Fight fans are eager for real news.
Alas, it’s two days after Christmas. New Years Eve is this weekend. There are no UFC events until January 13, 2023. Before anyone is in the comments claiming, “SLOW NEWS DAY,” this is me admitting upfront that this is likely to be a slow news week in general unless Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland happen to run into each other at the checkout line in Whole Foods.
There just ain’t much going on, which is why posts like “Was Mike Tyson any good?” and “Look at this gross purple leg!” currently adorn the top of the MMAmania.com page. Still, while there may be an influx of funny headlines, at least nobody here has resorted to actively trying to prank fight fans with faulty fight news.
Enter UFC reporter Nina-Marie Daniele, who has built a fanbase over the last year via a combination of good connections and provocative content. Earlier today, Daniele promised “BIG fight news” coming from UFC CEO Dana White himself. Naturally, fans talked about potential UFC 300 bookings, while others advised caution and noted a curious amount of winking outside of White’s office.
For my birthday Dana White and I are breaking some BIG fight news on my Instagram at 5:50pm PT / 8:50pm ET @danawhite pic.twitter.com/L2KZXdp0Zz
— Nina-Marie Daniele (@ninamdrama) December 27, 2023
Those who warned of Power Slap news or holiday giveaways were proven correct, as the “BIG fight news” turned out to be nothing more than an advert for tonight’s Power Slap episode, which is still airing on Rumble. Dana White wasn’t even in attendance, though a cardboard cutout served as his replacement.
The news you’ve all been waiting for! @danawhite pic.twitter.com/zgEqUYyhNx
— Nina-Marie Daniele (@ninamdrama) December 28, 2023
Fans online weren’t totally surprised, but they did seem rather unimpressed and annoyed by the alleged fight news:
That’s one way to make everyone hate you
That is actually not cool
Baiting like this is poor
disappointed us
this is lame
In the words of Ralphie from A Christmas Story, “A crummy commercial? Son of a b—ch!”
Stay tuned here on MMAmania.com just in case an actual good fight gets announced. If no such real news breaks, I can at least promise that I won’t be writing a single word about Power Slap.