MMA News Roundup: Dillon Danis gets sucker punched by boxer, another Nurmagomedov becomes lightweight champion, Joe Rogan calls Alex Pereira's size "sanctioned cheating"
Welcome to today's edition of Sportskeeda MMA's Daily 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 Dillon Danis getting hit by professional boxer Anthony Taylor, Usman Nurmagomedov becoming the new Bellator lightweight champion, and more.
#3. MMA fighter-turned-boxer Anthony Taylor avenges KSI by punching Dillon Danis
Dillon Danis, whose biggest achievement according to many is being Conor McGregor's crony, decided to show up at the YouTubers Misfits Series 3 weigh-ins promoted by KSI.
Danis approached KSI, who was there with other celeb boxers in the hotel conference room in Austin, Texas. The conversation between the two seemed cordial at first. But the MMA fighter soon chose violence by knocking off KSI's hat and following it up by throwing a drink at the YouTuber's face.
@KSI and @dillondanis just WENT AT IT 🍿😮 @KSI and @dillondanis just WENT AT IT 🍿 https://t.co/VjI9hbGsyM
The two were separated and Danis got to walk away. However, Anthony Taylor followed him outside and a brawl broke out after 'Pretty Boy' rocked Danis with a big right.
ANTHONY TAYLOR AND DILLON DANIS JUST BRAWLED OUTSIDE OF THE MISFITS WEIGH-IN ‼️
#MisfitsBoxing #AnthonyTaylor #DillonDanis https://t.co/sOy3pJwllV
The fighting died down within a minute, but MMA Twitter had quite a field day making fun of Dillon Danis.
#2. Usman Nurmagomedov dethrones Patricky Pitbull
Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin Usman Nurmagomedov became the first Dagestani to be crowned as a champion in Bellator.
The 24-year-old carried on the MMA legacy of the Nurmagomedov name by defeating Patricky 'Pitbull' Freire at Bellator 288 and clinching the lightweight strap. He pulled off a clinical performance, dominating Freire on the ground as was expected of him. The judges scored in Nurmagomedov's favor 50-45 across the bench.
Usman will now enter the upcoming Bellator lightweight grand prix as the reigning lightweight champion and defend his belt throughout the tournament. There seems to be no stopping 'Team Khabib' in MMA, as Usman Nurmagomedov's championship comes weeks after Islam Makhachev UFC 280 title win.
#1. Joe Rogan says Alex Pereira is so big at middleweight that it's cheating
Alex Pereira's size has been the talk of the town ever since he walked out to face Israel Adesanya at UFC 281.
In a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), UFC commentator Joe Rogan chatted with Steve-O about the showdown and labeled Pereira's size advantage as "cheating".
When Steve-O (real name Stephen Glover) suggested that Pereira could have been 220 pounds when he fought Adesanya, Rogan said:
"He could have been. Yeah. He certainly gets above that in-between fights. He has a hard time making 185. It's a bull***t thing. It's basically sanctioned cheating. It really is. But everybody does it."
Rogan pointed out that ironically, Adesanya is one fighter who does not do that. He brought up the former middleweight champion's fight with Jan Blachowicz, where Adesanya chose to remain at 194lbs and lean on his techniques to fight instead of his size.
Watch the video below: