MMA News Roundup: Bryce Mitchell wants to debate Joe Rogan on Flat Earth Theory, former UFC women's champion lifts Francis Ngannou off his feet, Khabib Nurmagomedov puts fighters "in jail"
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 former UFC women's champion lifting Francis Ngannou up in the air, Khabib Nurmagomedov's unique ways of keeping his students in line, and more.
#3. Bryce Mitchell wants to debate Joe Rogan for calling his belief "stupid"
Bryce Mitchell wants to have a "discussion" with Joe Rogan on Flat Earth Theory and prove him wrong.
Mitchell is an ardent believer in Flat Earth Theory, an "archaic and scientifically disproven concept" where the shape of the Earth is believed to be like a flat disk. He has been trying to debate Joe Rogan on the subject for weeks now.
Rogan, on the other hand, has lashed out at Flat Earthers several times on his show.
In a recent interview with James Lynch of Sportskeeda MMA, 'Thug Nasty' blasted the UFC commentator for calling his belief "stupid" and challenged Rogan to prove him wrong.
"The thing is, if I call somebody stupid, make fun of them for their beliefs, I'm gonna explain to them exactly why. So I can do that in a debate, but he wants to call people stupid, but then not debate them. That's my problem. If he wants to call me stupid, at least debate me."
Mitchell added that he wants to have the said debate on Joe Rogan's podcast so that the comedian's audience can hear him get proven wrong.
Read his full comments here.
Watch Mitchell's full interview with Sportskeeda MMA below:
#2. UFC strawweight Zhang Weili picks up Francis Ngannou
Zhang Weili is a 5'4" woman who competes in the strawweight division, but apparently, she's strong enough to lift Francis Ngannou up in the air.
The heavyweight champion, who stands at 6'4" with a mass of almost 300 lbs, was lifted up by the Chinese fighter. Ngannou posted the video on his social media accounts and disclosed that he was initially hesitant to let Weili pick him up. He was worried she might hurt her back ahead of her UFC 281 title fight against Carla Esparza. 'The Predator' also revealed his current walk-around weight in the post.
"I can't believe that @zhangweilimma just picked me up like I wasn't 293lbs. I didn't want her to do it I was scared of her hurting her back and was trying to explain this to her....then found myself suddenly up in the air. Her strength ratio is through the roof," Ngannou wrote.
Weili not only picked him up but kept him there for a couple of seconds before safely landing him back down on the ground.
Watch the video below:
I can't believe that @zhangweilimma just picked me up like I wasn't 293lbs 😳
I didn't want her to do it I was scared of her hurting her back and was trying to explain this to her....then found myself suddenly up in the air.
Her strength ratio is through the roof 📈 https://t.co/smhsP9H91u
#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov puts fighters on house arrest and takes away their phone
Khabib Nurmagomedov is taking coaching very seriously. If that is not clear from the excellent success rate of his students, Javier Mendez has revealed a detail about Nurmagomedov's coaching regime that should drive the point home.
During the latest episode of The Schmozone, Nurmagomedov's longtime coach at AKA gym and close friend Javier Mendez told The Schmo and Helen Yee that 'The Eagle' puts his students "in jail" to discipline them:
"When he finds out they are super tired, he'll curfew for them... I think it was 10 or 11 PM. He would go collect their phones... He has a jail at home when they go out of line, he puts them in jail."
The Schmo and Yee were left surprised to hear Mendez's account of Nurmagomedov's coaching style. To further clarify this, Mendez said:
"He takes their phones away and puts them in jail. He's very strict. You get out of line, you're going in the wrong area, he's going to... because that's what his father did."
Watch Mendez's comments below from 22:00 mark:
Belal Muhammad, who trained with Nurmagomedov for a while ahead of UFC 280, said that the former UFC lightweight champion is "like a tyrant" as a coach.