Tag: UFC 258

ESPN issues statement on Dana White’s controversial remark on Gina Carano and Ariel Helwani

UFC president Dana White has enmeshed partner ESPN in a spinoff controversy after ESPN corporate parent Disney fired Gina Carano.

Less than a week after Disney fired actress and former mixed martial arts star [autotag]Gina Carano[/autotag] over social media posts widely viewed as anti-Semitic, a Disney corporate partner has enmeshed the company in a spinoff controversy.

At a UFC 258 media availability Friday, UFC president Dana White, whose promotion airs on Disney-owned ESPN properties, was asked about Carano’s situation.

White used the occasion to take an unprompted shot at an ESPN employee of Jewish heritage with whom he has feuded, Ariel Helwani.

“Leave Gina alone,” White said. “Listen, we make mistakes. We all make mistakes. For everybody to go in on her – I love how Ariel Helwani made it all about him. It was all about him. Such a douche.”

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After a weekend in which several of Helwani’s higher-profile colleagues at ESPN tweeted in support of their colleague while the company was silent, ESPN issued its first public comment on the situation Monday.

“Ariel is a valued colleague and an exceptional MMA reporter. His record speaks for itself,” ESPN told the New York Post.

Helwani posted on the issue on social media over the weekend.

“As a Jewish person, and as a human being, it just doesn’t sit well,” Helwani’s post said in part. “And I wish she would have never posted that. And quite frankly I wish someone would have talked to her about her social media posts over the past year. Some of them not even political. Just in general, they felt off to me. I am sorry she has gone down this path.”

White, who has gone silent on his previous vocal support of former President Donald Trump since the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, has considered Helwani an enemy for years.

Their most high-profile dustup came at UFC 199 in Inglewood, Calif., in June 2016. White was upset with Helwani, then employed by Vox Media, for reporting on Brock Lesnar’s planned return to the company before it could reveal the news on its own during the broadcast. The UFC responded by revoking the Helwani’s credentials, as well as those of his camera crew members E. Casey Leydon and Esther Lin, mid-event. The trio’s credentials were restored several days later after a public backlash.

The list of current and former ESPN employees who spoke out before the company issued its statement include Sarah Spain, Pablo Torres, Kenny Mayne and Dan LeBatard.

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Julian Marquez insists his didn’t blow it with response to Miley Cyrus

Julian Marquez laughs off the notion he dropped the ball with his response to Miley Cyrus in the aftermath of UFC 258.

[autotag]Julian Marquez[/autotag] laughs off the notion he dropped the ball with his response to Miley Cyrus in the aftermath of UFC 258.

Marquez (8-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) returned to the octagon Saturday following a 31-month layoff and submitted Maki Pitolo in the third round of their middleweight bout. His post-fight completely overshadowed the performance, though. Marquez maximized his mic time by sending a message to the music superstar Cyrus, asking if she would be his Valentine.

Just a few hours later, Cyrus responded on Twitter. She said she would oblige Marquez’s request – but only if he shaved her initials into his chest hair. Marquez then proposed a counter-offer and told Cyrus to get a henna tattoo of his “Cuban Missile Crisis” nickname on her stomach.

There’s been no public dialogue since then, and it’s caused many to express an opinion that Marquez “blew it,” especially after one of her Instagram stories surfaced online (via Twitter):

He begs to differ, though, and said things are happening exactly as they need to – despite not having fulfilled Cyrus’ stipulation.

“I have not shaven an ‘MC’ in my chest just yet,” Marquez told MMA Junkie Radio on Monday. “I flew home (Sunday) and spent some time with my family. It’s been 31 months. I’ve spent two camps away from my family, kind of pushing them away. I’ve spent the majority of the time with my grandmother. But here’s the thing: A man’s chest hair is sacred. It’s like a lion’s mane. It’s very difficult to shave. But I am talking to some people right now and we have something in the works for everybody.

“Trust me, everything is going to work out the way you guys want it to work out. Everything is going the way it should go. For everyone saying I blew it, I think that’s hilarious because that’s not what it looks like on this side.”

That’s quite the teaser from Marquez on the potential developments we could see.

Now only time will tell if his confidence is misplaced or he’s keeping his cards close to the vest on the inner workings of what’s happening behind the scenes.

Georges St-Pierre not swayed to return after UFC 258: ‘Kamaru Usman doesn’t get me motivated’

“I don’t have the same motivation right now. It’s not appealing to me.”

