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Robert Whittaker Endorses Khamzat Chimaev for Next Title Shot: ‘Sitting Out Shouldn’t Be Rewarded’

Robert Whittaker Endorses Khamzat Chimaev for Next Title Shot: 'Sitting Out Shouldn’t Be Rewarded' Robert Whittaker thinks Khamzat Chimaev should be the next man up for middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis. ‘Borz’ made…

Robert Whittaker thinks Khamzat Chimaev should be the next man up for middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis.

‘Borz’ made a pretty compelling case at UFC 308, scoring a quickfire submission victory over Whittaker. With the win, Chimaev moved to the No. 3 spot in the 185-pound rankings and appears to be well on his way to his first title opportunity inside the Octagon.

However, the unbeaten Chechen monster may be waiting a bit after UFC CEO Dana White promised Sean Strickland the next title shot.

“Yes, [Strickland is still next],” White told reporters at a DWCS press conference in October.

White’s comments came weeks before Chimaev dropped jaws with his first-round neck-crank finish against ‘The Reaper’ in Abu Dhabi, leading many to suggest that ‘Borz’ be allowed to skip the line and walk straight into a scrap with ‘Stillknocks.’

Appearing on the MMArcade podcast with Jonny Roses, Whittaker echoed that same sentiment.

“I think [Khamzat] should go straight to Dricus,” Whittaker said. “I don’t think sitting out should be rewarded, ever.”

Khamzat Chimaev likely to face winner of ‘dDP’ vs. Strickland 2 instead of jumping the line

Following his win against Paulo Costa at UFC 302, Strickland made it clear that he planned to sit on the sidelines and wait for a rematch with Du Plessis. Clearly, Whittaker is not of fan of that strategy, but you can’t really blame Strickland for not wanting to put his spot at the front of the line at stake — especially after White confirmed he’s next.

No official date for ‘DDP’ vs. Strickland 2 has been locked down. Originally, the promotion had hoped to take the sequel scrap to Du Plessis’ home country, South Africa. Unfortunately, it sounds like that is no longer the case after White indicated issues with locking down a venue.

No matter where Du Plessis and Strickland decide to run it back, Khamzat Chimaev will be watching and waiting.

Robert Whittaker Endorses Khamzat Chimaev for Next Title Shot: ‘Sitting Out Shouldn’t Be Rewarded’

Robert Whittaker thinks Khamzat Chimaev should be the next man up for middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis. ‘Borz’ made…

Robert Whittaker thinks Khamzat Chimaev should be the next man up for middleweight champ Dricus Du Plessis.

However, the unbeaten Chechen monster may be waiting a bit after UFC CEO Dana White promised Sean Strickland the next title shot.

“Yes, [Strickland is still next],” White told reporters at a DWCS press conference in October.

Appearing on the MMArcade podcast with Jonny Roses, Whittaker echoed that same sentiment.

“I think [Khamzat] should go straight to Dricus,” Whittaker said. “I don’t think sitting out should be rewarded, ever.”

Khamzat Chimaev likely to face winner of ‘dDP’ vs. Strickland 2 instead of jumping the line

No matter where Du Plessis and Strickland decide to run it back, Khamzat Chimaev will be watching and waiting.

Dana White Bows Out of Politics After Donald Trump’s Victory ‘It’s gross. It’s disgusting.’

UFC President Dana White will not be continuing his efforts to support Donald Trump publicly now that the campaign…

UFC President Dana White will not be continuing his efforts to support Donald Trump publicly now that the campaign has wrapped up. The UFC and its stakeholders, such as Joe Rogan, were a cornerstone of the 2024 Donald Trump election, but Dana White is done with it all.

Dana White Done with Donald Trump

Dana White and Donald Trump’s friendship goes back some time. When the sport of MMA was outlawed at the turn of the century, most states did not allow the sport to happen. However, Donald Trump was willing to open his casino doors to the fledgling organization. Trump was once an enemy of the UFC when he was the shareholder behind rival MMA company Affliction, which was operated alongside Saint Petersburg’s M-1 and Michael Cohen.

But time heals all wounds because once Trump was back on the campaign trail, the UFC was there for him. Dana White would walk out with Trump during UFC events with the camera on him. On election night, White was alongside Trump and Elon Musk during the evening’s festivities. Dana White spoke that night and thanked Joe Rogan, UFC commentator for his vital support. Rogan welcomed Trump onto his podcast, which is the most listened-to talk show worldwide.

