“Once he gets a hold of you, it’s so dangerous,” Rogan said during his Fight Companion podcast. “He gets a title shot, I think. … Not just that (beating Whittaker in the first round), but ran through him. He didn’t get touched. He ran through him and strangled him in the first round. He might be the guy. Think about this at 185: So this guy was killing himself to get to 170. At 185, he’s the f*cking man. That guy’s a scary ass motherf*cker – scary. That grappling is next level.”
After losing his title to Du Plessis by split decision at UFC 297, Strickland rebounded with a win over Paulo Costa at UFC 302 in June. He refuses to compete again unless it’s a title-fight rematch against Du Plessis.
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However, Strickland’s title opportunity could be in danger. Du Plessis’ head coach, Morne Visser, posted on Instagram that they want Chimaev next on Feb. 8 at UFC 312 in Sydney.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
UFC 308 was certainly a big night for Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev, but there were others on that card that shinned as well.
Magomed Ankalaev demented himself as the No. 1 contender in the division by defeating Aleksandar Rakic in a unanimous decision, Lerone Murphy also won on the scorecards, defeating veteran Dan Ige, Shara Magomedov picked up one of the wildest knockouts of 2024 by putting away Armen Petrosyan.
Should Ankalaev get the next title shot? Is Murphy ready for the top dogs at featherweight? What’s the ceiling on Magomedov? What should be next for these winners after their respective victories?
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MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Dan Tom, Danny Segura and host “Gorgeous” George discuss some of the big wins under the top billing of Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.
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“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel at noon ET. You can also find each episode on your favorite podcast platforms – including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more – on Tuesday mornings.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Trailing the Chicago Bears 15-12 with two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the ball on their own 48-yard line, Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders had one option: throw a Hail Mary.
And their prayer was answered, as Daniels’ pass was bounced backwards in the red zone and into the arms of wide receiver Noah Brown, who reeled in a walk-off, 52-yard touchdown.
Seconds later, Brown dropped the ball to celebrate the score with his teammates, and that’s where Commanders equipment intern Drew Sinclair joined the chat, swooping up the loose ball to store it away.
“I just had my hands on my head in awe, and I saw everyone running around. I saw Noah [Brown] drop the ball, and my instincts just kicked in,” Sinclair said about retrieving the ball, in a story that was published on the Commanders’ team website Wednesday.
“DQ [head coach Dan Quinn] always preaches, ‘The ball is life.’ We see it everywhere. I saw ball and I got ball … I was just thinking, ‘That’s a pretty meaningful football for this team and for this organization.’”
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Furthermore, Sinclair was praised in the team’s locker room by Quinn.
What did Jayden Daniels showcase in his thrilling Hail Mary victory?
“I wasn’t expecting it. I was in the back of the huddle listening to him talk. I heard my name, and I was still in awe from the play, and I was like, ‘Oh crap that’s me,’ and I ran into the center,” Sinclair said. “That was one of the best moments of my life, for sure.”
Daniels finished the game with 326 passing yards and 52 rushing yards, while Brown finished with three receptions for 73 yards and one score. The win moved the Commanders to 6-2, good for first place in the NFC East.
On the whole, Brown has logged 17 receptions for 258 yards and one touchdown this season. He spent the 2023 season with the Houston Texans, which followed a five-year stint with the Dallas Cowboys (he missed the 2019 season due to a knee injury).
As for the one who threw the miracle completion, Daniels, whom Washington selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is among the favorites to win Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, highlighted by him boasting a 104.3 passer rating, a 71.8% completion percentage and rushing for 424 yards.
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Daniels, Brown and the first-place Commanders aim to keep the magic alive in Week 9 when they face the NFC East-rival New York Giants (2-6) on the road (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app); Washington beat New York on a walk-off field goal in Week 2.
Ticket prices for the fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson have dropped to a new low.
Prices were listed for as little as $30 Monday on Seat Geek, the official online broker for the heavyweight boxing match set for Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The venue, home of the Dallas Cowboys, will have a capacity of 80,000 for the boxing match, according to information issued by Most Valuable Promotions, co-founded by Paul.
While there was only one $30 ticket left on Seat Geek at time of this writing, hundreds of tickets were listed for $37 for a fight that will be livestreamed by Netflix.
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By contrast, three ringside tickets, the only ones available on Seat Geek Monday, were listed for $50,000 apiece.
Seat Geek has declined to say how many tickets have been sold.
On May 8, 2021, when boxing star Canelo Alvarez beat Billy Joe Saunders at AT&T Stadium, fight organizers reported an official attendance of 73,126 – an all-time record for an indoor U.S. boxing event.
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That broke the previous attendance record of 63,352 set during the fight between Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks in 1978 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
With the men’s Pound-for-Pound top-3 comfortably set for now, the MMA Fighting Crew looks ahead to 2025 to figure out if UFC champions Belal Muhammad, Dricus du Plessis, Tom Aspinall, or perhaps a surging contender can enter the conversation for the No. 1 spot in the near future. Host Alexander K. Lee is joined by esteemed rankings panelists Damon Martin, Jed Meshew, and E. Casey Leydon as we attempt to figure out who has the best chance of shaking up the P4P list.
Watch the latest episode of the MMA Fighting Rankings Show above or listen below and don’t forget to subscribe to the MMA Fighting feed on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and all your other favorite podcast platforms for the latest episodes from the team.
ABU DHABI – When the idea first was proposed that Max Holloway could challenge for Ilia Topuria’s featherweight title, Topuria had what seemed to be a natural question.
Would Holloway’s new BMF belt be on the line, too? It stood to reason, Topuria argued, that it should.
The MMA world now knows that it wasn’t part of the deal this past Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, where Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), the UFC’s first champion from Spain, defended the featherweight belt with a stunner of a knockout in the third round. Former longtime champ Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) this never had been knocked out.
Making things slightly more dramatic was the fact Topuria said he’d be the first to do it to Holloway, then backed it up – not necessarily against all odds, but certainly against many of them.
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The competitive nature if the fight before Holloway had his lights turned out made it seem, in retrospect, that it could’ve been a BMF title fight like the one Holloway was in when he finished Justin Gaethje with one second left. That bit of instant legend is what got Holloway the title shot.
Even UFC CEO Dana White, after the fact, said it might have been good to have both belts contested.
“Topuria’s belt was on the line; Max was trying to take that,” White said after UFC 308 in explanation of why the promotion didn’t bring the BMF strap into the picture. “Halfway through the second round, I said, ‘Sh*t, we should have put the Bad Motherf*cker title up for this fight, too, because these guys are both (a BMF).’”
Holloway said after his loss that he’s likely to move to lightweight. That wouldn’t affect the BMF belt, though. It just may be a while before Holloway gets back on the horse, and when he does, it remains to be seen if it will be in the type of fight that would warrant the symbolic belt being up for grabs.
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White was just as unsure what will happen with it.
“I don’t know what we’ll do with it yet, but Max still has it. Max holds the title, so we’ll see what happens,” he said.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Brian McClair “can’t fathom” why Manchester United chose to sell Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay to Napoli this summer.
The midfielder, 27, has already scored twice in eight appearances for the Italian club and has netted 11 times in 56 Scotland matches.
He left boyhood club United in August after 29 goals in 255 games.
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Earlier this week, United parted with manager Erik ten Hag and are looking for their fifth permanent boss in 10 years.
“For me, it’s a big disappointment that he’s not still at Manchester United,” said former Old Trafford favourite McClair on the BBC’s Sacked in the Morning podcast.
“I can’t fathom why on his performances when he played and when has played he’s been very good for Napoli. For Scotland he’s been a revelation.”
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