Jack Della Maddalena gets new opponent for upcoming UFC Fight Night
Jack Della Maddalena is undoubtedly one of the fastest-rising welterweight prospects in the UFC. The Australian faced a series of unfortunate events that caused two canceled fights that prevented him from competing at UFC 290 last weekend. However, lady luck finally smiled on Della Maddalena, and the promotion has booked him a fight for UFC Vegas 77 this weekend. While Della Maddalena was initially slated to face Sean Brady at UFC 290, Brady was forced to pull out due to a nasty strep infection in his elbow. His second opponent, Josiah Harrell, was also pulled out of their bout after a pre-fight MRI revealed a previously undiagnosed brain condition. Despite losing two opponents, Jack Della Maddalena chose to stay back in Las Vegas. His decision paid off, and the UFC has booked promotional newcomer Bassil Hafez at UFC Vegas 77 this weekend. MMA journalist Marcel Dorff confirmed the news via Twitter: “Jack Della Maddalena will fight Bassil Hafez at #UFCVegas77 on July 15th. (first rep @arielhelwani).” Fighting out of Colorado, Hafez made his professional debut in January 2016. He has a record of 8-3. He will be the third opponent booked for Della Maddalena in a span of eight days. Jack Della Maddalena on why he didn’t fight Kevin Holland at UFC 290 It seems the UFC wasn’t keen on Jack Della Maddalena fighting Kevin Holland at UFC 290. When it came to light that Della Maddalena lost his major numbered event fight last weekend, several top-ranked contenders like Chris Curtis and Kevin Holland offered to step in on short notice to face the Australian. However, none of those bouts came to fruition, confusing Della Maddalena and the fans. In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Jack Della Maddalena admitted that he was eager to take the Holland fight. Stating that he was only offered Josiah Harrell, he explained: “They were names that were flying around and I was pretty keen… There was also Chris Curtis that was there, and it was never actually offered to me… I was excited for that fight. I think that would have been a cool fight.” He continued: “I did ask [my manager] Tim, ‘Is the Holland fight on?’ — and yeah, I don’t know, I think he had a fight booked so they weren’t into it. But I thought that was a realistic option, but it was just never actually passed on to me.”
Israel Adesanya slams Dricus du Plessis for backtracking on previous comments – “Don’t back play the victim”
Israel Adesanya is unhappy about Dricus du Plessis backtracking on his previous statements about ‘The Last Stylebender’s African origins. The Nigerian-born Kiwi recently went off on ‘Stillknocks’ for backpedaling and took to social media to air his frustration. For context, du Plessis and Adesanya have been going back and forth on social media and interviews because the South African fighter claimed he was more authentically African than the “Three Kings,” referring to the trio that consists of Israel Adesanya, Francis Ngannou, and Kamaru Usman. In a recent interview, du Plessis clarified his statements and claimed he had no intention of bringing race into the conversation. However, Israel Adesanya is having none of it and took to Twitter to post receipts. He posted the South African fighter’s previous post-fight octagon interview and wrote: “Even if you show them the proof, these n*ggas will believe what they want. Play the victim and run when he was pressed for his words. Lol “Real African”… Gaslighting, imma light him up.” He followed up with another tweet containing a video compilation of du Plessis’ words. He captioned the video: “Don’t back play the victim…stand on your original statement. Say it with yo chest n*gga!! I never discredited you as a real African, you tried to discredit 3 Real African UFC Champions. You started this, and I will finish this! That’s not a threat, that’s a promise. Gbo gbo yin ma ku!” Chael Sonnen says Israel Adesanya ‘lost his mind’ in Dricus Du Plessis interaction at UFC 290 In the aftermath of Dricus du Plessis’s massive victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290, the reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya entered the octagon and shared an intense face-off with the South African. The Nigerian-born Kiwi aggressively called du Plessis the n-word multiple times and reminded him of his origin. While their racially heated interaction confused many, former two-time middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen recently claimed that Adesanya’s drive to be the best momentarily caused him to lose his mind. In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen praised Adesanya for not losing his hunger and said: “Adesanya lost his mind tonight in front of you and it was real and it didn’t have anything to do with money and it did not have anything to do with fame… It was real… He hasn’t let those distractions in. He’s that same hungry guy.” Sonnen continued: “For ‘Izzy,’ it’s still about competition. It’s a very interesting mindset that takes extreme discipline. I have never seen anybody come through this sport that has controlled their career more than Israel Adesanya.”
Alexander Volkanovski celebrates UFC 290 victory at after party with Shaquille O’Neil and Nuggets star Jamal Murray
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski decided to go big for his post-win celebrations after UFC 290 this past weekend. Volkanovski went up against Yair Rodriguez in a title unification bout at UFC 290 and put on a statement-making performance to defeat the Mexican striking savant via third-round TKO. While both featherweights started the bout strong, ‘The Great’ drew first blood in the second round with hard ground-and-pound shots. In the third screen, Volkanovski managed to stun ‘El Pantera’ with a vicious right hand and followed up with a flurry of punches that forced the referee to stop the contest. After his momentous victory, Alexander Volkanovski painted Vegas red with basketball legend Shaquille O’Neil and Denver Nuggets superstar Jamal Murray. Volkanovski was seen living it up at a nightclub where O’Neil deejayed and grooved to the music behind the DJ’s booth. Meanwhile, Murray can be seen vibing behind the Australian with the featherweight belt on his shoulders. Alexander Volkanovski remains undefeated as a featherweight. After his win, the Australian called for another shot at Islam Makhachev and expressed his eagerness to face the fast-rising featherweight contender Ilia Topuria. Alexander Volkanovski has UFC president Dana White’s approval for Islam Makhachev rematch Alexander Volkanovski is eager to fight for the UFC lightweight title once again, and Dana White appears to be open to the idea. The UFC president was highly impressed with Volkanovski’s statement victory against an opponent as dangerous as Yair Rodriguez. The Australian silenced his doubters and proved why he’s one of the best mixed martial artists in the world by securing a third-round TKO over the ever-dangerous striking phenom at UFC 290. In a post-fight press conference, Dana White praised Alexander Volkanovski’s performance. Claiming that ‘The Great’ displayed utter domination, he said: “Total domination… He put on an unbelievable performance tonight. Yair is so talented… Yair was trying to keep him on the outside, hitting him with some big shots, and Volk was standing with him. The guy is an absolute freak. Extremely talented.” He also approved of Volkanovski calling for another shot at the lightweight title against Islam Makhachev, saying: “He’s at one of those places in his career that whatever he wants to do, what are you going to say? This guy has literally proven himself a million times… Whatever he wants to do, we’ll probably roll with it.”
