Author: Dan Hiergesell

Belal Muhammad has a big opportunity to launch himself into the UFC’s welterweight top five if he’s able to take out a red-hot Vicente Luque tomorrow night (Sat., April 16, 2022) at UFC Vegas 51 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Fighting Luque is nothing new for Muhammad. The two fighters locked horns all the way back at UFC 205 in 2016 and Luque ended up defeating Muhammad via first-round knockout. It remains the only time Muhammad has been finished in his 10-year career and a loss that he desperately wants to get back.

That said, he has no ill will against Luque heading into their rematch this weekend in Las Vegas. Luque is not the type of guy to talk trash entering a fight, but Muhammad still feels like there is a chip on his shoulder from a fight that happened six years ago.

“I’m not a guy that has to hate you, but I do have that little chip on my shoulder,” Muhammad told MMA Fighting. “A little bit of an edge because of how I lost to him, and he’s the only person in my career to finish me. I don’t need the animosity to fuel me for this fight, especially because of the stakes of this fight.

“We’re the only two fighters in the top-five fighting each other. We’re both winning fights and we’re fighting each other at our hottest points.”

Muhammad, who is coming off back-to-back wins over Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia, isn’t entirely concerned about what comes next if he should beat Luque. “Remember the Name” simply wants to climb the ranks and take out whoever he needs to, unless a big money fight happens to present itself.

“I’ll just fight the next best guy,” Muhammad said. “Obviously, it’s in your head, people are asking you if the title shot’s next and you don’t want to give the same answer saying, ‘Oh I’m only worried about the fight in front of me.’

“Nowadays with big money fights and pay-per-views headlined by guys without titles like [Jorge] Masvidal and [Colby] Covington, it’s like there are other big names up there I could fight even after this win. Nate Diaz is looking for a retirement fight. He was calling out Luque for a while so I could call him out for a big money fight or maybe Masvidal or Colby.”

That said, Muhammad seems all-in for a potential clash with Colby Covington. After hearing what “Chaos” had to say about the family of Jorge Masvidal and Dustin Poirier, Muhammad is more than eager to put Covington in his place and teach him a lesson.

“It just shows that he’s literally a piece of trash,” said Muhammad of Covington. “He is a low life. To bring up a wife and kids — you don’t talk about somebody’s wife and kids. You don’t attack them. But then you’re going to keep doing that to copy [Conor] McGregor. Why? Cause you’re not original. You’re a loser. That’s one of those things like Dustin [Poirier] says, I’m not going to fight him in the cage, I’ll fight him in the street or I’ll fight him in the gym if I see him. Because when you’re talking about family or you’re talking about a wife and kids, it’s no longer professional. Those are fighting words.

“It’s no more you’re trying to sell a fight. You’re talking about my family. I’m going to hurt you. Colby definitely deserves to be hurt. Big coward calling out a 155-pounder, a smaller guy. Call guys that are at the top of the division.”

For now, Muhammad will have to get past Luque this weekend at UFC Vegas 51. And considering Luque has finished his last four trips to the Octagon that will be a tough task to pull off.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 51 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 8:30 p.m. ET.

For more UFC Vegas 51 fight card news click here.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White didn’t back Aljamain Sterling following his split-decision win over Petr Yan at UFC 273 and the MMA community took immediate notice.

Sterling, who won the UFC bantamweight title following an illegal knee by Yan in their first matchup at UFC 259, caught a lot of flack over the past year for walking around like he was the undisputed champion. Fight fans were led to believe Sterling’s victory over Yan was in some way cheap, but “Funk Master” didn’t know Yan was going to launch an illegal knee that would render him unable to continue. It wasn’t fair.

One year later, Sterling finally had a chance to redeem himself against Yan in a rematch at UFC 273. Sterling was the betting underdog entering the fight and was booed by fight fans almost every time he was announced during fight week. It wasn’t looking good for the bantamweight veteran, but he ended up edging out Yan on the scorecards to earn the split-decision win and walk away with the undisputed UFC bantamweight championship.

It seemed like Sterling had finally done enough to gain the respect of fight fans and earn a hard-fought win over Yan to officially call himself champ. Unfortunately, “Funk Master” didn’t have the support of White after the fight was over as the UFC president told media members that he thought Yan won. White has made these types of remarks before, but this one may have set Sterling back to where he was one year ago.

Former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub talked about UFC 273’s aftermath and how it could affect Sterling’s stock moving forward.

“When you’re the president of the UFC, you have a responsibility,” said Schaub during a recent episode of the Schaub Show. “So when you say ‘the judges got it wrong on that one,’ well now you f—ked Aljamain Sterling over. Now you f—ked him.

“Because he beat the naysayers. He beat the haters. He shut everybody up. But now, it resurfaces, ‘cause the most powerful man in the UFC says he didn’t win that fight, which you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re wrong, dude.”

