Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ. Dillashaw has blasted both Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling after their controversial fight at UFC 259 — Fightful has you covered on this story and all the other news in the world of MMA.
TJ. Dillashaw blasts Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling after UFC 259
The former UFC bantamweight champion TJ. Dillashaw has launched verbal attacks on both Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling after their controversial title bout at UFC 259.
The bantamweight title bout between Yan and Sterling ended in controversial fashion as Yan landed a brutal illegal knee on Sterling and he could not continue to fight. As a result of this, Sterling was awarded the win over Yan and was crowned as the new UFC bantamweight champion.
The former UFC bantamweight king TJ. Dillashaw who is now eligible to compete again after getting banned for two years due to a USADA violation gave his honest opinions on the bout on Twitter.
And the Oscar goes to @FakeMaster for Best Actor in a Title Fight and Petr Yan needs a crash course in the rules of the sport he was once champion in. Hey Petr now you’re a cheater too, bitch.
— TJ Dillashaw (@TJDillashaw) March 7, 2021
In the above tweet, Dillashaw fired shots at both Yan and Sterling for their behavior during the fight calling Sterling the "best actor in a title fight," and calling Yan "a cheater."
As you can expect, in the comments of Dillashaw's tweet many fans pointed out that he contradicted himself by calling Yan a cheater as Dillashaw has just finished a suspension for cheating by taking the steroid EPO.
Now that Dillashaw is able to fight again, do you think he should go straight back in and fight for a title?
Dan Hooker reunites with his family after 56 days
When UFC lightweight contender Dan Hooker signed to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 257 he knew that he would be making the sacrifice to not see his family for nearly two months.
Hooker has now reunited with his family after his bout against Chandler at UFC 257 after 56 days.
Check out the video below.
Dana White reacts to judges scoring in UFC 259 main event
One of the main talking points after UFC 259 was the judge's scorecards for the main event between Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya.
Two out of the three judges who scored the fight gave it as 49-45 to Blachowicz and the other judge gave it 49-46. In what was a pretty obvious Blachowicz win, the fight was not as one-sided as the judge's scoring would say.
UFC president Dana White has reacted to the scoring.
In the UFC 259 post-fight press conference White said “the scoring was insane."
Following on from this comment, White also stated that he thinks the 10-8 round scoring system should be changed as fighters are getting awarded 10-8 rounds too easily. White's reasoning behind this was because back in the day a 10-8 round would be awarded for "an ass-whooping."
Do you agree with White's comments?
Thiago Santos issues statement after loss to Alexander Rakic
After taking another loss which now puts him on a three-fight losing streak, Thiago Santos has issued a statement following his disappointing performance against Alexander Rakic at UFC 259.
No excuses, I left it up to the judges, it was my fault.
— Thiago Marreta (@TMarretaMMA) March 7, 2021
.
---- Sem desculpas, eu deixei nas mãos dos juízes, a culpa foi minha. pic.twitter.com/cJwwcIF2M8
Rakic edged out a win over Santos in a pretty disappointing fight.
Both fighters were very reserved and patient which shows they were both obviously aware of each other's abilities to knock people out.
In the tweet, Santos said, "No excuses, I left it up to the judges, it was my fault."
BKFC interested in both Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem
Last week, UFC heavyweight veterans Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem were released from the company.
The two have already attracted interest from BKFC following their departure from the UFC.
The BKFC president David Feldman has confirmed that the promotion has an interest in signing the two heavyweight veterans.
In a text message to BjPenn.com, Feldman said "Yes, we are interested in both Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. We have already made contact with them and their teams. Let’s see what happens."
In a promotion as brutal as BKFC, you would imagine that Dos Santos and Overeem would be in danger as they both have already taken so much damage to the head in their MMA careers.
Do you want to see Overeem and Dos Santos in BKFC?
Antonio Carlos Junior signs with PFL
UFC veteran Antonio Carlos Junior has officially signed with fellow MMA promotion PFL.
Junior won The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 show and enjoyed an up and down career in the UFC.
Junior will step in for Jordan Johnson to fight fellow UFC veteran Tom Lawlor at a PFL event which is scheduled to take place on April 29.
When Junior was released from the UFC he said "In business, we have to be happy with what we have, and I felt for some time that they weren’t satisfied. I think the UFC wants a type of fighter that isn’t who I am. I’m not the type of guy that talks too much, so I felt they were unhappy, and that makes me unhappy, too. Other places might have what fits better with who I am.”
Amanda Nunes unsure of who she will fight next
After yet another dominant title defence at UFC 259, the GOAT of women's MMA Amanda Nunes is quite unsure of who she will be facing next but has insisted that she will carry on fighting despite the lack of challengers.
Nunes has fully cleared out both the bantamweight and featherweight divisions in the last four years and does not look like slowing down any time soon.
Although the name which is being thrown around as Nunes' next opponent is Julianna Pena, Nunes does not seem that interested in the fight.
