Dricus du Plessis' UFC 300 status, PFL CEO blames Kayla Harrison, celebs rally behind Jon Anik: MMA News Roundup
Will Dricus du Plessis fight at UFC 300? Did Kayla Harrison upset her former employer?
Today's Sportskeeda News Roundup answers some of the biggest questions of the moment in the world of MMA.
Dricus du Plessis' coach on UFC 300: "We've had the talks"
Ever since Dricus du Plessis called out Israel Adesanya after the title win, there have been rumors of him headlining UFC 300 against the former champion. The South African's coach Danny Rubenstein recently spoke on The Anik & Florian Podcast on the matter:
"As a champ [Dricus du Plessis] now gets pay-per-view points. And just the number 300 alone is going to add 250 or 300,000 buys... So there's a huge incentive for him to be healthy and make a play to try and headline UFC 300. He wants to do it, we've had the talks. He wants to do it, it's just about making sure he's healthy."
Catch Danny Rubenstein's comments below at 46:35:
Peter Murray blames Kayla Harrison for the failed Cris Cyborg fight
Cris Cyborg said on X earlier this month that she was offered to fight Cris Cyborg by Kayla Harrison's previous promotion, the PFL, but the judoka turned it down despite calling for it for months. It is now evident that the fight did not happen because of Harrison's signing with the UFC.
However, PFL CEO Peter Murray blames Harrison for "choosing" not to make the women's super fight happen. He said during the recent media scrum after Wednesday's PFL vs. Bellator kickoff:
"She's moving on to the UFC, she is going to be on a historic card, which I believe is a testament to the level and quality of talent in the PFL, so we wish her well... We have Cyborg. We're disappointed that fight between Kayla and Cyborg didn't happen, but Kayla chose not to make it happen and move on to her next chapter."
Listen to Murray's comments on Harrison from 3:18 onwards:
Harrison will debut on the marquee card against Holly Holm at 135 pounds.
Fighters and personalities support Jon Anik after "negativity" comment
After Jon Anik's comment on getting "tired" of the current MMA space went viral and rumors of him potentially retiring spread on the internet, several UFC fighters and entities have expressed support for the veteran analyst.
Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh urged Anik to "stay at it".
Megan Olivi also shared words of solidarity and asked the MMA media community to do better.
Matt Brown said "F*** em! Do you Jon!"
Dricus du Plessis heaped high praise on Anik.
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