Midnight Roundup! Khabib Nurmagomedov's UFC 'super fight', Sean Strickland spars a woman and feels stabby, and more
All anyone can talk about in MMA nowadays is UFC 300, but we still have three more banger pay-per-views before the marquee event drops. Next week, Sean Strickland is taking on Dricus du Plessis with not only the middleweight title on the line but also their heated beef.
Elsewhere, a UFC veteran believes Khabib Nurmagomedov's return is on the horizon. Find the most exciting news tidbits of the day with Sportskeeda's Midnight Roundup.
Chael Sonne thinks UFC has plans for Khabib Nurmagomedov
Despite Javier Mendez dismissing the rumors, Chael Sonnen believes UFC has plans for Khabib Nurmagomedov. In fact, it is the only reason they still have not announced Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad, claimed the veteran on his YouTube channel on Monday.
"Something for sure is going on at 170 pounds. There is a reason Belal Muhammad has not been confirmed as Leon's [Edwards] next opponent. If Belal, who is clearly the right guy, ends up with that fight, that doesn't change the statement I just made. It just means it didn't come through - that could be a licensing issue with Nevada, that could be the new testing policy... That's where the idea of Khabib would come in. Dana has promised us a super fight."
However, he said that it may not be for UFC 300 and it may not even go through either. But he's confident that the promotion has some ace up their sleeve that involves 'The Eagle'.
Dricus du Plessis 'feels sorry' for Sean Strickland
Dricus du Plessis does not regret saying what he said to Sean Strickland, but he does feel sorry about the champion's traumatic childhood. The American recently revealed heartbreaking details about being abused as a kid on Theo Von's podcast.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, du Plessis said:
"I feel sorry for him as a kid. No kid deserves that. That's not your choice, that's the hand you got dealt... But that's life - life's not fair. That's what it is. I'm sorry that happened to him."
He added that he did not go to the press conference with a plan to be disrespectful, but at some point during the event, Strickland managed to get under his skin.
Watch Dricus du Plessis' interview with Sportskeeda MMA below:
Sean Strickland is feeling a bit stabby
Sean Strickland plans on straight-up stabbing Dricus du Plessis and going to jail in Canada if things get worse.
Speaking to Chris Curtis on their podcast, The Man Dance, the UFC middleweight champion said that he sent a DM to du Plessis with a warning to not talk about his father or childhood abuse again.
But if he does, there will be "murder", Strickland said:
"If you bring that s**t up again, I will f**king stab you... If I go to Canada and you bring that up, well guess what, I'm going to go to jail, they're going to deport me and we spent eight weeks of training for no f**king reason."
Strickland is fighting du Plessis at UFC 297 in Toronto next week.
Weight bar or a toothpick?
A video of Artur Beterbiev surfaced on X, in which he is seen working out with a metal bar in the gym and twirling it around with one hand.
@BoxingKindom14 shared the clip on X with a hilarious caption:
"Beterbiev treating the heavy bar like a toothpick."
Fans reacted just as wildly. While one said, "Beterbiev killer made in Russian lab", others drew the line at praising his "mad strength".
Clash of Titans
Following the press conference announcing the massive heavyweight boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou, the two sat down for a face-to-face for the first time.
Watch the clip below:
Sean Strickland spars Nina-Marie Daniele
Sean Strickland and Nina-Marie Daniele, who are close friends and are often spotted in videos together, recently did a sparring skit. In the video uploaded on Daniele's socials, the UFC fighter is seen giving her fighting lessons.
Watch the video below:
Some more UFC updates for the day:
Dricus du Plessis points out Sean Strickland's hypocrisy
Conor McGregor's "signed" tweet breaks the internet
Khamzat Chimaev believes he beats Jon Jones
Dricus du Plessis shares what triggered UFC 296 brawl
Midnight Fight Recap!
Watch Sean Strickland's UFC 296 scuffle with Dricus du Plessis: