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Sean Strickland, Mike Perry Trade Barbs Over BKFC Fighter Pay

Sean Strickland and Mike Perry recently engaged in a dispute regarding fighter pay in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

Strickland was asked about a potential career in the BKFC leading up to his UFC 302 clash against Paulo Costa on June 1. Strickland completely dismissed the idea.

“Oh f—k, how much will I fight f—ing bareknuckle for? Nothing they would pay me…They’re paying their guys shit… Breaking their hands, breaking their orbitals, they’re making a couple thousand bucks,” Strickland said.

Perry, who lost $50,000 by betting on Costa, later took a shot at the former UFC middleweight champ. Perry believes Strickland shouldn’t be talking about fighter pay, as he is probably making much less in the UFC than “Platinum” is in BKFC.

“Sean Strickland, he’s fighting for the UFC for pesos and I’m getting paid over here,” Perry said on the Overdogs podcast. “He’s always posting videos on Instagram where he walks outside of his garage or hi…

Alex Pereira Responds to Jamahal Hill’s Latest Comments About UFC 300 Bout

Alex Pereira is somewhat bewildered by Jamahal Hill’s delayed reaction to their UFC 300 fight.

Pereira starched Hill in the opening frame of the UFC 300 headliner in April to defend his light heavyweight title. “Poatan” did the famous "Khaby Lame" reaction pointing towards a folded Hill.

Nearly two months after UFC 300, Hill has expressed his displeasure with Pereira’s post-fight celebration, which “Sweet Dreams” found to be disrespectful. Hill noted that he had nothing but respect for Pereira’s teammate, Glover Teixeira, after dethroning him at UFC 283 in January 2023.

Pereira knocked out Hill moments after brushing off an accidental low blow and stopping referee Herb Dean from intervening. Hill further claimed that the unusual sequence helped Pereira set up his knockout blow. Hill promised to exact revenge in a post on his Instagram account.

“Now I haven’t really spoke on this but I went to Brazil and DOGG WALKED your guy in one of th…

Welterweights Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady Agree to Bout at UFC Fight Night on Sept. 7

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Zachary Reese Dedicates First UFC Victory to Late Brother

The moment Zachary Reese earned his first Ultimate Fighting Championship victory on Saturday, he remembered his late brother Austin, who had pushed him toward this journey.

Having grown up watching the UFC, Reese has been dreaming of being a fighter since high school. “Savage” started his pro career with six consecutive first round finishes — including one on Dana White's Contender Series last year to earn his UFC contract. However, Reese’s hype train was derailed in his promotional debut by a first-round knockout loss against Cody Brundage at UFC Austin in December 2023.

Reese returned to the win column on Saturday with a 20-second knockout of Julian Marquez at UFC on ESPN 57.

“I feel like a million bucks man,” Reese said in a backstage interview with the UFC. “I’m just like all you fans, when I was in high school I used to beg my parents for pay-per-view money or we’d go to Buffalo Wild Wings when we couldn’t scrounge up the bucks. And ye…

Sean O’Malley Skeptical Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Cory Sandhagen Comes to Fruition

Sean O'Malley doubts Umar Nurmagomedov will show up for his upcoming clash against Cory Sandhagen.

Sandhagen and Nurmagomedov are scheduled to headline UFC on ABC 7 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3. O’Malley will keep an eye on what has been billed as a title eliminator matchup if it does come to fruition.

O’Malley took a dig at Nurmagomedov, accusing the Dagestani of pulling out of fights habitually. Nurmagomedov was previously scheduled to fight Sandhagen at UFC Nashville in August 2023 but a shoulder injury forced him out of the event.

O’Malley is also surprised at underdog status of Sandhagen, whom “Sugar” considers to be one of the most skilled fighters on the entire UFC roster. The bantamweight champ believes Sandhagen is better than Nurmagomedov and replied in affirmative when asked if he is picking “Sandman” in the upcoming UFC Abu Dhabi headliner.

“Yeah, I mean I’ll tune it if it happens,” O’Malley told MMAFighting.c…

Punahele Soriano Contemplated Retirement Before UFC Louisville Victory

“I felt so much pressure.”

Punahele Soriano (@puna185) contemplated retirement before making his welterweight debut, getting his first win since July 2022 and feels like he has new life in a new division.#UFCLouisville Results, Interviews & More ➡️: https://t.co/gAKitEJGRT

— UFC News (@UFCNews) June 9, 2024

Punahele Soriano had a lot on his mind going into his UFC on ESPN 57 clash against Miguel Baeza on Saturday.

Coming off consecutive stoppage losses and 1-4 in his last five bouts overall, Soriano was admittedly feeling the pressure ahead of his welterweight debut. However, “Story Time” grew confident as he entered fight week, which translated quite well into his performance at UFC Louisville. Soriano bounced back in a strong manner, barely falling short of getting the finish in a dominant unanimous decision win over Baeza. The Hawaiian also set records for the most significant ground strikes landed in a single UF…

Carlos Prates Admits to Smoking Cigarettes During Camp, On Fight Day

Carlos Prates certainly doesn’t function like most elite fighters.