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] won’t be the one to lure [autotag]Georges St-Pierre[/autotag] out of retirement, despite his post-fight comments after UFC 258.

Following Usman’s (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) third consecutive defense of the welterweight title on Saturday’s card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, he mentioned St-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC) as someone he would eventually like to fight, purely for the purposes of legacy.

“Of course, I would like Georges,” Usman said at the UFC 258 post-fight news conference. “But I don’t want Georges because of money or anything like that. Like I said, I’m a competitor. I want Georges because Georges left on top. Georges can still do it. I see him training. Georges! I’m watching you! I see you training! Georges can still do it.

“So if there’s potential for that big fight and Georges wants to come back, then of course Georges can cut the line – absolutely. But I’m not necessarily worried about a big-money fight.”

Despite his dominance at 170 pounds and the fact his third-round TKO of Gilbert Burns at UFC 258 actually put Usman ahead of St-Pierre for the longest winning streak in divisional history, there’s nothing about that fight that appeals to the Canadian.

St-Pierre spoke to Sportsnet 590 The Fan’s “The Good Show” on Monday and responded to Usman by saying the matchup isn’t enough to appeal him to fight for the first time since November 2017 and cut down to welterweight for the first time since November 2013.

“To go back and give three months of my life in a training camp to get a win over Kamaru Usman doesn’t get me motivated,” St-Pierre said. “I don’t think there’s anything that would get me motivated to go back to competition now. I’m not sure.”

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St-Pierre officially retired from MMA in February 2019. He said at the time that Khabib Nurmagomedov was the only fight that appealed to him, but as time has worn on and Nurmagomedov has also retired, it doesn’t seem likely that ever comes to fruition.

Even if Nurmagomedov did come up, St-Pierre isn’t sure anything can bring him back to fighting. He admitted his motivation to compete against anyone has wilted, and though he still regularly works out and hones his craft, Usman doesn’t make his clock tick.

“Try to put yourself in my shoes and try to come back,” St-Pierre said. “First, if I come back to fight Kamaru Usman, I would literally have to leave the country. I would have to bring my coaches somewhere, find a base camp, fly in training partners to get ready for Usman. But leaving my home, I don’t want to do it. I’m healthy. I’m wealthy. It’s not appealing to me to lose three months of my life, the stress, to try and get a win over Usman. As time passed by, it’s getting less and less appealing. And I don’t think there’s anybody now that would make me come back. I’m good. I will always train and be in shape.”

St-Pierre has always been intelligent about the fight game, and that hasn’t changed as he’s grown older. The former two-division UFC champion will turn 40 in May, and he’s been one of the few who managed to escape competition on top.

With a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame coming in 2021, there’s no doubt St-Pierre has made his mark. He thinks there’s always a craving to see more out of the all-time greats, though, and he said he is confident he won’t allow himself to be tempted to chase that one last high.

“It seems like people want to see me go on my shield,” St-Pierre said. “A lot of guys wait too long to retire and they kind of go on their shield, and I never wanted to do this. I wanted to compete at my best and now I’m at the point, are my best years behind me? They could be. I said to myself I don’t want to compete if my best years are behind me. Your knowledge grows, but your physicality is diminished.

“I’m 39 – going to be 40 soon. If I would have done something, it would have needed to be something that was really special that would really get me to the core of my motivation. I don’t have the same motivation right now. It’s not appealing to me. I’m a big fan. I like to watch fights. But I look at them with the stress and I’m like, ‘Hell no. I’m not doing it.'”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAviz1trI60

MMA Junkie Radio #3131: Guests Julian Marquez and Anthony Hernandez, UFC 258 recap (noon ET)

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here and will be live on SportsCastr at noon ET.

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with hosts “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here and will be live on SportsCastr at noon ET.

On episode 3,131, the lads will bring on guests [autotag]Julian Marquez[/autotag] and [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag], who picked up big stoppage wins at UFC 258. Plus, they’ll recap the entire event and break down the latest MMA news.

Stream or download this and all episodes of MMA Junkie Radio over at OmnyStudio. You can also catch it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and more. A new episode of the podcast is released every Monday and Thursday.

Stephen Thompson calls out champion Kamaru Usman, explains why bout ‘makes sense’

With UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman clearing out his division, there’s one top-ranked fighter that he hasn’t faced yet.

With UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] clearing out his division, there’s one top-ranked fighter that he hasn’t faced yet, and he hopes to get the next shot at the title.

Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC), who retained his title by stopping former training partner Gilbert Burns in the third round at UFC 258, has already compiled one of the most impressive resumes in the history of the UFC welterweight division.

Having already beaten the likes of Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal, and Leon Edwards, there aren’t too many top names left for “The Nigerian Nightmare” to beat.

But perennial contender and former two-time title challenger [autotag]Stephen Thompson[/autotag] has yet to get his crack at Usman. “Wonderboy” is coming off back-to-back wins over Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal, snapping the winning streaks of two of the division’s brightest prospects.

And, with only rematches currently on Usman’s radar, Thompson (16-4-1 MMA, 11-4-1 UFC) thinks he should be next in line and has respectfully called for the next shot at the champion.

“Well seeing as how I’m the only guy in the top 5 that Usman hasn’t fought yet….I guess I’m next…makes sense right? Great performance @USMAN84kg! #ufc258″

Thompson would undoubtedly hope to provide a unique challenge to Usman with his karate style and constant stance switches. His fighting style has proved a tricky puzzle to solve, with few managing to look impressive againt the striking specialist. His lone stoppage loss came at the hands of Anthony Pettis in March 2019.

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Julian Marquez credits return to Missouri for win in long-awaited return

Take a look inside Julian Marquez’s submission win over Maki Pitolo at UFC 258 in Las Vegas.

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LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Julian Marquez[/autotag] beat Maki Pitolo with a third-round submission Saturday to open up the main card at UFC 258 in Las Vegas.

Take a look inside the fight with Marquez, who returned from a layoff of about two and a half years for his first win since December 2017.

Jorge Masvidal questions Kamaru Usman’s call for rematch: ‘Who is this guy fooling?’

Kamaru Usman’s comments didn’t sit well with Jorge Masvidal.

It didn’t take long for [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] to respond to [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag].

The former UFC title challenger and “BFM” champion Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) took to social media on Sunday to fire back at Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC), who defended his UFC welterweight belt at UFC 258 on Saturday, stopping Gilbert Burns by TKO in the third round of the main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

After the fight, Usman had plenty to say about Masvidal, who he beat by unanimous decision in a grudge match at UFC 251 in July.

“I’m going to put him in a coffin this time,” Usman told reporters at the post-fight press conference. “He don’t want that fight. He don’t want that fight. I guarantee he don’t want that fight. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t want it. Have I lied up here yet? Have I lied to you guys yet about anything? Nothing. I said what I wanted to do, and that’s what I’m going to do. We’ll see if it materializes.”

Masvidal accepted the UFC 251 with Usman on short-notice, replacing Burns, who had tested positive for COVID-19. Masvidal was the original opponent for Usman, but Burns stepped in when the negotiations failed.

Usman wants to put Masvidal away inside the distance with no excuses, he said, but “Gamebred” questions Usman’s ability to deliver (via Twitter):

Game plan to putting me in a “coffin” hug and toe stomp 😂😂 who is this guy fooling? He
👃🏿’s #theresurrection

Masvidal hasn’t fought since losing to Usman. It’s uncertain if that rematch will come to fruition next for both fighters, but UFC president Dana White seemed open to the potential rematch at the UFC 258 post-fight press conference.

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UFC 258 post-event facts: Kamaru Usman’s resume hits legendary status

The best facts and figures to come out of UFC 258, which saw Kamaru Usman defend his welterweight title vs. in the main event.

The UFC hosted its second pay-per-view of the year on Saturday with UFC 258, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with 10 fighters on a heavily-altered card.

In the main event, [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) showed there’s no going back in the conversation about him being an all-time great in the welterweight division when he battered Gilbert Burns (19-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) for a third-round TKO to secure his third title defense at 170 pounds.

Usman’s name is all over the record books with the win, and for more on the numbers, check below for 40 post-event facts to come out of UFC 258.

5 biggest takeaways from UFC 258: Sanity for the Kamaru Usman vs. Georges St-Pierre GOAT debate

Thoughts and analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 258, which took place Saturday in Las Vegas.

What mattered most at UFC 258, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …

UFC 258: Kamaru Usman talks respect, and pound-for-pound rankings

UFC 258: Kamaru Usman talks respect, and pound-for-pound rankings

UFC 258: Kamaru Usman talks respect, and pound-for-pound rankings