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Jorge Masvidal reacts to Joe Rogan’s praise, Georges St-Pierre comparison: ‘That’s f*cking awesome’

Former two-time UFC welterweight title challenger, Jorge Masvidal has reacted to praise from UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan – in which the veteran caller claimed that Masvidal was “on a different level” to former two-weight champion, Georges St-Pierre. Masvidal, the current #11 ranked welterweight contender, is slated co-headline UFC 287 next month in his native […]

Masvidal, the current #11 ranked welterweight contender, is slated co-headline UFC 287 next month in his native Miami, Florida – drawing one-time title chaser, Gilbert Burns over the course of three rounds.

Sidelined since March of last year, Masvidal most recently headlined UFC 272 against arch-rival, Colby Covington, suffering a one-sided unanimous decision loss against former interim welterweight champion.

Recently appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience – Masvidal was lauded with praise prior to his appearance by Rogan, who boldly put the Floridian on the same level – if not higher than former duel-weight Octagon champion, St-Pierre.

Drawing major flak for his comments and comparisons – notably from former UFC light heavyweight and middleweight title challenger, Chael Sonnen, who claimed Rogan “was on drugs” – Masvidal nonetheless admitted that he was happy to here the New Jersey native sing his praises.

“Joe’s (Rogan) been watching the sport forever, and he truly is like an encyclopedia,” Jorge Masvidal told MMA Junkie Radio. “I was just with Joe, I got back from Texas. We’re like talking boxing and there’s not a name that I threw out that this guy doesn’t know and hasn’t digested 20 fights of this individual. … Every fight, every fighter that I brought up, he’s like, ‘Yeah, I remember so-and-so, he took him out in the seventh round.’ He’s just an encyclopedia of wealth for the sport.”

“So, for him to consider me one of the better fighters to have ever lived is – f*ck man, that’s a real like notch for me right there, man,” Jorge Masvidal explained. “That guy, I consider him a f*ckin’ true connoisseur of the sport. He calls it the way he is and stuff in fights. I don’t think he’s a biased dude, man. So, I really enjoy his commentary as well. I just feel like that’s f*cking awesome that he put me up there like that [with Georges St-Pierre].”

Jorge Masvidal claims he will fight for gold against Leon Edwards next

And ahead of his April return on home soil against Burns, Masvidal has claimed to be privy to some “insider information”, which he maintains will see him challenge undisputed champion, Leon Edwards for welterweight gold before the aforenoted, Covington.

Alex Pereira already cutting weight for title fight rematch with Israel Adesanya at UFC 287

Alex Pereira already cutting weight ahead of UFC 287 Israel Adesanya Alex Pereira is already in the process of cutting weight for his highly anticipated rematch with Israel Adesanya. Miami-Dade Arena in Florida will play host to UFC 287 featuring a middleweight title showdown between longtime rivals Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. After scoring two wins over ‘The Last Stylebender’ under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, the […]

Alex Pereira is already in the process of cutting weight for his highly anticipated rematch with Israel Adesanya.

Miami-Dade Arena in Florida will play host to UFC 287 featuring a middleweight title showdown between longtime rivals Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya. After scoring two wins over ‘The Last Stylebender’ under the GLORY Kickboxing banner, the Brazilian behemoth followed Adesanya into mixed martial arts and was intent on handing him the biggest loss of his combat sports career. Pereira did exactly that, delivering a shocking fifth-round knockout to secure his third victory over Adesanya and taking his 185-pound crown in the process at UFC 281 in November.

Alex Pereira Cutting Weight Three Weeks Out From UFC 287

Weeks away from their second meeting inside the Octagon, Alex Pereira is already in the process of cutting weight. In an image shared by BJJ black belt Plinio Cruz on Instagram, Pereira can be seen sweating it out before his first UFC title defense on April 8.

Alex Pereira is a monster of a middleweight, standing at an impressive 6’4″ making him the tallest active fighter in the division. As a result, ‘Poatan’ is required to cut a significant amount of weight to make the division limit. That also means that when he steps into the Octagon on fight night, he likely outweighs his opponent by a massive margin. For his UFC 276 bout with Sean Strickland, Pereira made the 185-pound weight limit, but reportedly put on an incredible 33-pounds overnight, making him 218 pounds during the time of the fight.