In White’s defense, many people around the MMA community called the fight for Yan. But as the president of the company it may be wise for White to hold his comments back before watching the fight again. White already refuses to play matchmaker directly after an event concludes so maybe he should do the same when it comes to calling out a winner of a close decision, especially when it comes to a title fight.

“You watch it from cage-side on the little monitor,” Schaub added. “And you rush to judgment before watching it for a second or third time. Which it should be your f—ng responsibility. Your duty should be to make sure if you’re gonna say that stuff, that you’re going based off the criteria that the fighters have to go off of when it comes to judging.

“But you don’t. You came to a quick judgment and it f—ks your fighter. It f—ks your champion. Because now, that’s out there. And now the media and the sheep run with it, and the MMA ‘experts’ that work for the UFC and ESPN are gonna run with it. And now you f—k up the stock of Aljamain Sterling.”

Rising or falling stock aside, Sterling is now UFC’s undisputed bantamweight champion. Yan is unlikely to land a trilogy bout with “Funk Master” at this time so Sterling will have his chance to defend his title against a fresh face. That could come against Jose Aldo or T.J. Dillashaw, who are the current frontrunners.

What do you think, Maniacs? Did White screw Sterling over with his post-fight comments?

Let’s hear it in the comments below!

The Jake Paul experiment is still ongoing and could soon trickle over into mixed martial arts (MMA).

While the social media star is still doing his best to become a legitimate boxer Paul has already hinted at an eventual move from the ring to the cage. Rumors have swirled as to which promotions would be interested in giving Paul a chance to compete in MMA and well-known organizations like Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League (PFL) have risen to the top.

Those are certainly suitable landing spots for Paul, especially considering he has zero MMA experience, but the biggest fights for “Problem Child” still reside in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Matchups with the likes of Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, and even Nate Diaz would be massive draws at the pay-per-view (PPV) box office, but UFC president Dana White has already expressed zero interest in ever doing business with Paul.

However, White has recently opened the door for a potential UFC fight for Jake’s brother, Logan Paul, who also has zero experience competing under MMA rules. Maybe that has loosened White’s stance on the younger Paul brother and his chances of one day fighting inside of the Octagon.

“I think it’s timing and proving myself more in the boxing side of things, and pretty soon the UFC and MMA side, it’ll be undeniable for me to get into the Octagon or fight for one of these other organizations against a big name. So I think it’s all a timing thing and Dana seems to be open to it,” Paul said on Teddy Atlas’ podcast. “He said on my brother’s podcast he might let Logan fight in the UFC and I think he’s coming around to me and starting to see what I’m about and what I actually stand for. Obviously, he doesn’t like me harping on the fighter pay side of things and sort of harming his business, and being a shareholder in Endeavor and pushing on the investment side of things. There’s definitely a feud there, so we’ll see what happens.”

As of now, Paul remains focused on padding his perfect 5-0 boxing record and making as much money as possible. The 25-year-old seems to be challenging himself a bit more each time he steps inside of the ring, but a crossover to the Octagon would leave Paul completely out of his comfort zone.

At the end of the day, isn’t that what White wants to see for the social media sensation?

Plans are already in motion to potentially book a high-profile clash between welterweight contenders Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev, but it may not be that easy.

Prior to Chimaev’s showdown with Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 last weekend UFC president Dana White said the promotion is looking into a Covington vs. Chimaev matchup for the next event on ABC. It is unknown at this time when or where that event could take place, but it was a solid plan on paper.

Unfortunately, things don’t always go as planned and it seems like Covington may need a little more than usual to sign the dotted line. According to MMA analyst Chael Sonnen, who is close friends with Covington, “Chaos” may want a title shot lined up if he were able to hand Chimaev his first career defeat.

That usually wouldn’t be a problem considering Covington is ranked No. 1 in the UFC’s welterweight division, but he’s already lost twice to current champion Kamaru Usman. It may be difficult for UFC to promote a third fight, but if Covington defeated Chimaev it could be enough to warrant another shot at gold.

“Getting Colby to the table is not as easy as you guys think,” said Sonnen on his YouTube channel (via SportsKeeda). “The days of Colby being a competitor, anyone anywhere anytime, he lived that life for twenty years. He’s now calculated. There’s things that he wants. Now ABC, yes he’s going to want that. Main event, he’s going to want that. All the attention, all the press of network television, yes he’s going to want that. I just believe in my heart that Colby’s going to need a promise on the back. I think Colby agrees to this contract and signs it today, I really do. IF it’s a number one contender’s match.”

This is mere speculation on Sonnen’s part, but he’s likely not too far off. Covington already believes he’s the best welterweight in the world and would love a chance to fight Usman for a third time. If he brings that to the table and pushes the UFC’s hand in order to get them the matchup they want for Chimaev it could work.