Sean Strickland on Dricus Du Plessis defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 – “Well that was depressing”
Sean Strickland isn’t happy about Dricus Du Plessis defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. The ever-outspoken UFC middleweight recently took to social media to air his frustration and claimed the result was “depressing.” Du Plessis shockingly beat Whittaker in a middleweight title eliminator at UFC 290 last weekend and secured an incredible second-round TKO victory. In the aftermath, ’Stillknocks’ shared a tense face-off against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in the octagon. With Dricus Du Plessis almost certainly fighting Adesanya for the title next, Sean Strickland finds himself on the waiting list for the next championship opportunity. For context, ‘Tarzan’ emphatically called for a title shot after finishing Abus Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76. Expressing his dismay at the South African securing a massive upset win over Whittaker, Strickland tweeted: “Well, that was depressing… Well, looks like we wait….” Strickland is on a two-fight win streak, last beating Magomedov and Nassourdine Imavov to redeem two consecutive losses against Alex Pereira and Jared Cannonier. While it’s highly unlikely that the 32-year-old American gets to fight Israel Adesanya next, the two middleweights share a mutual dislike for each other and have made no effort to hide it. “Give me the f*cking title. I earned it.”- Sean Strickland claims the UFC owes him a title shot Earlier this month, Sean Strickland secured an impressive second-round TKO win over promotional newcomer Abus Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76. After his victory, ’Tarzan’ called for a title shot and claimed that he’s paid his dues to the promotion by taking unranked fights. While Strickland is the No.7-ranked middleweight contender, his last two opponents weren’t the caliber that the fans expect him to face at this point in his career. He cited good money and staying active as the reasons behind his decision to accept those fights. However, ‘Tarzan’ now wants his willingness to accept challenges with risk but little reward, to be rewarded. At the UFC Vegas 76 post-fight press conference, Sean Strickland claimed he wants a shot at divisional champion Israel Adesanya and said: “It needs to happen, you guys. We know Izzy is on f*cking repeat… Every time they try to bring new blood in, I send them back. Give me the f*cking title. I earned it… I paid my dues. I’ve f*cking paid my dues… Even if Dricus f*cking (wins)… I’m a good sport, man… I f*cking need it, dude. I want it. You guys, the fans, want it. You f*cking want it.”
Conor McGregor claims he will compete for the BMF title on his return in a confusing Twitter post
It seems Conor McGregor has his eyes on the UFC’s infamous black and silver ‘BMF’ belt. The Irishman recently insinuated that he wants the ‘Baddest Motherf**ker’ title and took to social media to call out the next contenders for the special one-of-a-kind honor. The BMF title was something that came out of Nate Diaz calling Jorge Masvidal out after his spectacular victory over Anthony Pettis at UFC 241. The Stockton slugger boldly proclaimed himself the “baddest motherf**ker in the game” and wanted to prove it by facing ‘Gamebred’ in the cage. Masvidal ultimately beat Diaz in a welterweight contest to take the symbolic belt home and held it till his retirement in April. With Justin Gaethje set to go up against Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 for the now-vacant BMF title, Conor McGregor recently fired shots at both top-ranked lightweights and named himself Masvidal’s successor. Claiming that the title was meant for him, he tweeted: “And don’t think for one second that the BMF belt isn’t being lined up specifically for the Mac Dad. Little one-division twerps.” Ariel Helwani on the one obstacle that could prevent Conor McGregor from returning. MMA journalist Ariel Helwani recently offered his two cents on Conor McGregor potentially returning to action this year. ‘The Notorious’ has been away from the octagon for two years due to suffering a nasty leg fracture during his last fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. After an extended period of recovery, he made his return as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler this year. The two coaches were highly expected to throw down in the octagon sometime later this year, but there has been no progress on that end so far. However, Ariel Helwani believes the Irishman wants to return and put on a show for his fans. In a recent interview with Daily Star, the MMA journalist claimed that the only problem with McGregor returning is time and stated: “I think we’ll see him come back. I think he wants to come back, and I think by this time next year, he will have already, it’s just a matter of where he fits in… Father Time is undefeated, as they say, and it’s hard as you grow older, and you have those long lay-offs, to get back. I think the fires there, the question is like, is he gonna train as much and all that?” In a previous interview, Conor McGregor told Ariel Helwani that he’s certain that his fight against Michael Chandler will happen this year, and mentioned December as the most probable month.
