Dustin Poirier has revealed that he doesn't mind if Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler fight next for the vacant lightweight title and much more — This is your Monday Fightful Fix.
Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler can "fight for the belt," says Dustin Poirier
Dustin Poirier has opened up on his plans for his next fight and doesn't seem too fussed if he fights for the title or not. "The Diamond" has been seen by many as the uncrowned champion given Khabib Nurmagomeov's lack of desire to unretire, and it was assumed his next fight would be for the title. Poirer has claimed though that he is happy to sit the next one out and let Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler fight for the title next.
“I want to be the world champion, and Charles is a guy that’s paid his dues. He’s earned where he’s at, no doubt about it," Poirier said to MMA Junkie in an interview. "Let him and Chandler fight for the belt. If they want Chandler in there for the title, and he’s calling for the title. Let them fight for the belt. I’ll take a step back and just watch."
Paige VanZant disregarding negativity from her haters ahead of BKFC debut
Paige VanZant will make her BKFC debut on February 5 against Britain Hart and has revealed she isn't letting any negativity derail her focus. VanZant has been widely regarded as one of the most beautiful MMA fighters around and she even claimed to make more money from Instagram as a model than the UFC was paying her. Many fans have been dismissive of her chances in an even more gruesome sport like BKFC and the former UFC star isn't gonna let the "haters" get her down.
“I feel like I have for the majority of my career, and I’ve been thinking about this, why have I kept my mouth shut so much about all the haters and the hate and the negativity I get? My idea is that if you talk sh*t to somebody then you should be willing to say it to their face. And not a single person who has said anything negative about me publicly has said it to my face. And I’ve seen these people in person,” VanZant said to TMZ Sports," (h/t BJPenn.com). “To me, it’s like all the negativity about my face, like grow up. It’s a face, and it’s mine, and I can do anything I want with it. And I guess what, I’m still going to be beautiful even if I get cut open. It’s not a big deal. I think people are so — it just makes me believe — I want to see the world as this great happy place, but it’s just so condescending just to think of your beauty as important.”
Jessica Andrade planning flyweight title fight against Valentina Shevchenko
Jessica Andrade looks like she will be taking on flyweight Queen Valentina Shevchenko next, according to her coach Gilliard Parana. Parana has revealed that they turned down a short-notice fight in December due to family reasons. And they are now planning for a new date in the fall for the fight, in what promises to be one of the biggest threats to Shevchenko's reign that she has faced.
“We were offered the fight in December, but it was very short notice and she had just fought, she had some family, spiritual problems to solve. They contacted us to fight Valentina (Shevchenko) in December again. There have been conversations two or three times. We are waiting for a date that is good for the event and for us,” Parana said to AG Sport (h/t BJPenn.com). “We are studying to see if there will be a date soon for this fight. Jessica’s next fight should be with Valentina, almost 100% sure. But if it turns out not to be, we will fight anyone, as it always has been. We asked the UFC to fight in March or April. Then, between March, April, May, the next fight (from Jessica) should come out, for sure.”
Kamaru Usman won't call himself the GOAT despite his dominance
Kamaru Usman has revealed that no matter how dominant he may be, he won't start calling himself the GOAT anytime soon. Usman has been dominant in MMA and only lost one fight in his professional career and is undefeated in the UFC. Despite his rise to UFC champion, Usman won't be patting himself on the back anytime soon.
“Honestly, I don’t look at that. I don’t think about that. I don’t think about stuff like that. I remember when Tyron Woodley was saying those things, he’s the greatest welterweight of all time and this and that. Of course he’s in that conversation but that’s not something you bestow upon yourself. That’s not something I want to think about and say I’m this, I’m that," Usman said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “No, I go out there and I do my job. I take it one fight at a time and then when I am done over time people look at your body of work and say ‘wow, look what he did, look who he got through, he fought everyone and he made them look like this and he fought them and did them this way.’ I’m not the one who’s going to go out there and put that label on myself but if you actually look at my resume and when I’m said and done and you’re like ‘he 50-43’d this guy, 50-44’d this guy, he did this to that guy, man, that’s the greatest of all time."
"The Nigerian Nightmare" has been doing the rounds ahead of UFC 258 and in another interview with MMA Junkie, he revealed that if he comes through Gilbert Burns and remains champion, there isn't a clear candidate to face him next.
“Right now, my focus on is Gilbert Burns. He’s stated that this is a fight that he wants. He believes that he’s that guy, so all my focus is on him. At this point, I see nothing past getting the job done against him. But after that, there’s really no one that stands out," Usman admitted to MMA Junkie. "I know (Colby) Covington and (Jorge) Masvidal are kind of pit together where someone goes out there and does something spectacular, the guy … could be the next guy. Or (Leon) Edwards and (Khamzat) Chimaev – someone does something spectacular there, they could be the next guy. Of course (I’m) paying attention, but no one really stands out as the next guy.”
Khamzat Chimaev claims to not have seen Leon Edwards fight
Khamzat Chimaev has sensationally claimed that he has never seen Leon Edwards fight ahead of their fight. The pair will face off on March 13 in a fight that has seemed destined to never happen. This is the third time they have been scheduled to fight in recent months with both fighters separately testing positive for COVID-19 but ahead of this eagerly anticipated clash, Chimaev has claimed to only seeing "Rocky" on YouTube.
