Author: Dan Hiergesell

Colby Covington may never get his chance to fight former teammate and current UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, but “Chaos” believes he’d wipe the floor with “Diamond” if he ever decided to move up in weight.

Once training partners and friends, Covington and Poirier’s relationship has turned sour over the years. From public spats on social media to getting kicked out of the gym, both fighters have done their best to besmirch the other. Covington always seems to go just a little bit harder, but that’s because he’s trying to continue his role as UFC’s “bad guy” to boost his overall notoriety and marketability.

Earlier this week, Covington sat down with MMA reporter James Lynch to discuss a few topics. One of them centered around the potential of Poirier moving up to the welterweight division and providing Covington with the opportunity to fight him. While “Diamond” is a world-class fighter at 155 pounds and on the cusp of his second shot at UFC’s undisputed lightweight title, Covington believes a bout with Poirier would be a cake walk.

“I just see me giving him a wedgie in the Octagon and just slapping him all around the Octagon, throwing him from one side of the cage to the other until he quit,” said Covington. “It would probably be a verbal submission. He’d probably tap out and be the first fighter in a high-profile fight to tap out from being absolutely annihilated. It wouldn’t be competitive, and deep down inside he knows that.

“But he talked reckless before and I just want to keep him accountable for his words. I’m a man of my word. I don’t just talk the talk, I want the walk. I want to see the same out of these other people who are talking reckless.”

Covington, who will say just about anything these days to get a rise out of an opponent or the MMA media, is currently scheduled for a rematch with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 268 this November. “Chaos” is coming off a TKO win over Tyron Woodley in Sept. 2020 and is hoping to finally cash in on his first ever UFC title.

After that, Covington can try his best to goad Poirier to the welterweight division to finally settle their feud.

Dillon Danis hasn’t fought in well over two years, but it’s not for a lack of trying. It seems like the Conor McGregor henchman is calling out a different opponent each and every week in hopes of landing a lucrative matchup of some sort.

Danis was back at it again earlier this week when he revealed that a “huge offer” was made to former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping for a clash inside the bare knuckle boxing ring. Bisping laughed the callout off, but Danis was serious about his intentions.

“A huge offer has been made to @bisping to box me let’s see if he mans up and takes it,” wrote Danis.

While Danis is 15 years younger than Bisping and an active professional fighter “El Jefe” is not known for his striking. Danis is a world-renowned grappler who would likely get clobbered in mere seconds if he ever decided to step inside of the ring with someone like Bisping.

Following his callout of “The Count,” Danis was targeted by former UFC veteran and current MMA free agent Diego Sanchez. “Nightmare” has already been linked to a potential crossover into bare knuckle boxing and believes he’s a better matchup for Danis than Bisping. After Sanchez mocked Danis for being a “big gangsta” Danis responded with his own verbal warfare.

“Box me Dillon I’m closer to your size/age & would fight you at any weight in any sport! You are a BIG GANGSTA WHY DONT YOU POP YOUR CHERRY AND BARE THOSE BJJ KNUCKLES IN @bareknucklefc,” wrote Sanchez

“I don’t wanna go to jail for murder stay outta this little guy before you get hurt,” replied Danis.

Sanchez, who parted ways with UFC earlier this year, has vastly more experience than Danis when it comes to fighting professionally. That’s not to say Danis couldn’t get lucky and land some good punches on the feet, but he’d be overmatched from the opening bell in a boxing match with “Nightmare.” The same could be said about Danis and Sanchez meeting up inside of the cage, which Sanchez also proposed under the rules of Jorge Masvidal’s new bare knuckle MMA promotion.

“@GamebredFighter what’s up with that no gloves Mma @dillondanis thinks his Bjj is fire I’ll put that fire out real quick with these bare knuckles was up let’s make some money,” wrote Sanchez.

What say you, Maniacs? Do you want to see Danis vs. Sanchez? If so, who do you think comes out on top?

Let’s hear it!

Jorge Masvidal is interested in making the most money possible, but he isn’t ready to trade in his chance at welterweight gold for a clash with Conor McGregor.

Masvidal, who is coming off a disappointing knockout loss in a rematch with UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman back at UFC 261, is hoping to win his next few fights and put himself right back in contention at 170 pounds. As one of the most popular and dangerous fighters on the roster today it shouldn’t be hard for “Gamebred” to dust himself off and make another push for the title.

That said, Masvidal has a lot of options at his disposal. In addition to all of the great matchups Masvidal could find atop the welterweight division he still has a BMF rematch with Nate Diaz waiting in the wings and a potential clash with Conor McGregor that has been talked about for quite some time. While Masvidal would make the most money fighting someone like “Notorious” the veteran contender doesn’t believe the Irishman will ever be interested in the matchup.

“I’m full man size. He’s like a very small, fragile dude,” Masvidal told MMA Junkie. “He don’t want that. You can’t pay that man enough money, so that one’s OK. (I) don’t need it.”

With a potential clash with McGregor off the table (for now) Masvidal is open to fighting anyone who’s going to get him closer to the title. That could mean a long-awaited matchup with rival Leon Edwards or a bout with former UFC title challenger Gilbert Burns, who is coming off a decision win over Stephen Thompson this past July.

“The guy that gets me the closest and the fastest to the title bout (is what I want next),” Masvidal said.

Masvidal, who turns 37 this November, is expected to meet with UFC officials early next month to determine his next opponent. Edwards seems like the most likely option given their storied history, but “Gamebred” is open to just about anything the promotion wants.

“That’s what I’m going to find out in two weeks,” Masvidal said. “Whoever the UFC’s like, ‘Man, this guy gets you quicker than anybody else and blah, blah, blah,’ that’s it. That’s what I have to take.”

Sean O’Malley seems to have all the ingredients to fight the upper echelon of contenders in the UFC’s bantamweight division, but “Sugar” doesn’t see the benefit of fighting ranked opponents if he’s not going to be paid more.

O’Malley, who is one of the more promising young names on the UFC roster today, has built quite the following among MMA fans. With crisp striking, a knack for finishing fights, and one hell of a social media game, O’Malley is on the fast track to stardom. The only thing missing is key wins over top bantamweights that will ultimately push him towards a title shot.

While O’Malley was recently linked to a potential clash with former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar later this year it’s unknown at this time if he’s going to accept that fight. Given the fact that he will be paid the same amount of money for fighting Edgar or someone like Kris Moutinho, who O’Malley defeated via TKO back at UFC 264 (see it HERE), “Sugar” doesn’t see the benefit of fighting the tougher guys.

“Next fight, a lot of people want me to fight someone ranked,” said O’Malley during a recent appearance on the “No Jumper” podcast (h/t MMA Junkie). “They wanted me to fight someone ranked last fight. I was supposed to fight Louis Smolka (at UFC 264). For me, I have a contract to fight a certain amount of fights, and I’m gonna get paid a certain amount of money whether I fight Louis Smolka, the dude I was supposed to fight, or I fight Petr Yan, the No. 1 bantamweight in the UFC. I get paid the same. I’m gonna fight this dude (who is lower). And I’m going to fight this dude on a Conor McGregor pay-per-view.

“Chael Sonnen always says fight the worst dude on the highest part of the card. A lot of bantamweights, and just people in the UFC, they definitely hate, and it comes from jealousy. I’m getting way more eye balls than them. I perform in there. You can go and watch some of these guys perform, and you literally pick up your phone, start surfing Instagram, you just don’t give a f*ck what they’re doing.”

O’Malley, who is 6-1 since making his Octagon debut back in 2016, may have a point. However, if he ever wants to make bigger paydays and secure a more lucrative contract his next time around he’s going to have to start defeating guys ranked above him. It’s been nice to see “Sugar” knock off the Eddie Winelands and Thomas Almeidas of the division, but that’s only going to take O’Malley so far.

We’ll have to see if UFC president Dana White can work his magic and get O’Malley back on track to ascend the 135-pound ladder. He may not be ready for a showdown with Edgar, but that’s one hell of a matchup any fight fan will want to see.

Paige VanZant has fallen on tough times as a professional fighter. After parting ways with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) back in 2020 the combat star has produced a 0-2 record as a member of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). Remember, VanZant was brought into BKFC to become the promotion’s biggest star. At least she got paid to do so.

Unfortunately, “12 Gauge” hasn’t been able to find much success as a bare knuckle boxer and it’s beginning to take a toll on her both physically and mentally. After dropping her BKFC debut to Britain Hart back in February VanZant lost again to former UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich this past July. The defeat not only burst her BKFC bubble but it left VanZant in an unhealthy state of mind.

“When I walked out of the ring, I didn’t just walk to my locker room, I literally walked all the way outside and I just went and cried in the parking lot by myself,” VanZant revealed on her new video blog series (h/t MMA Fighting). “I said some things to my husband that are pretty terrible about like my mental state.

“I told him I didn’t want to live anymore, that this wasn’t for me anymore. Like life wasn’t for me anymore so I was disappointed, It was hard.”

The physical and mental struggles of being a professional fighter are difficult enough, but VanZant seems to be battling more than just her opponent every time she steps inside of the ring. Given her popularity on social media and overall appeal as a women’s combat star, “12 Gauge” puts a lot of pressure on herself to perform and perform well.

“I’m bummed out, bummed out to say the least,” VanZant said. “Everyone expects me to lose and everyone expects me to fail. I don’t know, I just feel like people have this specific perception of who I am and especially online. It’s crazy how much people can hate on a single person. I just don’t get it.

“I pride myself of being a good person. I think that’s the most important thing for me. I never talk bad about my opponents. I never say a single negative thing about their character. You never know what somebody’s going through. You never know what someone’s on the verge of.”

Despite her recent setbacks as a fighter and ongoing issues with mental health, VanZant believes there’s light at the end of the tunnel. She just has to recognize her issues and address them accordingly.

“People like me struggle a lot, everybody does,” VanZant said. “Mental health is no joke and I need to start taking my mental health more seriously.

“Losses suck and going through hard times it’s not fun but it does get better and you can get through it and life goes on.”

An exciting middleweight clash will take place next weekend at UFC Vegas 34 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, as Kelvin Gastelum meets Jared Cannonier in a crucial main event showdown.

This is a big opportunity for both fighters to say the least. For Gastelum, this is his opportunity to get back into the win column and capture a victory over a top 10 opponent. He’s coming off a decision loss to Robert Whittaker back in April and needs something to boost him back up before year’s end. Gastelum has always been a top fighter in the division, but he never seems to cash in when it matters most. This main event matchup with “Killa Gorilla” would be a good start.

In the case of Cannonier, this will be his chance to right the ship after losing his first fight at middleweight to Whittaker back in Oct. 2020. Cannonier is 3-1 since making the jump to 185 pounds in 2018 and has the natural punching power to stop anyone in the division. This will be just his second UFC main event bid, but last time Cannonier was in this position he smoked Jack Hermansson in just two rounds.

In advance to the middleweight matchup UFC has opened up the vault and released one of the best performances of Gastelum’s career. It came during a matchup with the legendary Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who recently retired from MMA. Gastelum and Souza battled in a Fight of the Night affair at UFC 224 back in 2018 with Gastelum getting the nod via split decision. You can check out the full fight video in the above player.

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