“You’re a coward bro” – Sean Strickland calls out Belal Muhammad for “propagating war” and “divisive” ideologies on social media
It is no secret that Sean Strickland and Belal Muhammad share a contemptuous relationship. Strickland recently recalled engaging in a war of words with Muhammad on the Israel-Palestine issue and explained why he despised the UFC welterweight. ‘Tarzan’ recently appeared as a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) podcast and discussed various topics with Rogan. During their conversation, the two men touched upon the subject of why Muhammad and Strickland disliked each other. The 32-year-old American explained that they once clashed over his opinions on how Palestine should stop fighting and seek peace with Israel for a better future. In a recent edition of the JRE MMA Show (#143), Sean Strickland claimed that he hated Belal Muhammad’s virtue-signaling behavior regarding Palestine’s issues with Israel. ‘Tarzan’ then lambasted ‘Remember The Name’ for spreading enmity and said: “Palestine would be way better if they threw out Hamas and went to Israel saying, ‘Hey, let’s make this shit better.’… But then you have someone like Belal Muhammad, who lives in Miami and barely ever goes to Palestine… Propagating war instead of bringing the olive branch… You’re a coward bro. You sit here in America and say divisive sh*t on your couch with your Twitter thumbs.” Brendan Schaub reacts to Sean Strickland dominantly beating Abus Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76 Former UFC heavyweight fighter Brendan Schaub recently weighed in on Sean Strickland beating Abus Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76 and praised ‘Tarzan’ for his incredible performance. Although some fans criticized Strickland for agreeing to fight a newcomer in the promotion, others suggested that ‘Tarzan’ may face difficulties against the larger and more powerful Dagestani fighter. However, the 32-year-old American proved his doubters wrong by putting on a striking clinic to secure a second-round TKO stoppage. In a recent episode of The Schaub Show, Brendan Schaub opened up about the No.7 ranked middleweight’s masterful performance and how impressed he was with Strickland He said: “He melted this dude and on paper, there’s a reason why Strickland was the favorite, but on paper, you look at Magomedov, the way he fights, his skill level… He’s a bigger dude than Sean, good wrestling, good skill set…Thought it would maybe go five rounds and Strickland would edge it out maybe… Just his pressure and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Dagestani mentally break like that, he just beat the s*** out of this kid.” In the aftermath, Sean Strickland angled for a fight against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and called for a title shot. However, with a title eliminator between Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis scheduled for UFC 290 this weekend, it seems ‘Tarzan’ might have to wait longer for his shot at the belt.
Sean Strickland offers Joe Rogan his view of the Ukrainian president – “Zelensky is a piece of s**t”
Sean Strickland is seemingly not a fan of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. The UFC middleweight recently weighed in on the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict and lambasted Zelensky for his undemocratic behavior and for “dooming” his country. For context, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the two nations have been involved in a serious armed conflict ever since. More than a year after the initial invasion, the war has shown no signs of ending anytime soon and has caused extensive loss of human life. In a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show (#143), Sean Strickland and Joe Rogan went deep on the Russo-Ukrainian war and discussed how complex the situation was. However, ‘Tarzan’ admitted that he despised Volodymyr Zelensky and asked how the masses viewed him as an upholder of democracy. He stated: “Putin’s a piece of sh*t… By the way, Zelensky is a piece of sh*t. The president of Ukraine. He’s like throwing political parties in jail, he’s a piece of sh*t himself. I don’t know how we look at him as a democracy… You have doomed your country. Did you see the pictures of the cities? Just rubble. Everything’s f**ked… How do you come back from that as a country.” Michael Bisping makes a case for a Sean Strickland vs. Israel Adesanya middleweight title fight Michael Bisping recently weighed in on Sean Strickland calling for a title shot against middleweight champion Israel Adesanya. ‘The Count’ claimed that ‘Tarzan’ has rightfully earned himself an opportunity to compete for the championship. Strickland recently faced Abus Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76 this past weekend and defeated the Dagestani fighter via second-round TKO. The 32-year-old then called for a title shot against ‘The Last Stylebender in his post-fight press conference. Strickland’s title shout was a much-debated topic among MMA fans considering that a pivotal title eliminator between top-ranked middleweights Robert Whittaker and Dricus du Plessis is booked for UFC 290 this weekend. In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Bisping opined that if Robert Whittaker beats Dricus du Plessis, Sean Strickland should be getting the call-up to fight the middleweight champion. Citing Whittaker’s past two failed attempts to beat Adesanya, Bisping said: “Sean Strickland got the job done… What a performance… He wants to fight…. He wants to fight Israel Adesanya. He feels that Israel Adesanya has fought everyone… He’s fought Robert Whittaker twice… He also said people don’t want to see Whittaker fight him again. I’ll be honest, after that one last night [win over Magomedov], I wouldn’t mind seeing it. And, of course, the trash talk in the lead-up to the fight would be phenomenal.”
