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Sean O’Malley backs Israel Adesanya in racially-Charged spat with Dricus du Plessis: ‘I wish I could say that’

Outspoken bantamweight contender, Sean O’Malley has defended middleweight kingpin, Israel Adesanya in his heated rivalry with Dricus du Plessis – including the racially-charged language the City Kickboxing striker has used in the past, going as far as claiming he wished he “could say that”. O’Malley, the current number two ranked bantamweight contender, is slated for […]

O’Malley, the current number two ranked bantamweight contender, is slated for his first title challenge under the banner of the Dana White-led promotion later this summer, returning atop a UFC 292 pay-per-view card in August, taking on bantamweight kingpin, Aljamain Sterling.

Sidelined sinct October of last year, Montana native, Sean O’Malley earned his title challenge with a close decision win over common-foe and former undisputed champion, Petr Yan in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

As for Adesanya, the current and two-time undisputed middleweight champion, is expected to take on South African talent, du Plessis next – potentially at UFC 293 in September in a return to Sydney, Australia.

Joining the Pretoria native inside the Octagon following his win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 last weekend, Adesanya, who had previously referred to du Plessis as a “cracker”, referred to him with the N-word during their Octagon face-off – leading to a slew of criticizm from fans and others in the mixed martial arts community.

Sean O’Malley has defended Israel Adesanya following his actions at UFC 290

However, according to O’Malley, the Dana White’s Contender Series product claimed he “loved” the interaction between Adesanya and du Plessis, and claimed he “wished I [he] could say that”.

“I loved it,” Sean O’Malley said on his podcast. “I thought it was sweet. I wish I could say… but I thought it was f*cking awesome – I thought it was awesome… Call him (Dricus du Plessis) the n-word. I was hoping [du Plessis] said, ‘What?’” (Transcribed by MMA News)

Slated to headline UFC 292 in August, O’Malley features at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, tackling Sterling for undisputed bantamweight spoils.

Dricus du Plessis tipped to land upset title win over UFC foe Israel Adesanya: ‘He is that dude’

Expected to book his premiere title outing under the UFC banner – potentially as soon as September at UFC 293 in Australia, surging middleweight contender, Dricus du Plessis can most certainly upset the apple cart with a title victory against champion, Israel Adesanya, according to lightweight veteran, Michael Chandler. du Plessis, the newly-minted number one […]

du Plessis, the newly-minted number one ranked middleweight contender, managed to land himself atop the pecking order at 185lbs last weekend, defeating former champion and common-foe, Robert Whittaker with a blistering second round ground strikes TKO win.

Met by two-time and current undisputed middleweight champion, Adesanya inside the Octagon in a racially-charged verbal assault, Dricus du Plessis is expected to potentially fight the Nigerian-born striker as soon as UFC 293 in September, in a trip to Sydney, Australia.

Dricus du Plessis “talent” and “build” touted as challenge for Israel Adesanya

With his victory over Whittaker, former EFC and KSW champion, Dricus du Plessis moved to 6-0 under the UFC banner following recent wins over both Derek Brunson, and Darren Till – and according to Chandler, the South African finisher can most definitely push Adesanya to his limit in their title affair.

“I should probably do a fight prediction now,” Michael Chandler said on his YouTube channel. “I’ve trained with Dricus (du Plessis). I like Dricus. He’s trained with me down in Florida. I think he surprised a lot of people in the way he finished Robert Whittaker. He even said it himself in the post-fight press conference, ‘Look at Izzy’s (Israel Adesanya) fights against Whittaker and look at my fight against Whittaker.’”

“Dricus has a very tall task ahead of him, but Dricus proved to us all that he is that dude and he deserves to be right where he is,” Chandler continued. “I think Izzy has more weapons. I think Izzy has obviously has more championship fights, which then would give him more championship experience, more championship mentality. But can Dricsu go out there and steal the show and shock the world? Definitely a possibility. With that build, with that talent, I think it’s definitely a possibility. If I had to put money on it, I think Izzy still has the edge.”

Bo Nickal eyes future UFC title fight with Khamzat Chimaev at Allegiant Stadium: ‘Blow the roof off when I smash that guy’

UFC middleweight Bo Nickal has his eyes set on a blockbuster fighter against Khamzat Chimaev. While they may come from polar opposite backgrounds, Nickal and Chimaev have plenty in common. Undefeated, intimidating grapplers are both tipped to ascend to the highest point in the sport — a future fight between them with no slip-ups on […]

UFC middleweight Bo Nickal has his eyes set on a blockbuster fighter against Khamzat Chimaev.

While they may come from polar opposite backgrounds, Nickal and Chimaev have plenty in common. Undefeated, intimidating grapplers are both tipped to ascend to the highest point in the sport — a future fight between them with no slip-ups on the way has the potential to be massive.

In fact, the potential matchup has been discussed since Nickal burst his way into the UFC following his two fights on the Contender Series. While it is still far too early to build hopes up, the possibilities are tantalizing and discussion of the fight is inevitable.

Bo Nickal doubles down on Khamzat Chimaev fight

Appearing on The MMA Hour, Nickal spoke on the potential matchup, something which he’s done several times in the past. His story had not changed, he wants the matchup and has spectacular visions set out for it.

Everyone wants to see me fight Khamzat [Chimaev], I wanna fight Khamzat, but I think that we need to build more. He hasn’t fought in a while,” began Nickal.

“I would like to see him fight an 85er’, I’ll get a couple more fights… My goal with Khamzat has always been Allegiant Stadium, sell it out for the belt and blow the roof off that place when I smash that guy. I think it’s gonna take a little more to build my reputation and get to where I want to be and for hi to get where in order to make that fight what it deserves – the atmosphere it deserves.”

Nickal is fresh off a win over Val Woodburn at UFC 290, while Chimaev is expected to make a return later this year.

Bo Nickal appearing on The MMA Hour

Who wins, Bo Nickal or Khamzat Chimaev?

Ilia Topuria says he, not Alexander Volkanovski, is ‘the greatest featherweight of all time’

No. 5 ranked contender Ilia Topuria says he, not Alexander Volkanovski, is the greatest featherweight fighter of all time. Topuria has been riding a massive wave of momentum following his impressive unanimous decision victory over Josh Emmett last month. El Matador’ moved to 6-0 inside the Octagon, 14-0 overall. With the win, Topuria is considered […]

No. 5 ranked contender Ilia Topuria says he, not Alexander Volkanovski, is the greatest featherweight fighter of all time.

Topuria has been riding a massive wave of momentum following his impressive unanimous decision victory over Josh Emmett last month. El Matador’ moved to 6-0 inside the Octagon, 14-0 overall. With the win, Topuria is considered by many to be the next man in line to challenge reigning UFC featherweight world champion, Alexander Volkanovski.

Following Volkanovski’s dominant third-round TKO against interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, Ilia Topuria engaged in an intense face-off with the ‘The Great’ as the promotion’s latest pay-per-view offering went off the air.

In a brief interview with InsideFighting, Ilia Topuria suggested that he is the greatest fighter in the featherweight division. ‘El Matador’ even went so far as to claim that he can finish Volkanovski any way he chooses, any time he chooses, inside the Octagon.

“I can finish him however I want in the first round. If I want to submit him, I’m going to submit him. If I want to knock him out, I’m going to knock him out,” Topuria said. “I’m the greatest featherweight of all time in front of you right now.”

Ilia Topuria also suggested that his highly anticipated scrap with Alexander Volkanovski could go down this December. No official announcements have been made, but ‘The Great’ has also been linked to a potential lightweight title rematch with Islam Makhachev in October when the promotion returns to Abu Dhabi.

Entering the promotion in 2020, Topuria has curated an impressive resume for himself, scoring wins against Youssef Zalal, Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, Jai Herbert, Bryce Mitchell, and the aforementioned Josh Emmett.

With Volkanovski’s impressive victory against Yair Rodriguez on Saturday night, ‘The Great’ has returned to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, sharing the top spot with two-division titleholder Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.

