Israel Adesanya fools UFC fans, Dan Hooker "lied" about arm injury, Jake Paul taking a pay cut for next fight: MMA News Roundup
It never works out for the best if a UFC fighter lies about their injury to the team and medical professionals. Dan Hooker found that out recently.
Read on for the top updates with Sportskeeda's MMA News Roundup.
#3 Israel Adesanya fools UFC fans with fake fight announcement
In a special Thanksgiving announcement on Thursday, Dana White confirmed that Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on February 17 in Anaheim, California.
Taking advantage of the occasion, Israel Adesanya played a hilarious prank on his social media followers.
He posted what seemed like an official poster for UFC 298, featuring a light heavyweight championship clash between him and Alex Pereira along with Volkanovski and Topuria's title fight. However, a quick swipe unveils the joke and makes it clear that the prank was to promote his brand, Engage for the Black Friday sale.
Take a look at the post below:
Many fans who did not see the full post were taken aback by the fake announcement, especially since Adesanya had said he'd take some time off fighting after the loss to Sean Strickland. Others saw through the hilarity.
Read some of the top comments here.
#2 Dan Hooker admits lying about his injury
Dan Hooker was forced out of his scheduled UFC Austin fight against Bobby Green due to a broken hand. He revealed in an appearance on Submission Radio that he had cracked the arm in the same place where he broke it against Jalin Turner at UFC 290.
'Hangman' also admitted that he came back to training and sparring earlier than he should have, instead of recovering from the injury properly.
In an interview with Combat TV, Hooker has now admitted that he lied to his team as well as doctors to be able to compete.
"I lied through my teeth, I lied to the surgeons, I lied to the doctor. I lied through my teeth because I wanted to fight."
Jalin Turner has stepped in to fight Bobby Green in Hooker's stead at UFC Austin.
#1 Jake Paul is losing money on the December return
Jake Paul is not looking to make money in his next fight.
'The Problem Child' is returning to boxing on December 15 to take on Andre August. This will be his first fight that is not on pay-per-view. It is also set to go down in a rather small arena - the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida - which can hold 3,000 people.
The latest report on ticket sales has been disappointing, but Paul is seemingly fine with losing money on this fight.
He told TMZ Sports:
"[I'm] forgoing a lot of money. This is probably just a break-even fight for me. I probably won't even make money on it. Who knows what the outcome is? It's $200,000 for a private jet you know to fly around just to get the team there and back."
Paul went on to praise his opponent and said that he was considering this fight to be the challenge where he proved himself. He previously referred to the contest as his stepping stone to fighting for boxing championships.