Author: mmafighting
Paulo Costa thinks Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland took things a bit too far. On Saturday, Strickland defends his middleweight title for the first time against top contender du Plessis in the main event of UFC 297. It’s a bout with a lot of bad blood that started when du Plessis invoked Strickland’s childhood and father during some trash talk, and then escalated at UFC 296 when Strickland vaulted over a row of seats to attack du Plessis. And while Costa is no stranger to trash talk himself, he does believe that du Plessis crossed the line when talking…
Former UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Peña hopes to return at International Fight Week for a rubber match with former two-division champ Amanda Nunes. Barring that, she’ll take a fight with Mayra Bueno Silva for the now-vacant title. Silva on Saturday faces Raquel Pennington for the bantamweight championship in the co-headliner of UFC 297. But much of the heat she’s generated before the fight has been with Pena, who said their rivalry started when Silva tested positive for a banned substance. “It’s not my fault that I’m the most interesting thing about this fight, literally,” Pena said about Saturday’s title fight…
UFC 300 is getting bigger and bigger with each fight announcement. Dana White last spoiled the fans with the surprising first-ever BMF title defense between the champion Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway at lightweight. Therefore, the super-event now has two title fights currently on tap after the strawweight title tilt between Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan was previously made official. A third title fight is expected to be added to UFC 300’s expanding eight-fight lineup on April 13. Plenty of speculation has surrounded the possibility of the light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira making his first title defense on the night.…
UFC 297 takes place this Saturday as the UFC returns to Toronto for the first time since 2018 and its brought two title fights with it. In the co-main event, Raquel Pennington faces Mayra Bueno Silva for the vacant women’s bantamweight title, and then in the main event, Sean Strickland puts his middleweight strap on the line against Dricus du Plessis. The No Bets Barred boys are here to cover every angle of 2024’s first PPV event. This week, hosts Conner Burks and Jed Meshew are joined by Alexander K. Lee who is boots on the ground in Toronto for…
Former UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas’ finger still hasn’t fully healed from her UFC Paris fight against Manon Fiorot. Namajunas believes she injured her right pinkie finger in the first minute of the fight, and four months later, it’s still a bit crooked. “I went through a sprint-step right hand,” she said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “But my glove was a little wide.My hand probably was a little loose, too, and my pinky just caught right on her forearm. It just jammed my pinky, and I knew instantly something was wrong.” Namajunas fought through the pain, even making it…
Donn Davis and PFL are having a very good week. On Tuesday, PFL announced it will begin 2024 with the much-anticipated PFL vs. Bellator supercard, which takes place on Feb. 24 in Riydah, Saudi Arabia, and features four champion vs. champion fights. The news came one day after reports surfaced that the UFC’s planned debut event in Saudi Arabia was being postponed from March 2 to June as a result of discontent from Saudi officials over card quality. Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour on Wednesday, Davis said that’s not a accident. “I don’t think it’s any coincidence…
Sean Strickland isn’t backing down from insults aimed at Ian Machado Garry or his wife, Layla, despite saying some subjects should be out of bounds on trash talk. At UFC 297 media day on Wednesday, Strickland justified his insults, claiming Garry made his wife a huge part of the promotion for his fights, including photos Garry posted wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with Geoff Neal’s mugshot with her standing alongside him. Strickland said that makes her fair game. “You went out and put your wife front and f****** center,” he said. “You put her front and f****** center. You made her…
Dricus du Plessis doesn’t seem too concerned about a possible stabbing ahead of his fight at UFC 297. Ahead of their showdown on Saturday, reigning UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland issued a warning to du Plessis to avoid any further trash talk related to the trauma he suffered as a child. In fact, Strickland went as far as threatening “I will f****** stab you” if that actually happens. In response, du Plessis could only crack a smile and laugh at the comment, but it’s clear he’s not losing any sleep over a possible attack prior to their fight. “I don’t…
Israel Adesanya understands how ugly things can get when involved in a fight with Sean Strickland. In the days and weeks leading up to their bout this past September, Strickland launched all sorts of personal attacks aimed at Adesanya when promoting the fight. Of course, Strickland seems to spew wild and outlandish remarks at just about everybody, often times with personal jabs such as his ongoing feud with UFC welterweight Ian Machado Garry and his wife, Layla. The tables turned on Strickland after his next opponent Dricus du Plessis returned the favor, mentioning abuse and other childhood trauma the reigning…
Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann are no strangers to living their lives in front of cameras. Now the pair of UFC veterans will do that on a more full-time basis after scoring a reality show from the BBC in the United Kingdom. Paddy & Molly: Show No Mersey has been ordered to series at BBC Three with the UFC fighters allowing a deeper look at both their personal and professional lives. Pimblett and McCann — who hail from Merseyside in the U.K., which explains the unique spelling of their shared reality series — are best friends who also happen to…