MMA News Roundup: UFC fans outraged at Dana White for "lying" about Mark Zuckerberg, Daniel Cormier to serve as WWE referee, A.J. McKee channels inner Israel Adesanya in lightweight debut
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 fans getting furious at Dana White for not telling the truth about Mark Zuckerberg's presence at UFC Fight Night, A.J. McKee recreating an iconic Israel Adesanya gesture at Bellator 286, and more.
#3. UFC fans demand explanation from Dana White about Mark Zuckerberg rumors
Mark Zuckerberg was there at the Apex for UFC Vegas 61 after all.
Ever since it was announced that the Fight Night event will be closed to fans and media, rumors have been flying that it had something to do with Zuckerberg. Headliner Mackenzie Dern accidentally spilled the beans that the Meta CEO had booked out the entire arena.
However, Dana White was staunch in his stance that the rumors were untrue.
Mark Zuckerberg did NOT rent out the UFC Apex. That’s total bullshit. twitter.com/MMARoasted/sta…
Come the day of the event, Zuckerberg was seen sitting cageside with his wife Priscilla Chan live during the broadcast.
Fans immediately took to Twitter to accuse White of denying the truth. Some brought up previous instances where White was not truthful about certain situations.
Does anyone believe anything Dana says anymore...we're not for sale...Brock is not coming back...Silva rumors false...gtfo...#UFCSale
Others straight up called him a liar.
@danawhite @ufc Dana: Absolute BS , Mark Zuckerberg didn’t rent out the event.
The Crowd at Xionan vs Dern: Mark Zuckerberg . Dana is a terrible liar, imagine being delusional and lying for no reason 🤦♂️🤷♂️
Read more tweets here.
What further added to the outrage was Zuckerberg's Instagram post where he revealed that it was Dana White himself who invited him and his team to the event. After the event, the two posed together for a photograph.
The Boss & The Zuck 📸 #UFCVegas61 https://t.co/WOEnGdaowi
The Facebook founder seemed to thoroughly enjoy the fights. His wife, however, looked a bit taken aback by the amount of violence, especially during Raoni Barcelos vs. Trevin Jones. White previously revealed in an interview that Mackenzie Dern, the headliner of UFC Vegas 61, was Priscilla Chan's favorite MMA fighter, which explains their attendance among other things.
#2. Daniel Cormier to serve as referee at WWE Extreme Rules
Daniel Cormier, an ardent professional wrestling fan, will be making an appearance at the next WWE pay-per-view. It has been his long-running dream to do a pro-wrestling stint.
Veteran reporter and Cormier's close friend Ariel Helwani broke the news on Saturday night that the UFC double champ will serve as a guest referee for the Fight Pit grudge match between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle at WWE's Extreme Rules in Philadelphia next weekend.
Breaking:
Daniel Cormier will serve as guest referee for next Saturday’s Fight Pit Match between Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins at WWE’s Extreme Rules in Philly. Oct. 8.
No, seriously. It’s really happening. Oct. 8.
Incredible. https://t.co/Ri8tHOTcU1
Helwani shared a quote from Cormier in the tweet thread as well:
No, really. This is legit.
“The Rollins-Riddle feud has gotten very intense and personal. There’s only one person qualified enough to oversee this brutal match at Xtreme Rules and it’s me. I’ll see you guys in Philly next Saturday.”
- @dc_mma, special freakin’ guest ref.
Given that Cormier is a massive fan of Rollins, Helwani jokingly cast doubts on whether he will be able to officiate the contest impartially.
I love @dc_mma and am very happy for him but I do have questions regarding how impartial he’ll be reffing a @WWERollins match 🤔 https://t.co/u4XK8fMRJN
Meanwhile, a fan pointed out that Riddle beat DC's bitter rival Jon Jones in high school wrestling. So it's him that the former champion will lean towards.
Great point. Lots of layers to this. twitter.com/the_dster/stat…
However, confirming the news on his Instagram, Cormier promised to be fair, honest, and impartial.
#1. A.J. McKee channels his inner Israel Adesanya
Former UFC fighter Spike Carlyle waged a bloody war with A.J. McKee at Bellator 286 on Saturday night. McKee managed to return to winning ways by securing a unanimous decision win in his lightweight debut.
During the fight, McKee ended up holding Carlyle down on the canvas at one point, gesturing to dry hump his opponent.
Just watching MMA
https://t.co/EQBY31mc0u
The sequence was certainly reminiscent of when UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya did the same with Paulo Costa after earning the TKO stoppage on the Brazillian.