Pereira again mentioned those intentions on his YouTube channel.

“Like I said, if one day it’s possible to train with him and exchange knowledge,” Pereira said. “We hear a lot of things about Adesanya behind the scenes, a lot of people talk about him, ‘He’s like this, he’s annoying,’ and whatnot. People who truly know him, that I have contact with, say good things about him, say he has a good heart. A lot of the times it’s just marketing, and I believe that.

“I can see he’s a good person, so that’s why I’m here, cheering for him. If he doesn’t cheer for me, that’s not my problem. But I’m here, cheering for him.”

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“Looks the Part”
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Pereira is excited to see Adesanya back in action at UFC 305 and hopes his former rival succeeds in this next phase of his combat sports career.

As Israel Adesanya prepares to mount a comeback in the ‘final chapter’ of his career, he’s receiving some support from an unexpected source: his longtime rival Alex Pereira.

Adesanya and Pereira were rivals in kickboxing, where “Poatan” beat Izzy twice. Then Pereira crossed over into MMA and fought his way into the UFC where he took Adesanya’s middleweight title. Adesanya would regain his belt in the rematch.

Normally that much history would lead to a lot of negative feelings, but Pereira not only expects Adesanya to win his next fight against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 305, he’s actively cheering for “The Last Stylebender” to emerge victorious and continue succeeding.

“I don’t think he loses this fight,” Pereira said in a new video on his YouTube channel. “And I hope he wins because he has a very beautiful story and I think he has to continue his story.”

“He’s not so young anymore, he threatened a little about wanting to stop … I think he should continue with his plans. I think he hasn’t completed his plans. If he had completed them, he would have already stopped, so if he’s there, it’s because he has some dream, something to do within the sport within MMA.”

“I’m here, I’m cheering,” he declared. “I’ve already fought with him, I’m not going to say that the guy has to lose. I’m not angry with him, I don’t have any resentment. As I said, if one day it’s possible to train with him, exchanging knowledge.”

Pereira dismissed a lot of Adesanya’s barbs towards him as ‘marketing.’

“The people who really know him who I’ve had contact with speak very highly of him. They say he’s a guy with a good heart. All that hard work and I believe that, you can see that he’s a good person, so that’s why I’m cheering for him. If he doesn’t support me, that’s no longer my problem. But I’m here, I’m cheering for him.”

That’s not the kind of sentiment you usually get out of a fierce competitor like Pereira (and certainly not the sentiment being returned from Adesanya), but the stone-faced “Poatan” continues to surprise us with the depth of his character.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts