Nothing quite goes together like Nate Diaz and a freshly lit joint, but according to a certain UFC fighter, that makes the Stockton-born Diaz "a bad example" — Fightful has you covered on which UFC fighter isn't the biggest fan of Nate Diaz and more news from around the world of MMA.
"Marijuana Guy" Nate Diaz Is "A Bad Example," Says Warlley Alves
Following his first-round TKO of Mounir Lazzez at UFC Fight Island 8, the Brazilian-born Warlley Alves had some choice words for fan-favorite Nate Diaz and his smoking habits:
“He’s not top 15,” Alves told MMA Junkie. "He’s a tough guy, but he’s a bad example for the sport. He’s a marijuana guy. Winners (don’t use drugs). In many, many countries, this is illegal. People follow him. People watch him. Many, many kids watch him. He’s a bad example. I don’t like this guy because he does this.”
“I don’t like it because marijuana is still illegal in a lot of countries,” said Alves. “He’s a guy that a lot of kids look up to. He’s an example. We’re all over the world in many different countries. Kids are watching that and thinking it’s OK.”
Michael Chandler Says Dan Hooker Is A Tougher Matchup Than McGregor, Poirier and Gaethje, Won't Become Next Ben Askren
In the co-headliner of UFC 257 on January 23, former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler makes his UFC debut against Dan Hooker.
Ahead of his promotional debut, Chandler told TSN: “I think I match up the best with Gaethje, Poirier, and Conor. Dan Hooker would be after that, he would be fourth (h/t: The Body Lock)."
“I don’t think he is more skilled than those other fighters that I mentioned, nor would he win in a contest against them,” said Chandler. “But, I do believe his physical attributes coupled with his willingness to exchange, his tough chin as well as just the different aspects he brings to the Octagon.”
Chandler also promised to "not be the next Ben Askren" when being a high-profile newcomer to the UFC:
“Listen, I’m well-aware of Ben’s fights in the UFC, his stint in the UFC,” said Chandler.
“I’m well-aware he seemed to be more bark than he was bite in his UFC career," he added. "I guess, going 1-2. But I can guarantee right now Ben Askren lays his head on his pillow at night and sleeps like a baby knowing that he came to the UFC, he put his best foot forward, he came up short a couple of times."
“It remains to be seen what the Michael Chandler story will be," Chandler continued. "I believe it’s going to be a lot different than Ben’s. That doesn’t make me any better or any worse than him. He’s a dear friend of mine, like a big brother to me. So we will see how the story is told. There’s a lot of people comparing me to Ben Askren, which, there’s the Mizzou connection, the friendship that we have. We shall see.”
Michael Chiesa Explains Decision To Callout Colby Covington
Following his dominant UFC Fight Island 8 main event victory over Neil Magny, Michael Chiesa had some strong words for former UFC interim welterweight champion Colby Covington.
“The election is over! Colby Covington, your schtick is done. I want you next, boy!” Chiesa said during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier.
The surging welterweight contender elaborated on his callout of Covington during the event's post-fight press conference:
“Because he’s the toughest matchup for me,” Chiesa explained. "Stylistically, that guy should beat me on any given Sunday. From a physical standpoint, from a mental warfare standpoint, there’s not a lot of boxes you can check that favor me for that fight."
“But how can I say I want to be a champion if I don’t want to fight these guys? asked Chiesa. Sometimes the best guys are the ones that are the toughest for you stylistically. So when I look at the top-five, I think that’s the hardest fight for me. We’ll see what happens. If I come up short, I come up short but I want the best so I’ve got to fight the best and that’s the guy.”
“Not a lot of guys are asking to fight Colby Covington,” Chiesa said. “The only guys I can think of is me and Belal Muhammed and [Gilbert] Burns. Burns asked to fight him. But we’ll see what happens.
“That was a shot from the hip. Usually going into a fight, I’m always kind of thinking about who I’m going to call out next and kind of having an idea in my head," he concluded. "This fight, it was a clean slate, and I don’t know maybe I should be a pro wrestler or something, that was totally from the hip.”
Khabib Comments On Cousin, Umar's UFC Debut Victory
Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin, Umar made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Island 8 and did so in dominating fashion.
Umar (13-0) submitted former M-1 Global bantamweight champion Sergey Morozov in the second-round, which earned the Russian-born prospect a performance of the night bonus.
Umar has a big 2021 ahead if you ask his cousin Khabib:
"To be honest, I am very happy," Khabib told RT Sport. “It really feels like a load off my shoulders. It’s a very important win for our team and our family. We will keep working. It would be nice to have one more fight in Las Vegas this March. If not, we will fight after Ramadan. We have plenty of time ahead of us. Umar is just 25. Two more fights this year would be perfect.”
“I don’t think it would be good to criticize him now,” Khabib added. “When he was fighting I recalled my own first round in the UFC back in 2012 when I could not find my rhythm, my range, feel the octagon. It takes time. He will grow with every single fight and I don’t want to rush. when you are just 25 you are definitely far from your full potential. When you are 28, 29, or 30, that’s the time we need to get him to reach his mental and physical peak. Now his physical condition may be at the maximum but mentally he is not there yet. Everything should come together at the very top of your potential just by the moment you will have the biggest fight of your career - your physique, your mentality, and your most important fight. That’s when you are set to make history. He is still very young now.”
