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Check out these photos from the UFC 298 pre-fight press conference in Anaheim, Calif.
Check out these photos from the UFC 298 pre-fight press conference and fighter faceoffs ahead of Saturday’s event taking place at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. (Photos by Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie)
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from January 2024.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from January 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Month award for January.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice.
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Since Ryan Clark has no idea what it is to be a UFC fighter, Raquel Pennington couldn’t care less about his opinion.
[autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] has fired back at former NFL star Ryan Clark for suggesting that the UFC should terminate her division.
Pennington (16-8 MMA, 13-5 UFC) defeated Mayra Bueno Silva (10-3-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) by unanimous decision to capture the vacant women’s bantamweight title in the UFC 297 co-main event. Clark, who works as an ESPN NFL analyst but also dabbles in MMA with Daniel Cormier, was harsh in his reaction to Pennington’s title win, calling the fight awful. He then went on a rant explaining why the UFC should consider scratching the division as a whole.
“It looked like a fight between two people who got a game plan, and as they were walking to the octagon, they said, ‘F*ck the game plan, I’m going to do whatever the hell I want to do,'” Clark said on a recent episode of “DC & RC.” “Two people who knew good and dang well it’s no way they should be fighting for a championship. If that is what’s going to be the highest level of bantamweight division for the UFC, there should be a serious discussion of getting rid of it.”
Pennington responded to Clark’s criticism by simply stating that the former Super Bowl champion can’t relate.
“At the end of the day, I don’t care what people say. I’m not here for their expectations and to live up to that,” Pennington said on Sirius XM’s “Unlocking the Cage.” “I’m here for me, conquering goals, achieving things for myself. Like I said, we’re fighting. Everything can be different. People can criticize, but it’s a lot of people who wouldn’t step in our shoes for 10 seconds. They have no clue what it’s like.”
Pennington was criticized for not pulling the trigger on a seemingly exhausted Bueno Silva. Currently on a six-fight winning streak, Pennington says she still has a lot more to give.
“I went out there, got the job done, but I have so much more to offer,” Pennington said. “I have a ton of experience here, I’ve been in multiple different fights, I have submission finishes, so there’s a lot more that’s coming. For everybody else who just wants to talk, keep sitting on your couch and talking and criticizing because you’re not living in our shoes.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from January 2024.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best submissions from January 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Submission of the Month award for January.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
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Dana White doesn’t agree with everything his fighters say, but he isn’t about to filter Sean Strickland or anybody else on the UFC roster.
UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] isn’t about to try and filter [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] or anybody else on the roster.
Strickland went viral on social media during UFC 297 fight week after going on an anti-LGBTQ rant during media day in Toronto. He verbally attacked a reporter who asked him about past comments he’d made.
A heavy advocate for free speech, White defended Strickland and said the reporter baited him by asking about his stance on the LGBTQ community. Using the likes of Tyron Woodley and Colby Covington as examples, White says the UFC provides a platform that allows anyone to express themselves the way they want to.
“We had a guy early on when the COVID thing started, Tyron Woodley. He came out in Black Lives Matter everything. I think he had Black Lives Matter socks on, covered head to toe in Black Lives Matter,” White said on “The TRUTH Podcast” with Vivek Ramaswamy, referencing a September 2020 situation with Woodley before his fight against Colby Covington. “At the press conference leading up to his fight, they would ask him a question and he would say, ‘Black Lives Matter.’ They’d ask him anouther one, (he’d answer) ‘Black Lives Matter.’ I didn’t say sh*t to him, knock yourself out. …
“This is America. Everybody can have their own opinion. I’m not telling anybody what to do, what to say, what to think, how to feel. We’re human beings in America, do your thing, knock yourself out, I’ve got the platform. People get pissed off, people get offended, people get this and that. We just had it happen with Sean Strickland.
“We’re up in Canada. Sean Strickland said a lot of things. I don’t agree with 95 percent of what this guy says, but it’s his right to say it. And if you don’t like it, tune in on Saturday night, he’s gonna get punched in the face. If you don’t like him, you get to see him get punched in the face, so there you go. Don’t get too upset and don’t take it too serious.”
Strickland wound up losing his middleweight title to Dricus Du Plessis by split decision in the UFC 297 main event.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from January 2024.
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from January 2024: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for January.
At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.
A frustrated Arnold Allen thinks he should have gotten his hand raised against Movsar Evloev.
A frustrated [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] thinks he should have gotten his hand raised against [autotag]Movsar Evloev[/autotag].
Allen (19-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) lost a unanimous decision to undefeated Evloev (18-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) on the main card of UFC 297 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
All three judges awarded Evloev Rounds 1 and 2, but Allen disagrees.
“Everyone’s saying (I won) Round 1 and Round 3. I agree,” Allen said on his YouTube channel. “That’s what I felt, too. I felt after Round 1, I was like, ‘Yup, won that one.’ Round 2, no I f*cked that one up. And Round 3, that was mine. Very, very, very, very, very frustrating. Not the way I wanted to start things off (in 2024). … I just felt like I deserved to win that.
“I don’t want to be b*tching and moaning or anything like that. No ill will against his team or the opponent. I watched it back a few times. I wanted to watch it back before I gave a video saying how I felt. I didn’t want to be like, ‘I felt like I got 1 and 3’ just on the base that everyone else said it, and that’s what I felt immediately after.”
In Round 3, Allen had Evloev in a front headlock and landed three consecutive knees. As the knees landed, Evloev was elevating his left hand up and down the canvas. Referee Marc Goddard deemed the knees illegal and called timeout. Allen wasn’t deducted a point but he thought the knees he landed, which split Evloev open, were legal.
“Caught a head-and-arm with about three minutes left in the round, I fired off some knees, and in the moment I believe they were legal,” Allen said. “I asked the rules backstage, and there was nothing to clarify. Mark Goddard is getting a lot of flack for his call, but when he came in and said he was reffing, me, my coach and my manager were very happy, and I still think he’s one of the best refs out there. I believe he made a mistake, and you know, it’s a tough one. … I do feel I was on to a sequence where I was about to set up a finish.
“My opponent was really hurt. The way he sat down, the way he was reacting from the knees. His hand was off even with the rule. Every knee that landed his hand was in the air. I lifted him up, knee, I lifted him up, knee, I lifted him up, knee. Even with that hand down, hand up rule, they were all legal. Then also its palm on the ground, a weight-bearing palm, not fingertips. So at minimum, it was fingertips when I lifted him up, and it wasn’t weight-bearing. It was just poking the floor, poking the floor. I do believe I would have set up a finish from there.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
According to Dricus Du Plessis, Sean Strickland thought he lost their fight at UFC 297.
According to [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag], [autotag]Sean Strickland[/autotag] thought he lost their fight in its immediate aftermath at UFC 297.
Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) dethroned Strickland (28-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) to become middleweight champion in a tightly contested main event in Toronto earlier this month.
Days after their fight, Strickland said he thought he won, but Du Plessis revealed that that’s not what Strickland told him before the judges rendered their scorecards.
“This is the first time publicly I’ll say this: He came to me in the cage directly before they announced me as the new champion. I went to him and I shook his hand and I said, ‘You’re a warrior. Well done – (that) was a great fight.’ And he said, ‘No, you definitely beat me,'” Du Plessis told SuperSport.
“He said to me, ‘You deserve it. You won that fight. You beat me.’ And I said, ‘I also think so. I have to agree with you on that.’ After I won the fight, you could see in his face – he knew. When the ref held our hands, he knew he wasn’t winning that fight.”
Strickland pointed to an alleged head butt by Du Plessis that he claimed impaired his vision and contributed to the outcome of the fight. Du Plessis denied the clash of heads.
