UFC fighter Jeff Molina publicly supports Pride Month, is mistaken for being gay, and is cool about it

Jeff Molina is glad he can rock a Venum fight kit in support of the LGBTQ community at UFC Fight Night 207.

When [autotag]Jeff Molina[/autotag] walks out to the octagon Saturday at UFC Fight Night 207, he’ll be making a statement in support of the LGBTQ community.

June is Pride Month, and with that, comes a month-long UFC campaign to support it, which includes the promotion allowing fighters to wear specially designed Venum fight kits with their name in rainbow colors.

Excited to rock the gear, Molina tweeted about it Wednesday.

Pretty sick the @ufc is letting us rep for pride month!! Get your pride gear @ufcstore 🏳️‍🌈👊

If you spend enough time on MMA Twitter then you know how disgusting fighters’ homophobia can get (looking at you, Sean Strickland and Jake Shields). Molina showing love for the LGBTQ community, quite frankly, is both refreshing and welcomed.

Of course, all you have to do is go through the replies on Molina’s tweet to be reminded just how vile MMA Twitter can be – especially toward gay, lesbian and transgender people.

Molina followed up his original tweet by sharing that he felt some of the hate in his DMs. But he also felt the love – albeit not what he’s looking for.

To all the dudes sliding in my DM’s I’m a straight guy but pshhh I’m flattered! ☺️

For all the homophobic dudes upset by me repping pride month on my fight kit y’all some fruit cups 🫵

That’s how you handle a situation like this, right in stride.

Molina (10-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) will look for his 10th consecutive overall win – and third in the UFC – when he meets Zhalgas Zhumagulov in a flyweight bout Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

UFC Fight Night 207 commentary team, broadcast plans set: The return of the two-man booth

The UFC will go back to the rarely-utilized two-man booth for UFC Fight Night 207 in Las Vegas.

The UFC schedule continues this week with UFC Fight Night 207 on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

As always, some marquee on-air talent will be there to help guide viewers through the experience.

Details of who will work as commentators and analysts for each event have been acquired by MMA Junkie through a person with knowledge of the situation, and you can see the scheduled broadcast team below.

UFC Fight Night 207: Make your predictions for Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 207 event in Las Vegas.

We want your predictions for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 207 event in Las Vegas.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the UFC Fight Night 207 main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. UFC Fight Night 207 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

Make your picks for the fights below.

LFA champion Daniel Argueta set for UFC Fight Night 207 vs. Damon Jackson

An underling of Cub Swanson, Daniel Argueta is headed to the UFC.

LFA has a long history of sending titleholders to the UFC.

Bantamweight champion [autotag]Daniel Argueta[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been added to the illustrious list. He recently signed to fight [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag] (20-3-1 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC) on short notice at UFC Fight Night 207.

The event takes place June 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Jackson replaces Darrick Minner, who withdrew and cited a concussion.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous since the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Eurosport NL first reported the matchup when it was verbally agreed to.

Argueta, 28, is an underling of UFC featherweight staple Cub Swanson. He competed on “The Ultimate Fighter 29” in 2021 and was eliminated when he lost an exhibition bout to eventual season winner Ricky Turcios. In May, Argueta won the LFA bantamweight title when he took a hard-fought battle against Diego Silva by split decision.

Jackson, 33, is rolling in his second stint with the UFC. Since he rejoined the promotion in 2020, Jackson has gone 3-1 with victories over Mirsad Bektic, Charles Rosa and Kamuela Kirk. He rides a two-fight winning streak into UFC Fight Night 207.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 207 lineup includes:

  • Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Alexander Volkov
  • Movsar Evloev vs. Dan Ige
  • Lucas Almeida vs. Mike Trizano
  • Poliana Botelho vs. Karine Silva
  • Alonzo Menifield vs. Askar Mozharov
  • Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
  • Alex da Silva vs. Joe Solecki
  • Daniel Argueta vs. Damon Jackson
  • Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ode Osbourne
  • Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Niklas Stolze
  • Tony Gravely vs. Johnny Munoz
  • Jeff Molina vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
  • Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Andreas Michailidis
  • JJ Aldrich vs. Erin Blanchfield

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Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz 2 official for UFC Fight Night 207

Four years after their first meeting, two staples of the women’s strawweight division will square off again.

For weeks, [autotag]Felice Herrig[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag] was rumored – and now it’s official.

The matchup will take place June 4 at UFC Fight Night 207, the promotion confirmed Friday, weeks after it appeared in leaked footage of the promotion’s “war room” matchmaking board. The event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

The bout is a rematch of their April 2018 meeting at UFC 223, which Kowalkiewicz won by split decision.

Herrig (14-9 MMA, 5-4 UFC) has not competed since August 2020 and has competed only once since October 2018. She is on a three-fight skid, with her most recent losses coming to Virna Jandiroba, Michelle Waterson, and Kowalkiewicz – all by decision.

Kowalkiewicz (12-7 MMA, 5-7 UFC) is a former UFC title challenger who is in the midst of a five-fight losing skid. She most recently competed in August 2021 when she was submitted by Jessica Penne. For this fight, Kowalkiewicz has moved her pre-fight preparation to American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla.

With the addition, the UFC Fight Night 207 lineup includes:

  • Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Alexander Volkov
  • Movsar Evloev vs. Dan Ige
  • Lucas Almeida vs. Mike Trizano
  • Poliana Botelho vs. Karine Silva
  • Alonzo Menifield vs. Askar Mozharov
  • Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
  • Alex da Silva vs. Joe Solecki
  • Damon Jackson vs. TBA
  • Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ode Osbourne
  • Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Niklas Stolze
  • Tony Gravely vs. Johnny Munoz
  • Jeff Molina vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
  • Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Andreas Michailidis
  • JJ Aldrich vs. Erin Blanchfield

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