“It’s very big, not only for us but for Umar,” he concluded. “It’s good for him in terms of his emotional maturity. A very important experience to gain. Entering the octagon over and over again makes you a different animal, a different fighter. Today you could see how Umar rocked him and ran over him trying to finish the fight right away. He won’t make the same mistake in his tenth fight. He will be a sniper, not a machine gunner.”
Makhmud Muradov "Grateful" For Manager Floyd Mayweather
Being the only MMA client of boxing legend Floyd Mayweather's "The Money Team" management company has UFC 257's Makhmud Muradov feeling grateful.
“Happy New Year, I sent him a message,” Muradov told MMA Junkie. “He called me on FaceTime, ‘Hey, brother, keep working.’ I have a good connection with Floyd. I thank him because it helped me, support me every time. He told me about business plans and sport plans – 10 years before coming to Czech, I don’t have nothing. Now I have Floyd Mayweather as a friend, sometimes he calls me, sends messages, it’s life. You don’t know what’s waiting for you tomorrow.”
“Of course it helped me. It’s good support for me, I don’t know, the Uzbek people, the Uzbek army – I have big fans in Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Russia, U.S. I like my fans," Muradov said.
Viviane Araujo Hoping To Build Off UFC Fight Island 8 Success
Following her dominate victory over Roxanne Modafferi at UFC Fight Island 8, Viviane Araujo hopes for big things in 2021.
“The last fight, I know I lost in December last year in 2019,” Araujo told MMA Junkie at the UFC Fight Island 8 post-fight press conference. "I knew that I had to improve some details. Now, I grew a lot about my mindset [and] my techniques. I know that to be in the top five contenders, it’s really hard. People there are so tough. I’m been training a lot back in my gym after that loss. I’m improving.”
“I want to fight three more fights in this year in 2021," poised Araujo. "I want to show everyone it’s not just boxing that I have. I have really good jiu-jitsu. That’s it. I really want to fight. … I’ve been training jiu-jitsu for a long time. I’m a black belt. I could show everyone that my jiu-jitsu is really good. I could fight (there) with Modafferi. We studied before that jiu-jitsu. We knew that we could fight with her on the ground.”
Dustin Poirier's Coach Mike Brown Praises Wrestling Of Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor is much more than just an elite striker, if you listen to Dustin Poirier's camp.
Ahead of his pupil Dustin Poirier's clash against the aforementioned Conor McGregor at UFC 257 on January 23, Mike Brown had high praise for the brash-Irishman's wrestling when speaking with MMA Junkie:
"He's a very skilled fighter, a very tough fighter," said Brown. "It's good [McGregor's wrestling], he had great defense against Khabib. Khabib went in many times and he was countering very well, he fought him off several times and made him work extremely hard. I think is wrestling is sharp, he has very good hips, he's very strong, he seems to have a tendency to fade late but he seems like a very athletic guy."
Carlos Condit Explains Wild Takedown Attempt Against Matt Brown
In a battle of the UFC OG's, Carlos Condit took a unanimous decision victory over Matt Brown at UFC Fight Island 8.
During the fight, Condit successfully took down Brown with a wild leg-flip-like sweep of Brown's legs, which he would explain when speaking with Jamie Kilstein:
"I think he said something like 'son of a b***h' when I did it," Condit told Kilstein. "He tried to get right up afterwards and I had to kind of flow after that and chain some things together to finish the takedown. It's something that I've been trying to do for awhile."
UFC Fight Island 8 Promotional Guidelines Compliance Pay
The competitors from UFC Fight Island 8 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $145,000.
Neil Magny topped the list, taking home $20,000.
Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance Program's payout tiers, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights starting from January 2007 on as well as Zuffa-era Strikeforce fights from April 2011 on.
Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $3,500 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,000; 6-10 bouts get $5,000; 11-15 bouts earn $10,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $15,000; and 21 bouts and more get $20,000. Additionally, champions earn $40,000 while title challengers get $30,000.
UFC Fight Island 8 Promotional Guidelines Compliance Pay:
Michael Chiesa: $10,000
def. Neil Magny: $20,000Warlley Alves: $10,000
def. Mounir Lazzez: $3,500Ike Villanueva: $3,500
def. Vinicius Moreira: $4,000Viviane Araujo: $4,000
def. Roxanne Modafferi: $5,000Matt Schnell: $5,000
def. Tyson Nam: $4,000Lerone Murphy: $3,500
def. Douglas Silva de Andrade: $5,000Omari Akhmedov: $10,000
def. Tom Breese: $5,000Ricky Simon: $5,000
def. Gaetano Pirrello: $3,500Su Mudaerji: $4,000
def. Zarrukh Adashev: $3,500Dalcha Lungiambula: $3,500
def. Markus Perez: $5,000Francisco Figueiredo: $3,500
de. Jerome Rivera: $3,500Mike Davis: $3,500
def. Mason Jones: $3,500Umar Nurmagomedov: $3,500
def. Sergey Morozov: $3,500Manon Fiorot: $3,500
def. Victoria Leonardo: $3,500
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