(Courtesy of MMAFightingonSBN)

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is expected to face Colby Covington in the first defense of his belt, but the UFC’s first Nigerian champion isn’t automatically granting Covington the shot.

Usman took the belt from Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 in March, but has been badgered by Covington for months, and nearly got into a brawl with him in a casino the day after winning the belt from Woodley.

TRENDING Dana White: TJ Dillashaw’s two-year suspension is ‘devastating to a career’

Following the fight with Woodley, Usman had surgery on his hand and isn’t going to rush things in his return to the Octagon. He’ll still most likely fight Covington next, but he’s in a position of power and is using it to push Covington’s buttons.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/kamaru-usman-to-colby-covington-now-you-have-to-beg-me-for-that-fight

Six fights into his UFC tenure and Israel Adesanya is a champion. Not only is he a champion, he’s quickly becoming one of the top stars in the fight promotion.

“Israel is flashy. Israel is a good looking kid. Israel speaks real well. Israel Adesanya became a start tonight,” UFC president Dana White said Saturday night following UFC 236 in Atlanta, where Adesanya bested Kelvin Gastelum to become the interim middleweight champion.

Adesanya will now be matched with current middleweight champion Robert Whittaker to unify the belts later this year, once Whittaker returns from injury. 

White had initially planned for the winner of the interim middleweight title fight to face Whittaker in the United States, but considering Adesanya’s meteoric rise, he wants the fight to take place in Australia, believing it could take place in a large stadium instead of an arena. 

In mentioning Adesanya’s rise, White compared him to Conor McGregor.

The similarities between Israel Adesanya and Conor McGregor

“You know who (Adesanya) reminds me of? Conor McGregor. That’s what Conor McGregor did. He came in. He stayed active. He built up a lot of notoriety. Had some great fights. People knew his name and people wanted to see him fight,” said White.

“Israel Adesanya is on that same trajectory right now. He’s doing the exact same thing Conor did.”

Adesanya became an interim champion in just his sixth UFC bout, as did McGregor. Now he hopes to continue in McGregor’s footsteps to become the undisputed champion and one of the sport’s biggest stars. With a style that is reminiscent of Anderson Silva and Jon Jones and a personality that tends to electrify fans, Adesanya has superstar potential, just like McGregor.

Another thing that White likes about Adesanya that likens him to McGregor is his willingness to fight. McGregor has been much more choosy about who and when in recent years, but as he was building his star power, McGregor was willing to fight anyone, any time.

TRENDING UFC 236 fight highlights: Israel Adesanya bloodies Kelvin Gastelum to claim the belt

“You know what Israel doesn’t say when we call him? He doesn’t say no, I’m on vacation. I’m not gonna show up and fight for a belt and then possibly get a shot at the champion, and then get pay-per-view money,” White said.

“He says, yeah, I’ll see you in Atlanta. And when you have that type of confidence in yourself, it pays off. It’s definitely gonna pay off for him.”

In many ways, it already has paid off for Adesanya. People now know his name and he has gold wrapped around his waste. His next bout will be accompanied by pay-per-view points and could begin to etch his name as one of the UFC’s middleweight greats.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-compares-israel-adesanyas-meteoric-rise-to-conor-mcgregor

(Courtesy of UFC)

Find out what Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway said after their five-round war for the interim lightweight title at UFC 236 on Saturday. Poirier defeated Holloway in a fight that earned Fight of the Night honors along with the co-main event between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum.

RELATED  UFC 236 championship fights steal the show and the bonuses

Poirier will next move on to face undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to unify the belts sometime later this year.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dustin-poirier-tells-khabib-nurmagomedov-get-your-s-together-we-have-a-belt-to-fight-for

Though there are some logistics to negotiate, UFC president Dana White is looking for the winner of Saturday’s UFC 236 main event between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier to fight lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Holloway and Poirier have fought once before with Poirier winning. That was several years ago when they were both much younger. Now, there are higher stakes on the line as Holloway is taking a timeout from defending his UFC featherweight title to face Poirier for the interim lightweight belt.

“(The winner) will be the interim titleholder and the next fight is Khabib,” White told TMZ Sports, adding, “hopefully in September.”

TRENDING Dana White ‘shocked’ that USADA doesn’t test for EPO every single time

Nurmagomedov is currently on the sidelines, sitting out a suspension he received from Nevada for igniting a post-fight brawl at UFC 229 last October. He will be clear of the nine-month suspension on July 6, but has said he doesn’t intend to fight again until the fall.

Dana White on Holloway vs. Poirier and Gastelum vs. Adesanya

(Video courtesy of TMZSports | Viewing may be limited by broadcast rights restrictions)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-eyeing-holloway-vs-poirier-winner-against-khabib-in-september

On March 20, TJ Dillashaw relinquished his bantamweight title after failing a post-fight drug test following his January 19 loss to Henry Cejudo. On April 9, Dillashaw received a two-year suspension by USADA for testing positive to recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) prior to the bout with Cejudo.

On Friday, UFC president Dana White weighed in on Dillashaw’s suspension, saying, “A two-year suspension is devastating to a career.”

Dillashaw released a statement via Instagram on Friday taking responsibility for the positive test result. He stated that the decision to use EPO was his alone. Following the UFC 236 weigh-ins, White said there’s probably no bigger performance enhancing substance than EPO.

“There’s all kinds of minor things that guys get busted for, for not checking in and telling USADA they’re using it. When you get busted for real performance enhancing drugs, and there probably isn’t a bigger performance enhancing drug than EPO,” he said.

TRENDING  Dana White ‘shocked’ that USADA doesn’t test for EPO every single time

Dillashaw was expected to rematch Cejudo for the bantamweight title in his next outing. He’ll be 35 years old the next time he’s eligible to compete inside the octagon again.

Though Dillashaw has been considered one of the greatest bantamweights of all time, every achievement he’s had to this point will now come under scrutiny, particularly since USADA has not tested every sample collected for EPO. Not only does Dillashaw face a long road back to the Octagon, he faces a mountain of scrutiny that will be difficult to overcome.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-tj-dillashaws-two-year-suspension-devastating-to-a-career