Prates knocked out Charlie Radtke with a knee to the body at UFC on ESPN 57 on Saturday. Prates was seen smoking a cigarette when he found out that he would be returning home with a $50,000 bonus for his performance.

Before finding out about his bonus win, Prates revealed that he had smoked even on the day of the fight. Having spent more years of his life as a smoker than as a non-smoker, it is now just a part of the routine for “Carlao.”

“I think I smoke since [I was] 15 years old,” Prates told Full Send MMA. “I have more time living smoking than without smoking. So for me it’s normal, I smoke before the fight, on the day of the fight, it’s normal. Now we here in Louisville, so I try to go drink some whiskey because here is capital of whiskey and I really like whiskey.”

Prates also admits that’s he is a difficult fighter to work with due to his lifestyle habits. The 30-…

UFC Interim Heavyweight Champ Tom Aspinall Reveals Origin of Potential Nickname

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While Tom Aspinall isn’t keen on having a nickname, one possibility is starting to grow on him.

Aspinall became the interim heavyweight champ with a first-round knockout win in a short-notice clash against Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 in November 2023. Aspinall embraced the nickname “Honey Badger” proposed by Daniel Cormier ahead of the bout, though it wasn’t made official at the time.

Aspinall recently explained how that nickname came to be. When Aspinall told Cormier and Jon Anik at the fighter-commentator meeting that he performs better under threat, “DC” likened him to a honey badger. Usually attacking only when threatened by predators, honey badgers are arguably one the fiercest fighters of the animal kingdom, known to take on larger animals like leopards and lions. While Aspinall was still reluctant to have a nickname, “Honey Badger” certainly got his attention.

“I’ve always been against nicknames, like for myself, not …

Kai Asakura Vacates Rizin Bantamweight Title, Announces He’s Signing with UFC

Dominick Reyes Felt ‚Relief‘ After Earning First Win in Nearly Five Years

Dominick Reyes was responsible for perhaps the biggest feel-good moment at UFC on ESPN 57.

By knocking out Dustin Jacoby in the first round of their co-main event clash on Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Reyes ended a victory drought that spanned nearly five years.

“It’s a relief, absolutely,” Reyes said at the post-fight press conference. “When he hit me, that was a relief. I was like, ‘I’m still here.’ I had so many questions — just questioning myself. Then I saw my performance. I felt it out there. I was like, ‘I really do love this, and I’m not going anywhere.’”

It was Reyes’ first appearance since November 2022 and his first victory since a first-round KO of Chris Weidman on Oct. 18, 2019. After the Victorille, California, native took Jon Jones to the brink of defeat in their fight at UFC 247, it would have been hard to imagine that Reyes would have endured a slump that lasted this long. As his triumphant moment unfolded, it…

Nassourdine Imavov Supports Jason Herzog’s Stoppage in UFC Louisville Headliner

According to Nassourdine Imavov, it was only going to get worse for Jared Cannonier. The French middleweight earned the most significant victory of his career to date in the UFC on ESPN 57 main event, as he defeated Cannonier via fourth-round technical knockout on Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Imavov put his opponent on skates with a clean right hand, but Cannonier appeared to be regaining his bearings when referee Jason Herzog stepped in to wave off the fight at the 1:34 mark of Round 4.

While Herzog was heavily criticized in the aftermath, Imavov believes the veteran official made the right call.

“It’s the job of the referee to decide if the fighter is able to keep going or not,” Imavov said at the post-fight press conference. “He took a lot of damage, and he would’ve taken even more if the fight would’ve continued, so I think it was the right decision to stop it.”

It was a slow burn for Imavov leading up to the fin…

Video Shows Tension Between Aljamain Sterling, UFC Prior to O’Malley Fight

Behind the scenes footage shows Hunter Campbell convincing Aljamain Sterling not to pull out of the Sean O’Malley fight

Dana White was not happy with Aljamain’s hesitance to take the fight 😬#UFC #MMA

pic.twitter.com/NC9DjJpnXX — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 8, 2024

Relations were a little strained between the UFC and Aljamain Sterling leading up to UFC 292.

When Dana White first announced the UFC 292 title fight between Sterling and Sean O’Malley, coach Ray Longo said that Sterlling hadn’t yet agreed to the fight. Recently revealed behind-the-scenes footage from “Fight Inc: Inside the UFC” shows White venting his frustration at Sterling for putting the fight in doubt.

“So, we make the fight, Aljo vs. O’Malley. But when [Sterling] goes out in the public, he says all the wrong things,” White said. “I announce the fight and the first thing Aljo says is, ‘If my body holds up.’ So, now you have fans going, ‘Sho…