New York’s Donald Trump has an estimated net worth valued between three and ten billion dollars. Joe Rogan is said to have a net worth of $200m. Dana White has an annual salary of $20m and an estimated net worth of $500m with a partial ownership of the UFC. The rest of the UFC is owned by multi-national trillion-dollar private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Silver Lake Partners, along with Endeavor which is a sports and talent agency.

With the election campaign wrapped up, Dana White is done with politics. At a UFC event, alongside Donald Trump, White spoke to The New Yorker and explained:

“I’m never f*ing doing this again. I want nothing to do with this s*. It’s gross. It’s disgusting. I want nothing to do with politics.” White added some ring kissing just for good measure, “Donald Trump is tougher and more badass than anybody.”

Conor McGregor Calls For Dana White to Cut Michael Chandler Following Latest Loss at UFC 309

Conor McGregor thinks Michael Chandler should be cut after coming up short at UFC 309. Okay, not really, but…

Conor McGregor thinks Michael Chandler should be cut after coming up short at UFC 309. Okay, not really, but we all knew the Irish megastar would eventually react to Chandler’s latest loss one way or another.

After waiting the better part of two years for a fight with McGregor that never came to fruition, the former Bellator champion returned to the Octagon on Saturday night for a rematch with former lightweight titleholder Charles Oliveira. Chandler delivered another exciting showing that had fight fans on their feet — particularly in the fifth and final round — but it wasn’t enough to land in the win column.

‘Do Bronx’ leaned on his BJJ skills to take an early lead against ‘Iron’ and never look back, setting himself up for a potential rematch with reigning lightweight king Islam Makhachev — once the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ takes care of a bit of business with Arman Tsarukyan.

McGregor, who was long-tied to a fight with Chandler until ‘Iron’ ultimately decided to move on, reacted to his former TUF foe’s loss on social media.

“Cut Michael Chandler! Just kidding, good fight,” McGregor wrote in a since-deleted post on X. “Mad little fellow is Michael. I like ’em!”

Dana White assures conor mcGregor that ‘Iron’ isn’t going anywhere

Even if McGregor was sincere in his initial statement, it sounds like Dana White has no intention of letting Chandler go.

“He’s like an Arturo Gatti,” White said during the UFC 309 post-fight press conference. “He’s one of those — win, lose, or draw, you’re never bummed out at the end of a Michael Chandler fight. He’s always exciting, he’s always fun. In the last round of that fight, he kept getting taken down.

“He got on his back. So when he got on his back at the end, he just stood up and started slamming him…The kid always tries to win. He always comes to fight, and Michael Chandler’s always going to have a home here. Until he decides to retire, Michael Chandler isn’t going anywhere” (h/t MMA Mania).

On paper, Chandler’s record isn’t exactly anything to write home about. He’s 2-4 with losses against the likes of Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Charles Oliveira. But those who watched those fights know the value that ‘Iron’ brings to any UFC card he’s connected to.

‘Overrated’ Bo Nickal Disappointed by Cormier’s Pro-Khamzat Commentary During UFC 309 Fight

Bo Nickal was proud of the performance he delivered at UFC 309. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoyed watching it. Nickal’s…

Bo Nickal was proud of the performance he delivered at UFC 309. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoyed watching it.

Nickal’s return to the Octagon on Saturday night was a bit of a mixed bag. Sure, the three-time NCAA Division I national champion earned a fairly decisive victory, moving to 7-0 in his mixed martial arts career, but he definitely didn’t make any new fans with the lackluster performance. Instead of utilizing his world-class wrestling, Nickal opted to keep the fight standing and show off his evolution as a well-rounded fighter.

It was a bold move and one that proved to pay off, but the lack of fireworks — or really anything of note — had fans relentlessly booing Nickal and dubbing him overrated.

The commentary team wasn’t exactly kind to Nickal either. Especially Daniel Cormier who made his thoughts on Nickal’s performance and his chances against someone like Khamzat Chimaev quite clear.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Nickal snapped back at the negative comments by the UFC 309 commentary team and defended his decision to stand and trade with Craig.

“When I watched the fight back, something that was a little disappointing was the commentary and just kinda hearing the way they were looking at the fight,” Nickal said. “It made me feel like they didn’t really know what was going on. Anybody that I’ve talked to, the people that I trust and shoot straight with me, they’re like, ‘Dude, you shut that guy out, total domination, it was a flawless victory’” (h/t MMA Mania).