Sean Strickland tells Joe Rogan what stopped him from killing a man – “That’s a hard case to beat”
UFC middleweight Sean Strickland is undoubtedly among the most outspoken fighters in mixed martial arts and is well-known for boldly expressing his unfiltered opinions on sensitive social issues. ‘Tarzan’ recently opened up about his dark past, revealing that he almost took a man’s life once. In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show (#143), Strickland spoke to Rogan about various topics ranging from martial arts to politics. During their conversation, ‘Tarzan’ told the podcaster about an incident when he had a gun to a man’s head but refrained from pulling the trigger after realizing how hard proving his innocence in court would be. The 32-year-old narrated a story about getting into an altercation with an armed man at his house party after damaging his wall. However, Strickland managed to snatch the gun away and turn it on the other man. He explained what made him not pull the trigger, saying: “Right as I’m about to pull the trigger, his girlfriend jumps on top of him crying… The problem was, that’s a hard case to beat. You have the gun, he’s defenseless. That’s a hard case to beat.” Sean Strickland goes off on MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz for his unethical actions before Abus Magomedov fight Sean Strickland recently went off on Dominance MMA Management founder Ali Abdelaziz and viciously slandered the Egyptian for spying on him before the Abus Magomedov fight. Last weekend, Strickland went up against Magomedov at UFC Vegas 76 in a middleweight bout. ‘Tarzan’ opened the fight strong and dominated his opponent with his striking to secure an impressive second-round TKO victory. The win also earned the 32-year-old a Performance of the Night bonus. In the same JRE episode with Joe Rogan, Sean Strickland explained how Ali Abdelaziz attempted to hamper his chances against the Dagestani fighter by snooping on him while he sparred in the gym. In an expletive-laden rant, Strickland claimed that managers shouldn’t be allowed into MMA gyms and said: “So this f**king c*nt, Ali… He comes to the gym, he watches me spar with Marvin Vettori… I don’t give a f**k, Marvin’s a friend, I’m trying to help him. And f**king three weeks later you pull out this f**king guy to fight me? And then you start betting that he’s going to beat me… You f**king rat. You watch me spar, and you pull this f**king guy out of your hat… I don’t think managers should be in the gym.”
“Man that was crazy!” – Jalin Turner on training with Khamzat Chimaev ahead of UFC 290
Jalin Turner recently opened up about his experience training with Khamzat Chimaev earlier this year and described what sparring with the grappling phenom was like. ‘The Tarantula’ is set to face Dan Hooker in an exciting lightweight contest at UFC 290 this weekend. The 28-year-old was initially booked to fight Hooker at UFC 285, but an injury forced ‘The Hangman’ out and their bout was rescheduled. Given that Turner came up short in his last outing against Mateusz Gamrot, ‘The Tarantula’ has left no stone unturned to sharpen his fangs against Dan Hooker. This includes training with ‘Borz’. At a recent UFC 290 media presser, Jalin Turner was asked about the time he spent training with the undefeated welterweight phenom Khamzat Chimaev in Dubai. While stories about the Chechen-born Swede’s cardio and intensity giving heavyweights trouble are quite widespread, Turner verified many of those tales and said: “Man, that was crazy… Khamzat is legit… He’s a strong fighter, great grappling, good striking too. Man, he’s dope… It was intense. I wish I was up a weight class so I could have endured a lot more… I haven’t been pushed or tested like that in the gym for years. I didn’t even think anybody could do that to me at the point I’m at. But he did.” Jalin Turner opens up about his recent altercation with internet prankster Jalin Turner recently made headlines after a video of him reacting violently to an internet prankster who tried to joke around with the UFC lightweight fighter. While their altercation turned physical, the attention-seeking