Dana White on UFC’s position regarding Nate Diaz returning to the UFC – “This will always be his house”
It seems the UFC doors will always be open for Nate Diaz. The Stockton slugger is undoubtedly one of the biggest superstars ever to grace the UFC octagon and has fought against world-class opponents in some of the most high-profile bouts in MMA history. After spending a decade competing in the UFC, Diaz left the promotion in September last year. It’s no secret that Nate Diaz had his issues with the promotion and often clashed with its senior-most executives. However, the Stockton native has lately expressed his desire to eventually return to the famed octagon. In a press conference after the conclusion of Dana White’s Contender Series 57, Dana White called Diaz a bonafide UFC icon and stated that the organization will always be his home. He said: “We feel the same way about Nate. We always have… This will always be Nate’s house. Nate grew up here. He came up on The Ultimate Fighter. He fought some of the biggest fights ever here. We love the kid. I don’t know about fighting in the future, but this is always going to be his house. We’ll see.” Jake Paul on Nate Diaz putting him in a chokehold during their boxing match Jake Paul recently opened up about Nate Diaz applying his grappling moves on him during their boxing match. Paul recently welcomed Diaz to the world of professional boxing. The two men faced each other on August 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and Paul secured a unanimous decision victory after their ten-round war. During the final round, Diaz seemed to wrap a momentary guillotine choke around Paul’s neck before letting go. The incident caused quite an uproar among viewers, and many hailed the Stockton slugger for keeping the fight interesting. However, Jake Paul wasn’t pleased about it and recently sounded off on Nate Diaz for using the illegal move. In their post-fight press conference, Jake Paul confirmed that Diaz applied pressure on the choke and said: “He f**king choked me! He was actually choking me. I was like, ‘This is crazy’. I didn’t think he was gonna stop, but he had it in… That’s why I want to do it back in MMA… If it was it was MMA, I would have dropped to a double-leg, picked him up, and dropped him on his head.”
Dana White on ‘Wonderboy’ not being paid his show money for UFC 291 – “You don’t fight, you don’t get paid”
Dana White recently opened up about Stephen Thompson’s compensation issue. ‘Wonderboy’ and Michel Pereira were scheduled to fight in a welterweight contest at UFC 291. However, the Brazilian failed to make weight and came in three pounds over the non-title welterweight limit of 171 pounds. After Thompson chose not to fight at catchweight, the bout was ultimately scrapped. After the event, Stephen Thompson revealed that the UFC didn’t pay him for going through a full fight camp, making weight, and showing up to the weigh-ins. However, ‘Wonderboy’ was vocally optimistic about the UFC doing right by him. In a recent press conference, Dana White revealed why Thompson wasn’t paid and outlined the promotion’s remuneration process. He said: “You decided not to fight, the guy was three pounds overweight, you get a piece of his purse if you take the fight… No, you don’t just show up and say ‘yeah, I’m not going to fight, I want a quarter of a million dollars’, that’s not how it works, hasn’t worked that way for anybody…There’s a lot of different ways that this gets worked out.” White then explained that the promotion was looking for a solution with Thompson’s team and said: “You don’t fight, you don’t get paid necessarily in the contract. But we always make sure that we take care of everybody and we’re working it out with Wonderboy right now. It’s all being worked out behind the scenes, and this should all be worked out by Saturday.” Dana White praises Nate Diaz after Jake Paul loss; claims the Stockton slugger will always be welcome in the UFC Despite their past differences, Dana White and Nate Diaz share a mutual respect for each other. The UFC supremo recently discussed Diaz’s boxing debut against Jake Paul and showered praise on the former UFC star for holding his own against the YouTuber. Diaz faced Paul in an eight-round boxing match on August 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Stockton native showed some promising moments during the bout but couldn’t stop Paul from cruising to a unanimous decision victory. In a presser after the conclusion of Dana White’s Contender Series 57, Dana White reacted to Diaz’s performance and said: “For a kid pushing 40 years old fighting a guy four weight classes bigger than him in boxing and two in MMA and going the distance at his age against a 20-f*cking-something-year-old kid, so far, he’s fared the best. He looked good. I’m happy for him.” White addressed Nate Diaz’s eagerness to return to the UFC and added: “We feel the same way about Nate. We always have… This will always be Nate’s house. Nate grew up here. He came up on The Ultimate Fighter. He fought some of the biggest fights ever here. We love the kid. I don’t know about fighting in the future, but this is always going to be his house. We’ll see.”
Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland finally set to go down at UFC 293 in Sydney
Israel Adesanya will defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland at UFC 293 in Sydney. UFC president Dana White recently confirmed the matchup via a social media announcement and outlined some other matchups slated to go down at the Qudos Bank Arena on September 10. Adesanya was initially expected to face fast-rising middleweight contender Dricus Du Plessis for his next title defense. However, the South African was forced to pull out of the bout due to an injury he picked up during his fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. After Du Plessis was unavailable, ‘The Last Stylebender’ campaigned to fight Strickland instead. Adesanya and Strickland have a long-standing feud and will be looking to settle their differences in the cage. The two have previously taken several personal shots at each other via social media and interviews. The co-main event of UFC 293 will feature a heavyweight contest between Tai Tuivasa and Alexander Volkov. Elsewhere on the card, Australian flyweight Kai Kara-France will go up against Manel Kape. Justin Tafa will also fight Austin Lane in another exciting heavyweight battle. It was recently announced that an injury forced Casey O’Neill out of her bout against Viviane Araujo. Jennifer Maia has replaced the women’s flyweight contender and will face Araujo instead. UFC 293: Kevin Holland on Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland Kevin Holland recently weighed in on the Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland middleweight title fight at UFC 293 next month. ‘Trailblazer’ claimed that he doesn’t see ‘Tarzan’ posing too much of a challenge for Adesanya and predicts another successful title defense for the Nigerian-born Kiwi. In an interview with Helen Yee, Holland claimed that neither Strickland nor Dricus Du Plessis posed a threat to Adesanya. He said: “Either way, I think both of those fights are good fights for Izzy. I don’t see either one of those guys giving Izzy a problem. Du Plessis has been known to prove us wrong, and he’s fixed his nose, so maybe he’s a better fighter.” He continued: “I think Izzy picks him apart, Izzy picks Du Plessis apart… Izzy has more chances of knocking out Strickland because Strickland will take more chances than Du Plessis does.” Watch the full interview below: Israel Adesanya last defeated his longtime rival Alex Pereira and reclaimed the middleweight championship. The Nigerian-born Kiwi has put together one of the greatest resumes in UFC middleweight history and has effectively cleared the division. Meanwhile, Sean Strickland is on a two-fight win streak and will be looking to extend that at UFC 293 in September.
Conor McGregor claims UFC isn’t interested in Michael Chandler matchup, ‘Iron’ responds
The highly anticipated Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler bout may be in jeopardy. The Irishman recently claimed that the UFC wasn’t keen on making their matchup a reality and have other plans for his long-awaited return. McGregor has been away from the octagon since July 2021, recuperating from a nasty leg fracture he suffered against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Earlier this year, the promotion roped him in to coach on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler. After the season concludes, the two explosive strikers are expected to face off in the cage. While many looked forward to Conor McGregor returning to action against an opponent as dynamic as Chandler, the Irishman has been dismissive of their anticipated matchup of late. Over the past two weeks, Mcgregor has called out Justin Gaethje, Nate Diaz, Charles Oliveira, and even Floyd Mayweather. In a now-deleted tweet, Conor McGregor surprisingly claimed that the UFC wasn’t interested in making the Michael Chandler fight. He wrote: “I’ll do it if they want, no prob. I don’t think they want him no more tho. There’s loads of juicy fights around, and my return date is my return date. I never gave a f**k about who it was. Ever. I’ll fight anyone. I’ll even fly them to me, ask [Paul] Malinaggi. Flown in and bet around.” Michael Chandler responds to Conor McGregor dismissing their fight Michael Chandler recently reacted to Conor McGregor’s latest tweet dismissing their anticipated bout. While ‘The Notorious’ confidently claimed the UFC wasn’t keen on it, ‘Iron’ is confident the fight will materialize. It’s no surprise that Chandler has been looking forward to facing McGregor in the cage. Given their striking pedigrees, it’s safe to assume a meeting between them will guarantee fireworks in the cage. However, the UFC has issued no official confirmation about the fight. Nevertheless, the former Bellator lightweight champion is confident their fight will go through. Implying that the Irishman wasn’t telling the whole truth, Chandler tweeted: “This dude… I remember when his words held an immense amount of weight. Just tell the truth.” In a follow-up tweet, ‘Iron’ predicted a second-round knockout victory in their bout. He wrote: “Second round KO. Break his will in the first. Finish in the second.” While Conor McGregor is expected to make his return to action this year, his reluctance to enter the USADA testing pool has made things difficult. It remains to be seen when and against whom the former two-division champion returns.
Former UFC fighter claims Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul MMA bout will be “competitive”
Dan Hardy believes a Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul MMA fight will be more competitive than people think. The former UFC star recently weighed in on the proposed Diaz-Paul rematch in the cage and claimed he wouldn’t count the YouTuber out owing to his boxing skills. He also shared an interesting prediction for such a bout. Nate Diaz and Jake Paul faced each other in a boxing match at the American Airlines Center last weekend. The ten-round contest marked the Stockton slugger’s first foray into the boxing ring. Unfortunately, Diaz’s debut saw him lose the fight via unanimous decision. After Paul got his hand raised, he immediately challenged Diaz to an MMA fight and claimed to have a $10 million standing offer for him to accept. While an MMA fight between a UFC veteran like Nate Diaz and Jake Paul seems outrageous to many, Dan Hardy has a contrarian opinion. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, ‘The Outlaw’ stated: “Honestly, and I know I’m going to get some heat for this, but I think it could be competitive. With what we’ve seen from Jake Paul in a boxing match is that he’s willing to stand and trade with Nate at times. He’s willing to be in the pocket… In a striking sense, it’s going to be some level of competitiveness.” He added: “Most likely Nate would submit him of course, but I can’t count Jake out.” Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul: Nick Diaz wants to avenge his younger sibling’s loss; calls for a fight against either of the Paul brothers Nick Diaz recently weighed in on the Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul boxing match. The former UFC star claimed he wanted to avenge his younger sibling’s loss and called for a fight against the YouTuber-turned-boxer or his elder brother Logan Paul. The ‘Diaz Army’ head honcho was in attendance at the American Airlines Center in Dallas to support his brother. After the younger Diaz sibling lost his boxing debut via unanimous decision, the elder sibling took the mic to make it clear that he was open to fighting the Paul brothers if Nate Diaz wasn’t up to it. Speaking on the pay-per-view, Nick Diaz said: “I think [Nate Diaz] needed a little more work. But let’s cut to the chase, I’m a lot better than both of these guys that are out there. I’d love to entertain the idea of moving in on whomever they’ve got for me. So if they want to do Round 2 [against Jake], if [Nate] ain’t going to do it, I’ll take it. [Jake’s] got an older brother too, so don’t forget about the one and only.” Catch Diaz’s comments below (2:15):
Cory Sandhagen reveals “fully torn tricep” injury in first round against Rob Font at UFC Nashville
Cory Sandhagen recently revealed that he suffered a horrible injury during his fight against Rob Font last weekend. ‘The Sandman’ faced Font at UFC on ESPN 50 in Nashville in an uneventful three-round bantamweight contest. While Sandhagen secured a crucial unanimous decision victory, his performance was widely criticized for being boring. The bantamweight, who’s widely known for his striking skills, chose to wrestle his opponent for the majority of the fight. He picked up nearly 20 minutes of control time in the 25-minute contest, resulting in some of the lowest combined striking numbers in UFC history. Cory Sandhagen recently took to Instagram to offer an explanation for his grappling-heavy strategy. He revealed that he suffered a fully torn tricep muscle in the first round of the fight, which left him unable to strike effectively. In his post, he wrote: “Fully torn tricep in Round 1. Wasn’t able to punch or elbow with that arm without pain and it feeling like shit. Did what I had to do to win that night. Surgery this week – back soon! PEACE – LOVE YOU” Apart from surgery and physical rehab, Sandhagen has also been suspended for 180 days by the Tennessee Athletic Commission and will need to be cleared by a doctor before getting returning to active competition. Aljamain Sterling on Cory Sandhagen vs. Rob Font at UFC on ESPN 50 Aljamain Sterling wasn’t impressed by Cory Sandhagen’s performance against Rob Font. The reigning bantamweight champion recently took to social media to make his thoughts on the fight known and lambasted ‘The Sandman’ for not capitalizing on his opportunities. Sterling fought Sandhagen back in June 2020 and managed to beat the Colorado native via first-round submission. Being familiar with Sandhagen’s game, ‘Funk Master’ knew he could’ve done more in the fight despite his injury. In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Aljamain Sterling accused Cory Sandhagen of playing it too safe. He said: “I was honestly disappointed with his [Rob Font] lack of ability to get back to his feet… That’s tough, man. I know it was a short notice thing. Both guys had to make big adjustments but Font, he wanted it. Sandhagen, he wanted it. But the difference is that nobody showed that they want the next title shot with a definitive win.” He added: “The only thing that I will say is, [Sandhagen] had positions where he could have capitalized and done a lot of cool things with the dominant positions that he had and he just kinda chose to stay on top and just coast his way to the finish.” Watch the full video below:
Conor McGregor reacts to Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul boxing bout, calls for trilogy with former foe
Conor McGregor wasn’t impressed by Nate Diaz’s performance against Jake Paul. The Irishman recently reacted to the Stockton native’s boxing debut and called for a trilogy fight against his former rival. Diaz fought ‘The Problem Child’ in a ten-round boxing match at the American Airlines Center last weekend. In the fight, Diaz put his legendary gas tank and durability on display and relentlessly applied pressure on the YouTuber-turned-boxer. However, Paul cruised to a unanimous decision victory and even managed to knock Diaz down in the fifth round. Soon after the fight concluded, Conor McGregor took to Twitter and expressed his thoughts on the match. Lambasting his former rival for not getting the win, he wrote: “I gonna serve up your liver on a sandwich in the trilogy m8. Out straight. I won’t even hit your face. That was abysmal last night.” ‘The Notorious’ continued to viciously attack ‘The Problem Child’ and wrote: “Paul is a r*tard. Absolute garbage he is. Moving backward like I was watching a fight in rewind. Holy garbage. Embarrassing stuff all around IMO.” Jorge Masvidal wants to fight Conor McGregor outside the octagon Jorge Masvidal recently sounded off on Conor McGregor and claimed he’s ready to fight the Irishman on the streets. The former BMF champion retired after a unanimous decision loss against Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 in April. The loss marked his fourth consecutive defeat in the octagon. While the 38-year-old has previously exchanged harsh words with McGregor, their fight never materialized. However, both have expressed an eagerness to face each other at some point in their careers. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, ‘Gamebred’ addressed a potential fight against Conor McGregor and said: “Really I would like to fight Conor because he’s such a bi**h. I can’t stand that dude. But him on the street for free, ’cause he’ll never fight me in the ring. He never mentions my f**king name in a comment… Calling out Dustin [Poirier] and Justin [Gaethje]. Shut the f**k up, and do the due process. You f**king bi**h!” Conor McGregor hasn’t competed since suffering a leg fracture against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. He is currently coaching on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler and the two are expected to fight in the octagon after the show concludes. Watch the full video below:
Henry Cejudo slams Cory Sandhagen’s “dud of a performance” at UFC Nashville
Henry Cejudo wasn’t impressed with Cory Sandhagen’s victory over Rob Font at UFC Nashville last weekend. The former two-division champion recently sounded off on ‘The Sandman’s wresting-heavy fighting style and dismissed Sandhagen’s chances at a title shot next. While Sandhagen was initially slated to face Umar Nurmagomedov, the Dagestan native was forced to pull out due to injury. Font replaced Nurmagomedov on short notice. During the fight, ‘The Sandman’ adopted an aggressive grappling style and dominated Font on the ground. While many called the bout boring and un-dynamic, Sandhagen managed to bring out a unanimous decision win after five rounds. Soon after getting his hand raised, Cory Sandhagen called for a bantamweight title fight against the winner of Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O’Malley at UFC 292. However, Henry Cejudo doesn’t think the promotion will grant Sandhagen his wish. ‘Triple C’ uploaded a video reacting to the fight on his YouTube channel and tweeted a clip of the same. He captioned the post: “Thank you, Cory Sandhagen. After that dud of a performance, it’s me vs @MerabDvalishvili for the next shot at that bantamweight strap.” In the video, Cejudo laughed at Cory Sandhagen and dismissed his calls for a title shot against the winner of Sterling vs. O’Malley. He said: “Sandhagen, come on dude. You got to get the principles of this game, it’s me and Merab dude… It makes me forgive myself for Aljamain… If Sandhagen wants a title shot, this is not the way to go about it. It’s going to be me and Merab dude.” Henry Cejudo on a potential Justin Gaethje vs. Conor McGregor fight Henry Cejudo wants Justin Gaethje to accept Conor McGregor’s callouts and secure a massive payday. ‘The Highlight’ recently defeated Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 and took home the coveted BMF title. While many expected the fight to be a drawn-out slugfest, Gaethje unexpectedly secured a second-round knockout win. Soon after getting Gaethje got his hand raised, McGregor went off on the new BMF champion on Twitter. ‘The Notorious’ ruthlessly criticized ‘The Highlight’ and called for a fight against him. While Justin Gaethje made it clear he wasn’t interested in fighting Conor McGregor, Henry Cejudo recently urged him to reconsider. ‘Triple C’ also predicted that Gaethje would make easy work of the Irishman. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Cejudo stated: “Justin Gaethje, you’ve got millions and millions of dollars on the line if you fight Conor McGregor… The belt will always be there and actually waiting for you… That being said, Justin, if I had to choose something, whether I want a UFC [belt] around my waist or about $10 million, guess what? I’m going for the $10 million… At 155 pounds, I can see you stopping Conor McGregor within the first two minutes.”
Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz : All details regarding the upcoming boxing event
The highly anticipated Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz boxing match will take place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, this weekend. The ten-round affair will be the Stockton slugger’s first outing in the boxing ring. The fight will be contested at 185 pounds. It’s no secret that Diaz and Paul share a mutual dislike for each other. Their feud seemed to have stemmed from an altercation between their teams just before Paul’s boxing match against Anderson Silva. Since then, both have traded verbal shots on social media, often getting personal with their insults. After months of attempting to get Diaz to fight him in the squared circle, Paul finally got his wish. The Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz boxing match, billed as Ready 4 War, will headline a blockbuster main card featuring several high-profile matchups. As the co-main event, Amanda Serrano will defend her undisputed women’s featherweight title against Heather Hardy in their rematch. Meanwhile, Diaz’s stablemate Chris Avila will fight former UFC star Jeremy Stephens. Most Valuable Promotions stars Ashton Sylve and Shadisa Green have been booked against William Silva and Olivia Curry, respectively. The pay-per-view (PPV) event will air on August 5 at 8 PM (ET), 1 AM (UK time), and 5 AM (IST on August 6). It will be available for purchase on ESPN+ and DAZN PPV for $59.99. To buy the pay-per-view, fans need a monthly subscription to the providers. While ESPN charges $9.99 a month, DAZN costs $19.99. For viewers outside America, FITE TV will stream the fight for $44.99. Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz: ‘The Problem Child’ predicts the outcome of upcoming boxing match Jake Paul is confident of a victory against Nate Diaz. ‘The Problem Child’ recently shared his prediction for the fight and claimed he’s looking for a knockout as early as the fifth round. While Diaz will aim to make a statement in the boxing ring against his longtime rival, Paul is looking to rebound from a split decision loss against Tommy Fury in his last outing. However, the YouTuber-turned-boxer is expected to have the upper hand in this matchup. Paul has previously defeated notable MMA stars like Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and Ben Askren. However, many hold the opinion that Diaz’s tank-like durability and legendary cardio levels will make things difficult for Paul. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Jake Paul dismissed the possibility of Nate Diaz winning and said: “My prediction is a fifth-round knockout… I’m not concerned. I know I want it more, and I know what I did in training… And yeah, he’s going to maybe land a couple of punches, that’s the name of the game… I’m going to get hit and hit him harder, and keep on going and weather the storm and end his career.”
Sean Strickland advises fans “to stop looking up” to Andrew Tate in a Twitter rant
Sean Strickland has some strong opinions about Andrew Tate. The ever-outspoken UFC middleweight contender recently sounded off on the controversial influencer and urged fans to stop idolizing him. Tate is undoubtedly among the most polarizing internet personalities today. ‘Top G’ gained notoriety over the past few years for promoting an unhealthy form of aggressive masculinity among young men. He is widely known for marketing himself as a multimillionaire “hustler” and often shows off his ostentatious lifestyle on social media to sell his brand. Andrew Tate and his brother were charged with human trafficking, rape, and organized crime in June. They were arrested in Romania in December last year for the same and spent over three months in prison before being allowed to spend their detention under house arrest. Sean Strickland recently reacted to a video of John Lovell, founder of The Warrior Poet Society, exposing Tate’s lies during his recent interviews with Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. Quote-tweeting the video, Strickland wrote: “Andrew Tate is the definition of a POS. Literal human embodiment of a bag of sh*t… Y’all need to stop looking up to this human POS.” Andrew Tate released from house arrest after Romanian court allegedly rules the case against him “weak” Andrew Tate recently revealed that he is no longer under house arrest. The controversial influencer broke the news via his Twitter account and clarified that he still cannot leave Romania. As mentioned above, the Tate brothers were arrested by Romanian authorities last year due to their alleged involvement in serious crimes. Despite both being sentenced to prison and house arrest after that, the two brothers have always maintained their innocence. In a recent tweet, Andrew Tate revealed the shocking news and outlined the cost he bore due to his incarceration. He wrote: “After ten months. 3 in jail, seven at home. After 15 million euros of asset seizures. After an indictment based on nothing. The file was passed to a Judge who ruled it weak and circumstantial. I have been released from house arrest but must remain within Romania. Now. To the Mosque. Alhamdulillah.” While Andrew Tate and his brother heave a sigh of relief, they are far from being in the clear. As things stand, the court has placed Tate under judicial control. Under the new measure, he can leave the house, but not Bucharest and the surrounding county. He must also check in regularly with the police. Andrew Tate has also been accused of sexual assault by four victims in England. The women have stated their intention to commence proceedings against the polarizing social media personality.