Midnight Roundup! Dustin Poirier stirs drama, Dana White slams MMA media, Michael 'Venom' Page explains Manchester United connection, and more

MMA fans were sent into a frenzy earlier today after UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier dropped bombshells regarding his UFC 299 outing against Benoit Saint Denis. Meanwhile, Dana White sounded off on MMA reporters for their unscrupulous reporting practices.

Catch up on all the latest news and developments in MMA with Sportskeeda's Midnight Roundup.

UFC 299: Dustin Poirier announces Benoit Saint Denis fight cancelation, takes a U-turn few hours later

Dustin Poirier recently took MMA fans on a rollercoaster ride. Earlier today, 'The Diamond' dropped a surprise announcement on social media about his fight against Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 being canceled due to an incomplete contract process.

While fans were still reeling from his X post, Poirier took a U-turn a few hours later and confirmed that he would be fighting the Frenchman in March after speaking to his manager and UFC executive, Hunter Campbell.

His posts caused quite a stir among MMA fans online, with many questioning Dana White's decision to announce such a high-profile bout before both parties had agreed to sign the contracts.

Dana White sounds off on MMA media for premature reporting without fact-checking

In the aftermath of the Dustin Poirier drama, UFC CEO Dana White went scorched earth against MMA media and reporters for their unethical journalism practices.

After Poirier's revelation, veteran reporter Guilherme Cruz took to X and reminded fans that this would be the second fight in two days that was called off due to contract issues despite being officially announced. The other bout he referred to was the Sean Brady vs. Vincente Luque welterweight tilt at UFC Atlantic City.

Soon after Ariel Helwani shared and affirmed Cruz's X post, White took to Instagram and slammed the media members for reporting clickbait news. He posted screenshots of his private conversation with Saint Denis, which showed the Frenchman agreeing to fight Poirier at UFC 299.

Singling Cruz out, the UFC frontman lashed out at media houses for their biased journalism and wrote:

"Hey, Guilherme Cruz... Go f**k yourself. Sc*mbag."

In a follow-up post, he wrote:

"You media guys are such pieces of sh*t. Writing whatever clickbait you can to be first and not right. This is why NOBODY trusts or likes you. Guilherme Cruz."

Michael 'Venom' Page opens up about how he became a die-hard Manchester United fan

Michael 'Venom' Page recently joined the UFC and is considered among the most exciting new marquee signings in the promotion. As an Englishman, it's no surprise that he's a big fan of football and regularly keeps track of the latest developments in the English Premier League.

Despite growing up around many Arsenal FC fans, Page could never identify as a Gooner and kept his distance from other London-based clubs. Instead, the striking savant felt his heart gravitating toward Manchester United and was massively influenced by the club's rich history and legacy.

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Given that Manchester United is easily among the biggest and most influential sporting franchises in the world, perhaps it's unsurprising that the former Bellator star was attracted to their project. In an interview with the UFC, he said:

"I’m a massive Manchester United fan. The history, I was raised with the likes of Ronaldo, the likes of Eric Cantona, the best manager in the world, Ferguson. There’s so much history there around the world, and it was just a great time to support Manchester United growing up."

He continued:

"I had a lot of friends that supported Arsenal and this and that and blah, blah, blah. But my best friend told me to support Manchester United and I’m so happy he did because that’s the history of Manchester United is just unrivaled. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world."

Raquel Pennington believes Kayla Harrison will be "exposed" in the UFC

It appears Raquel Pennington isn't a big fan of Kayla Harrison and recently suggested that the former PFL star's highly anticipated debut at UFC 300 could "expose" her weaknesses.

Last week, Dana White revealed that Harrison had been signed by the UFC and would make her promotional debut against Holly Holm in April. Interestingly, he also announced that the two-time Olympic Gold Medalist judoka will be going down two weight classes to compete in the bantamweight division.

Pennington joined many other MMA fans in questioning Harrison's ability to make weight and discussed the UFC's newest signing on Sirius XM's Unlocking the Cage show. She said:

"I was wondering if she was ever going to sign with the UFC... My biggest question, honestly, is how is she going to make the weight? She’s a very dense chick... I feel like, as far as coming into the UFC, a lot of athletes haven’t truly been challenged, and I feel like she hasn’t truly been challenged in the PFL."

She continued:

"She has a huge hype following her, but I think she’s going to be exposed a little bit. First and foremost, the hardest part of this is making the weight."

Chael Sonnen shares intriguing theory about Conor McGregor's UFC return

Former UFC star Chael Sonnen recently shared his thoughts on Conor McGregor's highly anticipated return to action.

The Irishman has been sidelined for over two years due to injury. He fractured his leg during his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 and underwent extensive physical rehabilitation and surgery.

After a lot of speculations and rumors, 'The Notorious' recently announced that he's fighting Michael Chandler during the UFC's International Fight Week in June. He also said their bout would be a 185-pound affair.

In a recent YouTube video, Sonnen shared a theory on why McGregor was so keen to return to MMA and said:

"So why is Conor coming back? There’s no belt, there’s no ranking, they don’t even have a weight class. Is this a personal feud? I’m not going to buy that ‘cause there’s not. What is this fight about? It’s about one thing. It’s about a comeback after an injury. That’s what it’s about."

Catch Chael Sonnen's comments below (6:39):

Laura Sanko returns to commentary booth for UFC Vegas 85 this weekend

Laura Sanko will be part of UFC Vegas 85's commentary team this weekend. She made history as the first woman in promotional history to feature on the broadcast desk for a pay-per-view event at UFC 293 last September.

John Gooden will join Sanko for the play-by-play calls alongside former two-division champion Daniel Cormier. UFC Vegas 85 will also have Dan Hellie as the desk anchor, while Rashad Evans and Michael Chiesa will join him as MMA analysts.

Charly Arnolt will be on duty for the pre and post-fight interviews backstage and real-time updates.