MMA News Roundup: Joe Rogan slammed for "unprofessional" commentary, Amanda Nunes called out for being "cocky" and "arrogant," Julianna Pena gives UFC 277 injury update
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 the latest issue, we talk about fans giving Joe Rogan a hard time for his choice of words on air, Julianna Pena talks about her forehead injury, and more.
#3. "Extremely strange and unprofessional" - Fan opinion on Joe Rogan's commentary
Joe Rogan is known for his fair share of wild takes on a wide array of subjects, and he is not one to shy away from giving similar opinions during his UFC commentary.
During UFC 277 this past weekend, Rogan stated that the co-main event interim title bout between Brandon Moreno and Kai Kara-France was, in fact, the "real world title fight" for the flyweight belt, and that he was doubtful that Deiveson Figueiredo would ever defend his 125lb belt.
“[UFC 277 is] the real world title fight. I don’t think we’re ever going to see DF down at 125 again, and I think those two gentlemen, there’s a real good argument that Moreno won that last fight as well. So that is, in my opinion, that’s the world title fight right there.”
Fans thought that Rogan's comments came off as disrespectful towards the undisputed flyweight champion, who was present at the venue with his belt to watch the fight unfold. They sounded off on Twitter, calling the color commentator out for his 'unprofessionalism' during a live broadcast.
Joe Rogan just completely shit over Deiveson Figueiredo on the #UFC277 broadcast. Basically implied he's not the real UFC flyweight champion. That was very odd.
@shaunalshatti Extremely strange and unprofessional, I haven’t liked Rogan commentary for the longest time
@ZohebMMA @shaunalshatti I've muted every broadcast he's been a part of since UFC129, he's unbearable
Read more fan tweets here.
#2. Belal Muhammad has an opinion of Amanda Nunes after UFC 277
After beating Julianna Pena in a five-round decision to reclaim the bantamweight throne, Amanda Nunes suggested that she deliberately dragged the fight to the distance to definitively prove that she's better than the now-former champ. The Brazilian claimed she could have finished 'The Venezuelan Vixen' in the first round, but chose not to — a strategy that was "ridiculously bad" in the words of Chael Sonnen.
In a video recapping UFC 277, Belal Muhammad dismissed Nunes' claims and said that 'The Lioness' was getting too "cocky" and "arrogant" about her win. 'Remember the Name' pointed out that Nunes left the octagon on crutches and a swollen eye, which speaks the opposite of her bold statement.
"There were moments in the fight where Julianna [Pena] could have won that fight. Amanda [Nunes], I felt like, is getting too cocky, getting too arrogant saying, 'I could have finished her in the first round if I wanted to, but I wanted to go five rounds so I could show her who's better,' blah, blah, blah. Get out of here with that. You couldn't finish her. She knows that Julianna punches hard, her eye was very swollen, she left on crutches while leaving. So, she was definitely in a fight." [sic]
Watch Belal Muhammad's video below:
#1. "Tougher than a two dollar steak" - Julianna Pena
Julianna Pena's face may have been covered in blood after her five-round battle with Amanda Nunes, but her spirit continues to be unbreakable.
At the UFC 277 post-event press conference, Dana White informed the media that Pena had a "big chunk" missing from her forehead and that she would need to visit a plastic surgeon.
White: Julianna has a big chunk missing from her forehead. She’s going to see a plastic surgeon right now. … She got pretty banged up tonight. #UFC277
Pena's gnarly cuts did seem quite severe as she left the octagon, while the cage links were still dripping with her blood.
This is the end of the fight. You can literally see strings of Julianna’s blood hanging between the cage links, while she’s in there still trying to pull out a miracle. What a badass. https://t.co/6Q27iAJxqM
However, Pena cleared the air on the matter after some initial recovery, confirming that she won't be needing any surgery after all.
"Tougher than a two dollar steak. Thanks for the love everyone! Just a cat scratch that required a few stitches, no chunks missing, no surgery necessary. Love you all! We're 1-1 now."
In the hashtags for the post, Pena pitched a trilogy fight with Nunes since they're now squared up in their series.