Alexander Volkanovski touted as the ‘Most unbeatable guy in the world’ following UFC 290 title victory

Off the back of his stunning UFC 290 title unification win over former interim titleholder, Yair Rodríguez over the course of the weekend, undisputed featherweight kingpin, Alexander Volkanovski has been branded the “most unbeatable guy in the world” by lightweight veteran, Michael Chandler. Volkanovski, the current undisputed featherweight champion, also landed as the pound-for-pound number […]

Volkanovski, the current undisputed featherweight champion, also landed as the pound-for-pound number one fighter under the organization’s banner following UFC 290 – seated next to his heavyweight titleholder counterpart, Jon Jones.

Turning in a vintage display during his International Fight Week main event clash with Mexican striker, Rodríguez, Volkanovski defeated the Chihuahua challenger with a third round finishing sequence, laying waste to the former with a slew of ground strikes.

Michael Chandler heaps plaudits on UFC 290 winner, Alexander Volkanovski

Striking his fifth successful title defense with his stoppage success, Volkanovski, who has welcomed both a lightweight title re-run with Islam Makhachev, as well as a featherweight stay against Georgian talent, Ilia Topuria, the Australian has been showered in praise by ex-Bellator gold holder, Chandler, off the back of UFC 290.

“Is Alexander Volkanovski unbeatable?” Michael Chandler asked on his YouTube channel. “Alexander ‘The Great’ ist just that. I break it down to three C’s why I think Alexander Volkanovski is the most unbeatable – not just unbeatable champion, but the most unbeatable guy in the entire world. There’s a reason why’s the pound-for-pound number one.”

“I break it downt o three C’s,” Chandler explained. “Completeness, cardio, and composure. He is the most complete fighter that we have on the roster in the UFC. The most complete fighter in the entire world. The ability to be at home and be two to three to four steps ahead of his opponents in every single position in a fight. On the feet, navigating and negotiating the distance. Navigating and negotiating the striking. His plethora of strikes that he has. Very basic. He doesn’t try to get crazy out of his comfort zone even with how dominant he has been.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)

Chael Sonnen defends Dricus Du Plessis in Israel Adesanya feud: ‘He didn’t make it about race, that’s not true’

Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen comes to the defence of Dricus Du Plessis amid the ongoing controversy between him and reigning middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya. Du Plessis scored the biggest win of his career this past weekend, knocking out former 185lb title-holder, Robert Whittaker, in the second round. This win set up a grudge match […]

Former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen comes to the defence of Dricus Du Plessis amid the ongoing controversy between him and reigning middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya.

Du Plessis scored the biggest win of his career this past weekend, knocking out former 185lb title-holder, Robert Whittaker, in the second round. This win set up a grudge match with Adesanya following their ongoing feud, which came to a head in the cage after the fight.

The dispute between the two started after Du Plessis said that he wanted to be the first African champion, clarifying by saying he meant someone who still lives and trains out of the continent. Of course Adesanya, Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman were all born and spent a varied amount of time living in either Nigeria or Cameroon. However, all three have spent their entire professional careers living and training out of New Zealand or American.

Whether Du Plessis meant to offend or not, neither Usman or Adesanya liked the comments, with the latter ripping into the South African several times and would label Du Plessis a ‘cracker’. Prior to last weekend’s fight, ‘Stylebender’ said that he hoped Du Plessis won so they could get a fight together, vowing to ‘drag his [Du Plessis] carcass across South Africa.

Chael Sonnen weighs in

Sonnen took to his YouTube channel to discuss the topic, claiming that Du Plessis’s comments were misrepresented and he did not bring race into the discussion.

“We were witnessing [Du Plessis] realizing for the first time ‘This guy doesn’t get it. This guy is actually mad. This guy is actually offended, this guy doesn’t understand. I’m not in that spot,” Sonnen said. “I’m just trying to get the match.’ And I just understood it on a deeper level, where people were willing to say or where people were willing to go with that or where they were trying to pull Du Plessis or pull some of Du Plessis’ comments. And they simply weren’t true.

There were a number of things Du Plessis said, that he most certainly did not say. And he did make it about nationality, that’s true. And you will find the African comment, that’s true,” Sonnen continued. “But he didn’t make it about race, that is not true. And that’s not fair.”

Chael Sonnen discusses the fued

Do you agree with Chael Sonnen?