Donald Trump gets warned by UFC fighter, Dana White accused of false promises, Alex Pereira reunites with cancer-surviving fan: MMA News Roundup
A UFC fighter warns President Donald Trump about a potentially dangerous fate in the aftermath of his recent policies. Elsewhere, Alex Pereira shared a heart-melting story after reuniting with a fan he met a few months ago.
Here are your top combat sports updates from today.
Sean Strickland warns Donald Trump of a dire fate
Sean Strickland sent a rather dire warning to the 47th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump. Last Wednesday, Trump announced that he would soon meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss cutting down the military budget of all three nations by half.
The president said from the Oval Office:
"We're all spending a lot of money that we could be spending on other things that are actually, hopefully much more productive... I'm going to say there's no reason for us to be spending almost a trillion dollars on military."
He also said he would talk to Putin about denuclearization "in a very big way."
Sean Strickland, a UFC fighter and a gun enthusiast, warned Trump that such policies could lead to a fate like that of former POTUS John F. Kennedy. Strickland wrote on his Instagram Story:
"Be careful.... This is how you get JFKed..."
Kennedy famously implemented the "flexible response" defense strategy involving mutual deterrence and avoiding large-scale retaliation. Some conspiracy theorists believe that his reluctance to have war-centric defense strategies and focus on nuclear disarmament is one of the reasons behind his assassination.
Francis Ngannou on UFC's Jon Jones offer: "It was bait"
Francis Ngannou recently shared in an interview with Sportsbook Review that the UFC tried to bait him with the possibility of a Jon Jones fight, but it was never real.
'The Predator' said:
"I have tried to fight Jon Jones for four years since I fought Jairzinho Rozenstruik back in 2020. I've been trying to fight Jon Jones and they were holding it out like a trap until the moment that I was about to leave and then they said, 'Okay, here's the Jon Jones fight.' But it was bait. I felt they were very tricky."
Ngannou added that fighting 'Bones' would be a great opportunity - one that he has always hoped for. But his expectations regarding its fruition are disappearing. He added:
"If you can get past Dana White, it could happen (but) that's a massive obstacle."
As for his next outing, Ngannou confirmed it will be in boxing. The former UFC heavyweight champion is eyeing a match with Deontay Wilder.
Alex Pereira admits crying about his fan's battle against cancer
During his June 2024 collaboration with the Australian NGO Challenge, which works to support children battling cancer, Alex Pereira met a fan who left a lasting impression. The fan, who is also a Muay Thai practitioner, requested 'Poatan' to shave his hair off, as he was going to lose it anyway due to chemotherapy.
The Brazilian obliged. Known for his stoic, emotionless expression, Pereira was moved to tears by the incident. Nearly eight months later, the UFC light heavyweight champion reunited with the fan and announced that he was free of cancer now.
Pereira said in a video shared on his social media:
"I came to Australia, and I cut his hair at the institute of cancer here in Australia. It was something very emotional, very heavy for me; I cried. I got emotional. To see this guy’s recovery. He was training in Muay Thai. He had to stop because of the cancer. And now, he’s fought against cancer. He beat cancer. A big inspiration. This is what you call fighting."