Speaking at the UFC 259 post-fight press conference Nunes said “So Holly is off, she can fight Germaine." What Nunes meant by this was, because Pena was scheduled to fight Holly Holm but Holm has pulled out of the fight, Pena should instead fight Germaine de Randamie.
Nunes also revealed that she does not currently have any plans to retire from MMA.
“I feel like memories with my family and keep going with my legacy (is what motivates me),” Nunes said. “This is my job, and I love to do this. I love to go to the gym and train and get better and better. I feel like the older I get, I get much better."
“So I want to keep going and then see what’s going to happen for sure, whatever life is going to give to me. I don’t know, we never know, but I’m going to face whoever Dana White wants me to face.”
Alexander Rakic believes he is the new face of the UFC light heavyweight division
After getting a unanimous decision victory over Thiago Santos at UFC 259, Alexander Rakic believes that he is the new face of the UFC light heavyweight division.
Speaking at the UFC 259 post-fight press conference, Rakic gave his thoughts on his performance, preparation and where he goes after this.
“I’m happy,” Rakic told reporters following the win. “I was dominant. I won all three rounds. I kept the pace. I pushed forward. I led the fight. I went the distance. I controlled the centre. I controlled the clinching, and I hit him with some hard kicks, one high kick, a couple of punches, so a dominant performance, and I’m happy about my performance.”
At just 29 years of age, Rakic believes he is now entering his athletic prime and that the best from him is yet to come.
“I’m the type of guy improving every day,” Rakic said. “I’m training all my skills every day, and I’m improving like I cannot explain. You need to follow me for like a month and see. I have the best coaches in my corner.”
Rakic also revealed that he told UFC president Dana White to give him the chance that he deserves and help him reach his goal of a UFC title.
“I told him that I am the new face of the light heavyweight division,” Rakic said. “I am young, I am hungry, I fight well. I have a good record, and I am representing the sport the best way. I’m a good guy. Let’s see what the UFC decides.”
Do you think Rakic has what it takes to be the UFC light heavyweight champion?
Dana White believes that Israel Adesanya should "focus on middleweight"
UFC president Dana White believes that Israel Adesanya should "focus on middleweight" after his loss to Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259.
Speaking at the UFC 259 post-fight press conference, White gave his immediate reaction to the bout.
“Listen, he’s the middleweight champion. He doesn’t get the light heavyweight title, he doesn’t get Jon Jones,” White told reporters at the post-fight news conference. “But you know what, you never hurt somebody for trying to be big and trying to become great. He gave it a shot tonight, and it didn’t happen. And Jan is the man. He is the 205-pound champ, and now he starts taking on all comers in the division."
White also spoke about a potential matchup between Adesanya and Jon Jones.
“Jon Jones used to be at that weight class,” White said. “Jon’s going to be so much bigger than Israel. I think Israel should focus on middleweight right now. Get back in there and keep doing what he does in the middleweight division.”
Adesanya agreed with these comments from White and stated that although his focus is now solely on the middleweight division, you will see him back at 205 pounds in the future.
“You’ll see me back at 205 later in the future, but right now I’ve got a division I’ve got to dominate,” Adesanya said. “I know they’re probably thinking, ‘Oh, that’s it. He just got taken down.’ All right, cool. But I’ll remind them again why I’m the king at 185.”
Dominick Cruz explains his comments about Hans Molenkamp
After getting a split decision win over Casey Kenny at UFC 259, Dominick Cruz used his time on the mic in his post-fight interview to fire a shot at Monster Energy sponsorship executive Hans Molenkamp.
During the UFC 259 post-fight press conference, Cruz explained why he chose to fire a shot at Molenkamp.
“He’ll probably love that he’s getting plugged like this, to be honest, so it’s actually a benefit for him. So he should thank me,” he began. “We’re in a day and age where if I take a picture with Conor McGregor, now I’m Conor McGregor's friend,’ right? If I take a picture with Dominick Cruz and have him commenting on my page, we’re in a day and age where that looks like we’re friends. Well, I may be your friend, but you can’t use me in order to get ‘clout,’ as they put it.”
Cruz also went on to say “Look at my face, look at my body. I get beat to death for a living,” he said. “So when you try to force me, and you text me that if I don’t comment on your page if I don’t give you an interview, that you’re going to take what pays my bills? What are we doing? Monster sponsors me, not you.”
When Cruz was asked if he felt trapped in his deal with Monster Energy he clarified his comments by saying “It’s not trapped in a contract.’ It’s forced to give him clout, forced to hype him up if I want to make money. Monster pays me.”
Cruz also stated that he wants to fight Molenkamp in a charity bout.
“So, this was a callout because he calls himself a pro fighter. He’s got 100 pounds weight on me, and I’m like, we can make this a win-win situation,” he said. “Let’s do a charity event. Monster picks the charity, and we scrap it out. He says he’s got three pro fights. Let’s prove it. Put your money where your mouth is. You’ve got a little tiny guy calling you out for charity. Not for anything else. Why not?”
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.
