Midnight Roundup! Ian Garry reacts to UFC 297, fighter on losing skid retires, Dana White on "free speech," and more
MMA fans are still hungover on the aftermath of UFC 297 as more and more reactions from fighters are pouring in.
In today's Midnight Roundup, we have Ian Garry and Israel Adesanya's reactions, Dana White's confrontation with a reporter, and more.
Ian Garry reacts to UFC 297 main event
Ian Garry posted a video of himself on X watching the highlights of Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis. At one point in the clip, he breaks into laughter and shakes his head in disappointment.
Garry stated:
"Just sloppy boxing... The f*****g state of this. Zero technique, just slugging it out now. Oh my god, I feel like I'm watching two amateurs fight [laughs hysterically]. If I ever have a fight like that, please tell me to retire... F**k you, Sean Strickland."
Watch the clip below:
Malcolm Gordon announces retirement after loss to Jimmy Flick
In the opening bout of the early prelims at UFC 297, Canada's Malcolm Gordon lost to Jimmy Flick in a second-round submission, extending his losing streak to three. Later, the fighter took to Instagram to make public his retirement in a lackluster manner.
Dana White: "There are no leashes"
In the wake of Sean Strickland's controversial homophobic comments ahead of UFC 297, Dana White was asked at the post-fight press conference about giving the fighters a "long leash" about what they can or cannot say.
In response, White said:
"I don't give anybody a leash. A leash? Free speech. You control what people say? Gonna tell people what to believe? I don't f***ing tell any other human being what to say, what to think, and there's no leashes on any of them......Free speech, brother. People can say what they want and they can believe whatever they want."
Israel Adesanya's immediate reaction to Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis
Israel Adesanya uploaded his reaction to watching the full UFC 297 card on his YouTube channel FREESTYLEBENDER as he does after every pay-per-view.
Despite their beef, Adesanya said he was genuinely happy for du Plessis:
"Now he's the fourth African champion in the UFC history. So congrats to you, my African brother Dricus du Plessis. I am actually legit happy for him. I like his story. But he still did what he did and I'm still gonna test that a**."
Watch Israel Adesanya's reaction to Dricus du Plessis being announced the champion at 6:50 and more comments at 8:30:
Heel hook on the street
Popular kick streamer, known online as @TheOsideLocos, was attacked by a man in the street. According to Dexerto, the man was the boyfriend of the woman that he was interviewing at the moment.
Although it seemed like the attacker had an upper hand initially, the streamer eventually turned the table around and locked in a heel hook. This extremely effective submission technique aims to hurt the MCL of the knee and can even damage it permanently if the hold is not let go in time.
Ikram Aliskerov's replacement announced
Ikram Aliskerov will no longer be fighting at UFC 298. During Saturday's broadcast, it was announced that Anthony Hernandez's opponent for the event was 'TBD', after which Aliskerov confirmed his withdrawal citing a staph infection as the reason.
According to a report by MMA Fighting, Roman Kopylov will now face Hernandez at the upcoming pay-per-view event, which is set to take place on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, California.
Read more:
Alex Pereira hints at return to middleweight
Dricus du Plessis reacts to Khamzat Chimaev's UFC 300 call-out
5 best moments from UFC 297
Midnight Recap!
Watch Alex Pereira talk about his relationship and break-up this past week: