Major UFC 300 fight announcement, Colby Covington's "Hitler" comparison, Alex Pereira gets cryptic on social media: MMA News Roundup
Catch up with the biggest UFC updates and other stories with Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup.
Today's issue will discuss Dan White's latest announcement, Alex Pereira's cryptic tweet, and more.
#3. Dana White announces three UFC 300 fights and other major bouts
Dana White announced seven new bouts in a special holiday announcement, which included the first three fights booked for the much-awaited UFC 300 card on April 13, 2024.
The first fight he announced was a middleweight bout years in making between No.3-ranked Robert Whittaker and No.-6-ranked Paulo Costa at UFC 298 in Anaheim, California on February 17, 2024. The card would also feature a welterweight clash between No.8-ranked Geoff Neal and No.10-ranked Ian Garry, which was originally supposed to take place at the pay-per-view event after that.
"Deal with it," Dana White said about the change.
A five-round featherweight contest featuring No.3-ranked Brian Ortega and No.2-ranked Yair Rodriguez will serve as the co-main event in Mexico on February 24, 2024. The event will be headlined by the previously announced Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi fight.
No.2-ranked Erin Blanchfield vs. No.3-ranked Manon Fiorot women's flyweight bout will go down in Atlantic City on March 30, 2024.
The first UFC 300 fight to be announced was a No.2-ranked Jiri Prochazka vs. No.5-ranked Aleksandar Rakic light heavyweight banger. Next up, White confirmed Aljamain Sterling's featherweight debut against No.7-ranked Calvin Kattar. The card would also see Bo Nickal make a return opposite Cody Brundage.
Fans were not too excited about the announcement, especially with the lack of names like Conor McGregor and Islam Makhachev.
Watch the full announcement below:
#2. Colby Covington compares Leon Edwards' father with Adolf Hitler
After spending a full week going after Leon Edwards' father ahead of UFC 296, Colby Covington has now compared the deceased man with Adolf Hitler.
In an appearance on Patrick Bet-David's PBC Podcast, Covington doubled down on his stance about Edwards' father and drew an unexpected parallel between him and the Nazi dictator.
Covington said:
"Why would I feel bad for saying anything about someone who's such a criminal and put so much pain in people's lives? I'm not gonna feel bad for someone like that - just like Hitler. He was a terrible person... I'm not comparing him to Hitler, but it's that same level of a bad guy."
Watch the segment below:
Given Covington's persona, he wasn't expected to apologize for his comments. But a comparison with Hitler was a stretch too far, even for Bet-David himself, who expressed his surprise with raised eyebrows.
Fans flocked to social media to condemn 'Chaos', where many hailed Jorge Masvidal for attacking him on the street.
#1. Alex Pereira's cryptic posts get fans talking
Alex Pereira's brand of humor is one of the favorite things of MMA fans at the moment. His deadpan comic timing is amply evident on social media, which he has learned to use to his advantage.
In a recent Instagram story, he posted a cryptic mathematical equation that got fans to come up with wild theories regarding the meaning behind it.
Some think 'Poatan' will be putting on 30lbs and challenge Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall for the heavyweight belt, while some others think it is a hint at a trilogy fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 300.
Read more speculations here.