Truth be told, Nickal’s victory was far from dominant. According to the UFC Stats website, Nickal only landed six more total strikes than Craig throughout the 15-minute affair, but landed at a significantly higher clip, connecting on 63% of his strikes while ‘Bearjew’ only landed 37% of his.

However, Craig also threw 45 more total strikes than Nickal, so clearly he was the busier fighter on the night.

Dana White acknowledges that Bo Nickal Still ‘Needs Work’

Daniel Cormier and the MSG crowd weren’t the only ones critical of Nickal’s performance. During the post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White acknowledged that the former Nittany Lion still needs a lot of work before he can achieve his lofty goals.

“Well, you know, we’ve had these discussions with Bo. Bo needs work,” White told the media. “Bo is an up-and-coming guy. I know he has big aspirations and wants to move faster than he should. But, tonight showed that — I mean, he still dominated, he won the whole fight — but he’s got work to do. It’s alright, we’ll move him. When you’re in a position like Bo is, there’s a lot of expectations.”

Dana White: Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall Will Be ‘The Biggest Heavyweight Fight of All Time’

Dana White isn’t interested in seeing Jon Jones face Alex Pereira and is all in favor of giving Tom…

Dana White isn’t interested in seeing Jon Jones face Alex Pereira and is all in favor of giving Tom Aspinall a chance to unify the UFC’s heavyweight titles.

This sentiment from the UFC president comes after witnessing Jones’s brutal work at UFC 309. Jones battered Stipe Miocic for three rounds before ending things with a perfectly placed spinning back-kick and ensuing punches.

Jones also showed no signs of ring rust despite the extended time off. He last saw action in 2023 at UFC 285, finishing Ciryl Gane via submission early into the first round to win the UFC heavyweight title. Now, after his latest victory this past Saturday night, he’s on top of the world and seems eager to return to the cage.

Jon Jones and Dana white speak on the Tom Aspinall fight

After the fights at UFC 309, Dana White had the chance to address the Jon Jones situation and speak about what Jones wanted in contrast to what White himself wanted to see happen.

See, Jon Jones prefers a mega-fight against Brazilian superstar Alex Pereira. However, Tom Aspinall currently holds the interim UFC heavyweight championship and has been actively defending it. If fights were awarded based on merit, it would be a no-brainer for Aspinall to face Jones next. Sadly, that’s not the world we live in, as Jones doesn’t want to fight Aspinall because he’s an “as*hole”.

“There’s a part of me that does [want to compete with him], but if I’m being completely honest, I feel like Tom’s been such an a**hole that I don’t want to do business with him,” Jon Jones said prior to his fight with Miocic (H/T Daily Mail UK). “His fans have been so annoying.”

“Obviously, you don’t get this far getting affected by fans and whatnot, but he’s just an a**hole. He’s 30, so he’s from this influencer generation where you hop online, t-shirt sales, and all that. I’m past that type of stuff. If you had a little bit more respect, maybe we could’ve worked something out.”

“This is a business, and fighting me gives him an opportunity to change his life forever. I don’t even want to give him the opportunity. He just played his cards wrong with me.”

“I’m three years away from being a 40-year-old, grown man. The press conference, going through the whole shebang with him, I’d just rather not do.”

Dana White chimes in and hypes up the Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall Fight

The UFC president, Dana White, is no longer interested in seeing an Alex Pereira vs. Jon Jones fight now, so ‘Bones’ might be all out of options if he wants to continue his UFC career. After the fights, White had this to say about the matchup:

“It will be [the biggest heavyweight fight of all time]. ”He [Jon Jones] will be [well compensated]. You know what tonight told me? There’s no f***ing way I’d make the [Alex] Pereira fight. Jon’s too big. Great wrestler.”

“I like Alex Pereira, I like him personally,” Dana White continued. “But it just doesn’t make sense to make that fight.”

Jon Jones, however, had more to say on the matter: “One of the really good things about negotiating is being willing to walk away from a deal, and that’s the deal that I want. If that’s not what the fans want, I guess I’ll say sayonara.”

“I’ve learned over the years not to really get into finances publicly.” Jones continued. “But I want to be compensated to the matter where if I won or lost then it really wouldn’t matter.”

Do you think Jon Jones will fight Tom Aspinall, or does Dana White and the UFC fail to get the deal done?