“Of course, he talks about the head butt – which is not true,” Du Plessis said. “I remember the exact punch according with when his eyes started bleeding. Then afterwards when we went in the doctor’s rooms, he came to me and he said, ‘You’re a warrior. I wouldn’t have wanted to lose to anybody else because you deserve this.’
“But then he goes on Twitter and he says, ‘You will never be a champion’ or something along those lines. Just the way he said it … to ask for a rematch is one thing in a way you want to. But I have to say I have nothing against the guy. What I’ve experienced is not really I think he’s an emotional guy. let’s be honest. But I don’t think he’s a bad dude.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 297.
Chris Curtis is itching to get a five-round fight in the UFC.
[autotag]Chris Curtis[/autotag] thinks it’s time for him to headline a UFC event.
The veteran fighter, who now has seven fights in the organization, wants to the opportunity for a headlining slot of a Fight Night event, and in particular one at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. On top of the prestige of being a main event fighter, Curtis (31-10 MMA, 5-2 UFC) just really wants to show what he’s capable of doing over 25 minutes opposed to a traditional three-round bout.
“Everyone hates the Apex, I like the Apex. I have no issue with the Apex,” Curtis told MMA Junkie Radio. “I fought everyone you’ve asked me to fight, and I’ve done well against most of them. Let me main event an Apex card.
I’m totally happy. Let me main event an Apex card. I promise you, give me a five-round fight and let me show you something great. My biggest weakness is that I’m so geared towards five-round fights. Three-round fights are kind of hard to adjust to. Give me a five-round fight and I will show you something magical.”
Curtis is coming off a split decision win over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 297 this past weekend in Toronto. Although middleweight has been his home throughout his UFC tenure, Curtis is keen on exploring the possibility of a return to welterweight – which could change the type of names he could potentially be fighting if given the chance at a main event.
“I think next week we’re going to meet the dietitian and get my body scan done and see what everybody thinks about my weight and whatnot,” Curtis said. “I have not made 170 pounds in three years, so it will be interesting to see what they say. I’m about to do that. But even at 185, there’s still (names left). There’s Paul Craig, who’s right above me. I don’t really care who.”
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Jon Anik has issued an apology over his recent comments criticizing the MMA fanbase.
[autotag]Jon Anik[/autotag] has issued an apology to the MMA fanbase.
The UFC play-by-play commentator took to Instagram on Saturday to apologize to MMA fans for his comments expressing his frustration with the way some have reacted following UFC 297 last weekend. Anik aired his frustration with the community and the attacks some fans have been dishing out regarding Sean Strickland’s close defeat to Dricus Du Plessis.
“Last week on my podcast, I was in a heightened emotional state following myriad allegations of bias at UFC 297 and I made some regrettable comments relating to the MMA fan base,” Anik wrote on Instagram. “While I was surprised at the extent to which my comments were re-purposed and sensationalized, I need to be more responsible on an n open microphone.
“So much work goes into the execution of just one UFC pay-per-view, so it can be tough when my integrity on the broadcast is called into question. That doesn’t excuse my retort. I am just a fiery, passionate, flawed, empathetic guy and sometimes my emotions lead the dance. To those MMA fans whom I’ve offended, I am sorry. That was not mu intention. For 12 years, I’ve prided myself on being accessible to the fan base, and that will continue. I’ve learned a lot over the last 48 hours. On to Anaheim…”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2m79NUu_gF/?igsh=MTBwbWVuMWxmcXZiOQ%3D%3D
Anik’s comments following UFC 297 caused a big reaction in the MMA community, with many coming to his support, while others criticized his words – including Strickland.
Strickland lost his UFC middleweight title in the main event of UFC 297 in Toronto. It was a competitive fight with some people scoring it in his favor.
Two judges scored the fight 48-47 in favor of Du Plessis, while the third scored it 48-47 Strickland’s way. Regardless of the result, it was a competitive fight where both fighters had their moments.
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