Former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington denies that the promotion's management offered him a fight against undefeated prospect Ian Harry.
Top American UFC lightweight fighter Cory Sandhagen expressed the opinion that his nearest rival Umar Nurmagomedov has serious endurance problems.
It was previously announced that these fighters will meet on August 3 at a tournament in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
"From a strategic point of view, I really want to fight Umar in a five-round fight because I don't know if you watched his last fight, but he's exhausted. He worked hard though, so I give him credit for that. Being that tired was pretty normal because he worked really hard and didn't relax too much.
But this fool was really huffing and puffing and whistling during the interview, so I think there's a vulnerability here that I can capitalize on," Sandhagen said on the MightyCast podcast.
Former world champion in three weight categories Vasyl Lomachenko admitted that the defeat from Teofimo Lopez helped him come to God.
"After the defeat from Teofimo Lopez then it seemed that I lost, but actually at that moment I won. At that moment I recognized god. That basically changed my whole life.
My goal now is not to be a champion. My goal is to become a better person, to be an absolute champion in life. Right now I'm very happy because I started to realize a lot of things that I didn't realize before the defeat. And speaking of defeats, I don't lose. I win when I lose," - said Lomachenko.
Recall that in 2020 Lomachenko lost to Lopez by unanimous decision of judges in a fight for the title of absolute world champion in lightweight.
UFC lightweight titleholder Alesandre Pantoja admitted that he dreams of one day sharing the octagon with the division's former dominant champion Demetrious Johnson.
"That's my dream. I don't like to say I have dreams as I want to experience everything in this life. According to me, it's better to live than to dream. But if I dream of anything, it's to fight Demetrious Johnson. I have the utmost respect for him. If he does not want to fight me at the professional level, then maybe I will go to the gym and train with him, have a tough sparring," - quotes Pantoja MMA Fighting.
Recall that last weekend at UFC 301 Pantoja defended the belt for the second time, defeating Steve Ercega by unanimous decision of the judges.
Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Porier spoke about how he took the bout with current full titleholder Islam Makhachev.
The American and the Dagestani will meet in the main event of the UFC 302 show, scheduled for June 1 in Newark, USA.
"As soon as Tsarukyan defeated Oliveira, I got a call from Hunter Campbell and said: "The fight just ended. I'm going to Tsarukyan's locker room right now, I'll call you back in an hour." It turns out that he then offered Arman a fight with Islam in six weeks. And I perfectly understand Arman's decision to refuse.
And to be honest, six weeks is rather short notice for me too. But I didn't have the option to turn it down and say, "Hey, I need more time to prepare." This is my chance that I have to hold on to as tightly as possible," MMA Mania quoted Porier as saying.
Ukrainian super-heavyweight prospect Vladyslav Sirenko said whether his attitude to his famous compatriot Vasyl Lomachenko has changed in connection with his silence about the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
- Of course it has changed. Because when a person is silent, you do not know how he feels about it, and he, as a media person who is a leader of opinions of many Ukrainians, should be one of the first to express his position on the war in his homeland.
But he has not done that, unfortunately. Therefore, many people may have a lot of unnecessary opinions, including me. I have a negative attitude towards this moment.
- What would you say to him when you met him?
- Nothing. I wouldn't talk to him, I guess. That's all.
- Will Ukrainians forgive Lomachenko for this silence and will they cheer for the boxer in the fight with Kambososos?
- It is very difficult to answer specifically for all Ukrainians, but I think that some will forgive, and some will not. Here is a very abstract question. Personally for me, since he still represents Ukraine, I would like it to have a positive impact for our country. Of course, I would support Lomachenko. However, I don't watch his fights after I stopped understanding his position on the war in Ukraine.
Popular American blogger and boxer Jake Paul continues to fuel interest in his upcoming bout with legendary compatriot Mike Tyson.
It was previously reported that Paul and Tyson's fight, which is scheduled for July 21 in Arlington, USA, will be made official.
"It's war, and in love and war, all means are good. I love the guy, but since the fight will be official, one of us has to die. He takes the upcoming fight very, very seriously and that's what will make the fight awesome for all the fans.
Tyson is a killer. I'm moving up to heavyweight so he's going to have some advantages, but that's what's going to make the fight so exciting," USA TODAY quoted Paul as saying.
The coach of former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland, Eric Nixick, said the promotion's matchmakers were hoping to set up a fight between his charge and Khamzat Chimaev.
"I know that the UFC wanted to put Shawn together with Chimaev. But I'm not sure if Shawn has the opportunity to go to Saudi Arabia. But I know that Hamzat's name has been discussed as a possible opponent. Chimaev is a big star in Saudi Arabia. And here it was the venue itself that mattered more than the name of the opponent for Hamzat," Sportskeeda quoted Nixik as saying.
Recall that Strickland will share the octagon with Paulo Costa on June 1 at UFC 302 in Newark, USA. As for Chimaev, he will fight Robert Whittaker in the main event of the debut show in Saudi Arabia on June 22.
Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Porier has spoken about his love for the guillotine choke hold.
Former dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson spoke out about this past weekend's bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg, and also assessed Muhammad Mokaev's chances in a potential fight with the current division leader.
"Erceg literally gave the fight away trying to fight a guy who doesn't know how to do that. It was a great fight, but I think Erceg gave it to Pantoja.
I thought Pantoja was going to finish him, but Erceg was better in the standup. He did more damage in this fight, but made some bad decisions along the way. If you give Steve Erceg a year or two, I think he'll beat Pantoja. And Muhammad Mokaev can beat Pantoja right now," said the American in his podcast.
Recall, Pantoja defeated Ercega by unanimous decision of judges in the main event of UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