“I’m holding out on behalf of Colby, who I’m very good friends with,” Sonnen added. “I could call him, I just haven’t. I’m talking behind his back, I’m guessing. I know the way he works. There’s going to have to be a little sugar on it.”

What do you think, fight fans? Should Covington get another crack at Usman with a win over Khamzat?

Sound off!

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Reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is already planning his next move inside of the Octagon. Coming off a decision win over rival Colby Covington at UFC 268 this past November the champ is staring down a potential rematch with top contender Leon Edwards.

Usman, who has now defended his 170-pound title five-straight times, defeated Edwards by decision all the way back in 2015. That was a long time ago and “Nigerian Nightmare” has taken his game to an entirely new level, especially in the standout department. Just look at what he did to Jorge Masvidal in their title fight rematch (watch HERE).

Edwards, who owns a 10-fight unbeaten streak, is considered one of the top strikers in the welterweight division today. “Rocky” has gone on record saying he’d outclass Usman on the feet if they were to officially meet inside of the Octagon again. Usman isn’t arguing over Edwards’ claim, but he is mapping out an alternative gameplan that could put “Rocky” in serious trouble.

“He said that if I step in there with him, I won’t be striking the way that I am now,” said Usman during a recent interview with MMA Junkie. “So, I’ll oblige. I’ll give it to you, I will not strike. I am coming in to wrestle, I’m going to take him down, I’m going to beat on his face until he quits so don’t expect me to strike at all. No, I’m going to wrestle, don’t expect me to strike, don’t expect me to strike since I’m not a good striker. Don’t expect me to strike, I’m coming to take him down and I’m going to beat his face.”

Insomnia

Jake Paul is a true hustler trying to put together a boxing match between Kanye West and Pete Davidson.

While we’re talking about ridiculous boxing matches how about Elon Musk vs. Vladimir Putin?

Paddy Pimblett returns to the Octagon this weekend at UFC London so it’s only fitting that we take a deeper look at his overall awesomeness.

Uncle Dana loves showing off his guns.

Darren Till is really a unique personality for the sport of MMA. Who else would troll themselves over a vicious knockout?

Wonder how Conor McGregor’s cardio will hold up with all that new muscle…

I feel like Georges St-Pierre should have his own “Supermarket Shopper” show. Thoughts?

What do you make of this Joe Rogan fan tattoo?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Probably one of the best bare knuckle fight finishes you’ll ever see.

What do you give this guy? A triple red card?

I really wish we had found this video. Let us know if you have any luck.

These Mike Tyson training videos are always a pleasure to watch. Again, the former heavyweight world champion is 55 years old!

Random Land

Apparently Spiderman was on subway duty this week.

This seems like a MMA injury, but this is the finger of Atlanta Hawks star John Collins.

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

Magomed Ankalaev outlasted former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos to win a unanimous decision last night (Sat., Mar. 12, 2022) at UFC Vegas 50 live on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In addition to the 205-pound headliner, UFC Vegas 50 spit out a laundry list of highlight-reel finishes and all-out wars. Check them out below and let us know which one stood out the most:

• Light heavyweight newcomer Azamat Murzakanov scored a huge debut KO over Tafon Nchukwi when he landed a beautiful third-round flying knee (see it HERE)
• Bantamweight veteran Guido Cannetti scored a big TKO finish over Kris Moutinho in the very first round
• Cody Brundage captured the biggest win of his career when he submitted middleweight powerhouse Dalcha Lungiambula with a first-round guillotine (watch HERE)
• Women’s flyweight contender Miranda Maverick looked dominant in her second-round submission finish over Sabina Mazo

• Damon Jackson captured his second-straight win with a slick arm-triangle choke finish over featherweight prospect Kamuela Kirk (watch HERE)
• Middleweights Alex Pereira and Bruno Silva went toe-to-toe in a wild standup affair, but it was “Poatan” who escaped with the decision win
• Lightweight veteran Drew Dober stopped Terrance McKinney in his tracks with an insane comeback TKO stoppage
• Khalil Rountree earned a big TKO finish over Karl Roberson with vicious punches and a nasty body kick
• Song Yadong made his case for a shot at the bantamweight top 10 with a vicious first-round knockout finish over former UFC title challenger Marlon Moraes (highlights HERE)

In order to sift through the action and see which fighters took home an extra $50,000, we take a closer look at the official UFC Vegas 50 bonus winners below:

• Performance of the Night: Khalil Rountree Jr.
• Performance of the Night: Cody Brundage
• Performance of the Night: Song Yadong
• Performance of the Night: Azamat Murzakanov

For complete UFC Vegas 50 results and coverage click here.