That undeniably plays a role in the power he possesses inside the cage and it helped him walk away with a UFC title wrapped around his waist after just four fights with the promotion. Alex Pereira is 7-1 overall in his MMA career with six of those wins coming by way of knockout. His lone decision victory came against Bruno Silva last March.

Jorge Masvidal claims he will fight Leon Edwards in title clash following UFC 287: ‘I’ve got some insider information’

Former two-time undisputed UFC welterweight title challenger, Jorge Masvidal has claimed to be privy to some “insider information” ahead of his return to the Octagon next month against Gilbert Burns, claiming he will fight for gold against Leon Edwards before arch-rival, Colby Covington. Masvidal, the current #11 ranked welterweight contender, has been sidelined since UFC […]

Masvidal, the current #11 ranked welterweight contender, has been sidelined since UFC 272 back in March of last year, suffering a one-sided, unanimous decision loss against the above-mentioned former interim division titleholder, Covington in the pair’s long-awaited grudge-match in Las Vegas.

Returning to active competition at UFC 287 next month in his native Miami, Florida – Jorge Masvidal takes co-headlining honors against the aforenoted, Burns – beneath a middleweight championship rematch between Alex Pereira, and Israel Adesanya.

Jorge Masvidal alludes to an immediate title fight with Leon Edwards post-UFC 287

And ahead of his co-main event return in the ‘Sunshine State’ against Burns, Masvidal claims that he has received some “insider information” – which would see him challenge for welterweight spoils against the above-noted, Edwards, despite the fact Covington has been tipped to fight for gold next.

“I’m fighting Gilbert (Burns), then I’m fighting Leon (Edwards),” Jorge Masvidal told MMA Junkie Radio during a recent interview. “I’m telling you that’s how it’s going to play out. I just got some insider information.”

Masvidal’s bold claims come off the back of a contradiction from UFC president, Dana White, who confirmed following UFC 286 that Edwards would be defending his undisputed crown against the brash, outspoken, Covington next – with the Clovis native calling for a UFC 290 showdown during International Fight Week in July.

Vowing to earn his way back to a rematch with former American Top Team training partner, Covington in the near future, Masvidal, who was involved in an altercation with the former outside a Miami steakhouse last April – promised to “murder” Covington under the UFC banner in a future re-run.

Khamzat Chimaev claims Alex Pereira turned down title fight with before UFC 287: ‘It’s the easiest fight for me’

Undefeated UFC welterweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev has claimed that undisputed middleweight champion, Alex Pereira, turned down a fight with him before inking terms to rematch former titleholder, Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 next month in Miami, Florida. Chimaev, the current #3 ranked welterweight contender, has yet to return to active competition since September of last […]

Chimaev, the current #3 ranked welterweight contender, has yet to return to active competition since September of last year, co-headlining UFC 279 against Californian striker, Kevin Holland in a reworked catchweight fight.

Initially scheduled to headline the pay-per-view event against Nate Diaz in a welterweight matchup, Chimaev submitted Holland with a first round D’Arce choke win, having missed weight by seven-and-a-half pounds for his slated bout with Diaz.

Expected to make a middleweight division return for the first time since his UFC debut back in 2020, Chimaev has been touted to fight contenders within the division’s top-3 by UFC leader, Dana White.

Khamzat Chimaev eyes July return to the UFC at potential Sweden event

Claiming he had signed bout agreements to fight former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington – as well as former middleweight kingpin, Robert Whittaker since his win over Holland, Chimaev also claimed middleweight kingpin, Pereira rejected a December turnaround to defend his title against him.

“I was told it [the fight was] for the belt,” Khamzat Chimaev said of a UFC 282 fight with Alex Pereira during an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “Then UFC say – I speak with Sean Shelby only about that fight [with Alex Pereira]. Sean Shelby says first, ‘Yes, brother – let’s try it.’ And then a day later he says, ‘No, brother, we’ll first fight Colby (Covington)’ And I said ok.”

“And then the guy [Pereira] said I said we should fight at 205 [pounds],” Khamzat Chimaev explained. “The UFC doesn’t want to see you fight [at light heavyweight yet], you only took the belt [at middleweight] and now you wanna go up and fight for a different weight class and no belt? I am 170 and he is 185 – we fight like 205? It makes sense? I don’t know. That’s why UFC maybe didn’t call me about that fight. I don’t know – I was ready to fight in Brazil, at a different weight class, which weight class he wants. It’s the most easy (sic) fight for me in the UFC.”

Kamaru Usman continues slide further down pound for pound rankings following UFC 286 decision loss

Kamaru Usman, who was once the UFC pound-for-pound number one fighter, has once again dropped down the ladder with the conclusion of his trilogy against Leon Edwards. With all the marbles on the line at UFC 286, Usman had made it clear that Edwards capitalizing on a mistake he made in their rematch would not […]

Kamaru Usman, who was once the UFC pound-for-pound number one fighter, has once again dropped down the ladder with the conclusion of his trilogy against Leon Edwards.

With all the marbles on the line at UFC 286, Usman had made it clear that Edwards capitalizing on a mistake he made in their rematch would not be repeated, but ‘Rocky’ once again found a way to win.

Although there may have been several referee interventions against Edwards, including a point deduction after a fence grab, the Jamaican-born welterweight remained composed and clearly out-pointed Kamaru Usman over five rounds, winning by majority decision.

Kamaru Usman slips down the UFC pound-for-pound pile

This, just the second loss of Usman’s UFC career, steered him down three spots in the P4P rankings, taking him from #5 to #8.

Undisputed bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling (#7), newly crowned middleweight champion Alex Pereira (#6), and former champion Israel Adesanya (#5) all moved up ahead of the Kamaru Usman.

Pereira will defend his title for the first time at UFC 287 in Miami, Florida. This will be his fourth time exchanging blows with ‘The last stylebender’ in combat sports, and it will surely have a major influence on the next P4P update.

Sterling will go head-to-head with former two-division champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 288, as Cejudo returns following a three-year layoff.

While Jon Jones is set to face Stipe Miocic this summer, it is unlikely any result removes him from his P4P #1 status, a ranking he has been familiar with throughout his UFC career.

It is up to Alexander Volkanovski (#2), who will be returning to featherweight to fight interim champion Yair Rodriguez later this year, to put any kind of pressure on Jones’ position.

P4P #3 Islam Makhachev may have struggled immensely in his first championship defence, but he will have to remain consistent as Edwards crawls his way up the rankings.

Edwards is expected to hold his second title defence against Colby Covington as per Dana White.

Alex Pereira details ‘dangerous sparring’ session with heavyweight boxing standout Zhilei Zhang

Alex Pereira is bringing in some big guns to help him prepare for his rematch with Israel Adesanya next month. In November, Alex Pereira shocked the world when he defeated ‘The Last Stylebender’ via fifth-round knockout to capture the UFC middleweight championship. On April 8, the pair will run it back, headlining UFC 287 live […]

Alex Pereira is bringing in some big guns to help him prepare for his rematch with Israel Adesanya next month.

In November, Alex Pereira shocked the world when he defeated ‘The Last Stylebender’ via fifth-round knockout to capture the UFC middleweight championship. On April 8, the pair will run it back, headlining UFC 287 live from Miami-Dade Arena. Already a world-class striker boasting three wins and two knockouts against Adesanya across two different sports, ‘Poatan’ is taking no chances in their highly anticipated UFC rematch.

On Twitter, Pereira revealed that he had procured the services of 24-win heavyweight boxing veteran Zhilei Zhang.

“What a sparring! After 4 rounds with zhilei zhang Im very confident for my next fight! It was a hard and dangerous sparring – exactly what I needed. Now I know even more- I’m ready for 8th of April!”

Alex Pereira Gunning for Fifth Straight Win Inside the Octagon

Competing as an amateur, Zhang won bronze medals at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships and scored a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. As a professional, Zhang has 24 career wins with an incredible 19 coming by way of knocking, leaving no question as to why Alex Pereira chose him as a sparring partner ahead of his return on April 8.

Alex Pereira is 4-0 inside the Octagon, holding victories over Andreas Michailidis, Bruno Silva, Sean Strickland, and the aforementioned Israel Adesanya. Before transitioning to mixed martial arts, ‘Poatan’ went 33-7 in kickboxing, competing primarily under the GLORY banner. He captured the promotion’s middleweight and light heavyweight titles during his run and earned Combat Press’ Knockout of the Year honors in 2017 for his brutal KO of Israel Adesanya at GLORY Heroes 7.

As for Zhilei Zhang, the Chinese heavyweight is scheduled to return to the squared circle one week after Pereira steps back into the Octagon. He will face Joe Joyce for the WBO interim heavyweight championship.