“I’ve never seen Edwards fight, I’ve only seen highlights of Usman beating him. Highlights on Youtube, something like that. If Usman won like that, I’ll demolish him. He has no knockout power or anything special at all. I’ll dominate both him and Usman. Inshallah. Soon," Chimaev said to Frontkick Online. "Take everyone’s head, both in welterweight and middleweight. That’s my goal. People talk about hype, yada yada yada. But you guys know what I’m doing here. Nobody in the entire world does it like me”, Chimaev says."
Calvin Kattar's coach has revealed why they didn't stop Max Holloway beating
Tyson Chartier is the head coach of Calvin Kattar and he has revealed why his corner didn't throw in the towel when Kattar lost to Max Holloway. Kattar took a beating from Holloway at UFC Vegas 7 that earned "Blessed" critical acclaim for his boxing and Kattar for his endurance and toughness. Chartier has now revealed how close the corner came to ending the fight prematurely.
“It definitely did [get close to us stopping it],” Chartier stated. “I’m sitting in the corner and every time things were getting really bad, Calvin’s back was to us, and we see Max, and we see Herb. There was a couple of times when we were like, ‘F*ck, is he gonna stop it?’ And I was hoping Herb would stop it. And then all of a sudden we saw he wasn’t going to stop it, we were like, ‘Should we throw in the towel?’ And then I’m thinking we’re gonna throw in the towel, and then Calvin would crack him," Chartier said to MMA Fighting in an exclusive interview. "Then he would get off the fence and start landing shots. Like, damn it! The only way to describe it is that I was looking for a reason to stop it and every time I was about to, he would give us a reason not to. It’s a tough spot to be in because you have the make a judgement call in real time based on the facts that you’re presented. And, yeah, there was a couple of times I thought Herb was going to stop it, but he’s looking Calvin in the eye. I’m behind Calvin, so it’s like Herb has a better view than we do and Calvin is fighting back. He’s landing good shots."
Jordan Burroughs on MMA switch
Jordan Burroughs is one of the most accomplished wrestlers in history and has often been linked with a switch to MMA. Burroughs is a gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 2012 Olympic games and also been a four-time World Champion and a two-time NCAA national champion. Burroughs has revealed just how close he was to making the switch and what held him back.
“I’ve been close. My wife, Lauren, is the one that’s talked me out of it. When I graduated from college in 2011, University of Nebraska, wrestling was still in its infancy of marketing and branding and really making it a professional career. MMA was the new kid on the block and it was growing and expanding and we had a lot of our guys transitioning in — Henry Cejudo, Ben Askren, Daniel Cormier and so I really thought about it", Burroughs admitted to on 'The Joe Rogan Experience' (h/t Sherdog). "I think about going to MMA until I see a guy like ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry get his whole thing split, nose crooked and I’m like, 'I’m good,'” Burroughs said. “In wrestling, you lose, you get taken down, pushed out, you get pinned. In fighting, you lose, you get something broken, choked out, tapped, unconscious. It’s a very, very different sport. Wrestling, you score as many points as possible doing the least damage as possible. In MMA, I feel like it’s different."
Tito Ortiz caused 199 pages of emails to be sent to Huntington Beach City Council
Tito Ortiz has had a rough start to his run as Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem. The city council has received 199 pages of emails regarding Ortiz and although some are in support of the former UFC star, the majority have been arguing in favor of the no-confidence he received. Ortiz was only elected in November but his run in politics looks to of been very short-lived.
Ike Villanueva looking to move past 2020 and continue his momentum
Ike Villanueva had a rough start to his UFC career when he lost his first two-fights but bounced back when he defeated Vinicius Moreira by TKO. Villanueva is now looking to continue his momentum and showcase his skills in the Octagon.
“This was my game seven. My job was on the line. I have a lot of fight left in me and I wasn’t ready to close that chapter in my life. When your back’s against the wall, what are you going to do? Are you going to fold? No. I’m a family man, so I have to grind for my family," Villanueva said to MMA Weekly. "2020 you can flush it down the toilet. That wasn’t me. It happens. I swallow it with pride and kept pushing. All my hard work paid off on Jan. 20. I got that win and I’m still in the UFC.”
Joselyne Edwards on becoming the first Panamanian to win in the UFC
Joselyne Edwards became the first Panama fighter to compete in and subsequently win when she defeated Wu Yanan at UFC on ABC 1. Edwards took the fight on short notice, replacing Bethe Correia, and won a unanimous decision comfortably. Edwards has revealed the pride she took in achieving the feat and paving the way for future Panamanian's to follow her.
“It’s something that’s very beautiful, and you feel very excited because I know I made history for my country,” Edwards told MMA Junkie in her native Spanish. “I am the first woman to win inside the UFC and the first to be in UFC, so it pushes you to work harder and keep proving. I have many people that look up to me. So it excites you a lot and pushes you to give it your all.”
Fightful has all of your MMA needs covered. Follow us on Twitter for updates, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for exclusive interviews, lists, news updates, and predictions.
