MMA News Roundup: UFC light heavyweight eyes Jon Jones clash, UFC heavyweight apologizes for posting racially offensive meme, Khamzat Chimaev rages at far-right politician
Welcome to today's edition of Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup, where we present the biggest UFC updates and other stories from the world of mixed martial arts.
In today's issue, we talk about a UFC light heavyweight eyeing up Jon Jones, Khamzat Chimaev's rage at a far-right politician, and a heavyweight contender apologizing for an offensive meme.
#3. Johnny Walker still eyeing future bout with Jon Jones
UFC light heavyweight Johnny Walker still believes he's going to face Jon Jones after once being tipped to be the man to defeat the American.
Walker was, at one point, one of the biggest rising stars in the light heavyweight division. The Brazilian won his first three UFC bouts inside the first round, with all three coming via knockout. Walker also took home a Performance of the Night bonus with each victory.
Following the rapid rise, Walker suffered a meotric fall, going 1-4 between November 2019 and February 2022. The losses include two nasty KOs to Corey Anderson and Jamahal Hill.
🏻😱😱😱 Jamahal Hill Just KO’d Johnny Walker!!! 🔥🔥🔥👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻 #UFCVegas48 #UFC #ufclondon #UFCVegas49 #MMATwitter #MMA https://t.co/72J40gunbR
Despite the hardship, Walker has since turned things around, putting together back-to-back wins for the first time since 2019. The 30-year-old faced Paul Craig at UFC 283 this past weekend, stopping the Scotsman inside the first round with a flurry of punches.
Following the victory, Johnny Walker was asked about fighting Jon Jones and he remained as confident as ever that he'll face the American in the future:
"Yeah 100 percent... I'm coming. I'm still coming."
Catch Walker's press conference here:
#2. Khamzat Chimaev condemns Swedish politician for burning the Quran
UFC welterweight star Khamzat Chimaev has labeled Swedish far-right politician Rasmus Pauldan a "terrorist" after he burned the book of the Quran in Stockholm, Sweden.
'Borz' rarely speaks publicly about his political and religious beliefs, but recently felt forced to after the shocking actions taken by Pauldan this week. Chimaev, who is known to be a Sunni Muslim, joined a host of countries such as Morocco, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and UAE by condemning the actions of the politician.
The No.3 ranked welterweight wrote on Instagram:
"HE IS A TERRORIST FOR US, I AM MUSLIM BUT NEVER BEEN AGAINST ANYBODY'S RELIGION, NEVER DONE WHAT HE DOES TO ANYBODY's RELIGION, WHY YOU LET HIM DO THIS 🇸🇪? 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼 👎🏼 we all shouldn't keep quiet, you call us brothers so show us some respect"
The actions taken by Rasmus Pauldan were so severe that Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was forced to make a statement:
"Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy. But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act. I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm today.'
Freedom of expression is a fundamental part of democracy. But what is legal is not necessarily appropriate. Burning books that are holy to many is a deeply disrespectful act. I want to express my sympathy for all Muslims who are offended by what has happened in Stockholm today.
Khamzat Chimaev is expected to return to the UFC octagon later this year, but as of now, no fight has been agreed. The Chechen-born Swede is rumored to be facing Colby Covington, but may well be biding his time to face the winner of Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman's trilogy bout at UFC 286.
#1. UFC heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich apologizes for racially offensive meme
Heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich has blamed the language barrier as the reason he didn't understand the weight of the words used in a meme shared on his Twitter account.
The Russian fighter is one of the fastest-rising talents in the heavyweight division and is currently riding high on an impressive five-fight winning streak. All five of the victories have been first-round finishes, and he most recently earned the biggest triumph of his career after putting away fan favorite Tai Tuivasa in December.
Amongst his five victories was a first-round TKO win over Derrick Lewis, who was targeted in the meme Pavlovich shared. The post labeled the Russian as a 'killer of black people' due to his victory over 'The Black Beast'.
Read some of the language used in the meme here:
"D**k bigger than the Titanic"
"Kills black people"
"260 lbs of white power"
"Scared Ngannou away"
#3 ranked #UFC heavyweight Sergei Pavlovich posted this today. Some of these characteristics I'm not as sure about ... #MMATwitter #MMA https://t.co/4W4Sg409l1
Sergei Pavlovich removed the meme and took to Twitter to apologize for his actions. The 30-year-old stated that the language barrier played its part and that he didn't fully understand the offensive nature of the post.
He wrote:
"Due to the language barrier, I did not understand the weight of the things written about me. Posted by mistake and do not subscribe to the things said about me. The meme was not made by me. Peace for everyone. #UFC"
Due to the language barrier, I did not understand the weight of the things written about me. Posted by mistake and do not subscribe to the things said about me. The meme was not made by me. Peace for everyone 👊 #ufc https://t.co/vFxbsJ5vFt
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