influencer was ultimately spared a severe beat down at the hands of a professional MMA fighter. Popular MMA-based Twitter handle @BenTheBaneDavis posted a video of the scuffle, which clearly showed the prankster creeping up behind Turner on an escalator. He then tried to intimidate the 28-year-old pretending to speak into a phone and ended with Turner’s hand wrapped around his throat. After the UFC lightweight’s crew dealt with the matter, the prankster can be seen running away after one last rile-up attempt. In the same UFC 290 media day presser, Jalin Turner was asked to comment on the viral incident and explain what went down during the altercation. He stated: “It went exactly how it was supposed to go. He said something, and I grabbed him. He was lucky it was fight week, or I probably would have thrown some hands. But it’s okay.” Jalin Turner will make his next walk down to the octagon against Dan Hooker this weekend. ‘The Tarantula’ is coming off a split decision loss against Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 285, whereas Dan Hooker last beat Claudio Puelles via second-round TKO to break a two-fight losing skid.
“No chance this one gets monetized” – Internet reacts to Sean Strickland seemingly appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast
It seems UFC middleweight Sean Strickland will share his infamous pearls of wisdom with Joe Rogan on the UFC commentator’s famous The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) podcast. The ever-outspoken fighter, who is notorious for his unfiltered and raw personality, recently shared a picture of him and Rogan at the 55-year-old’s podcast studio. Given ‘Tarzan’s reputation for stirring the pot, fans were unsurprisingly shocked and excited to see Strickland hinting at recording an episode with Joe Rogan. While many couldn’t wait for the episode to drop, others were worried about the podcaster getting into trouble for inviting someone as polarizing as Strickland. Popular MMA-based Twitter handle @SpinninBackfist shared the picture of Joe Rogan posing with Sean Strickland and fans made their reactions known in the post’s comments section. UFC lightweight contender Matt Frevola replied with one word, stating: “Epic.” One fan opined that the episode could get a demonetization strike and wrote: “No chance this one gets monetized.” Another fan claimed: “JRE is gonna get canceled now.” One user excitedly claimed: “I might sit through 3 hours of Joe Rogan just to listen to Strickland talk for the duration of the podcast.” One fan hilariously joked about Twitter fact-checkers getting tired, with a meme showing an exhausted restaurant worker. They wrote: “Twitter fact checkers after this episode.” Joe Rogan makes huge claim about Conor McGregor switching to bare-knuckle boxing Given his extensive involvement in the world of MMA, Joe Rogan also knows a thing or two about the fight promotion industry. The podcaster recently weighed in on UFC superstar Conor McGregor potentially making his bare-knuckle boxing debut and made an incredible pay-per-view sales prediction in case the Irishman did a bare-knuckle fight. In a recent episode of the JRE MMA Show (#141) with former UFC fighter Mike Perry, Joe Rogan discussed McGregor making a surprise appearance in the bare-knuckle ring this past April after accepting a face-off invitation from Perry following ‘Platinum’s victory over Luke Rockhold at BKFC 41. Commenting on the Irishman hinting at potentially accepting a bare-knuckle boxing fight against Mike Perry, Joe Rogan said: “If somehow or another he agreed to fight bare-knuckle, do you know how big that would be? Mike, you versus him… If they did that bare-knuckle, it would get a million pay-per-view buys at least… Probably more. Probably get two or three [million pay-per-view buys]. I was trying to be conservative.” Joe Rogan is undeniably one of the foremost authorities in the world of mixed martial arts and the 55-year-old is a regular behind the broadcasting desk at most major UFC events. Apart from being a fan-favorite UFC commentator, he also hosts his top-rated JRE podcast and regularly performs as a stand-up comic.