Paige VanZant shares wild UFC "bathroom" story, leaked mail on Dana White's replacement, fans betrayed by Nina-Marie Daniele: MMA News Roundup
Catch up with the biggest UFC updates and other stories with Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup.
Today's issue will discuss an almost unbelievable story from Paige VanZant's fighting days, fans feeling betrayed by Dana White's favorite MMA reporter, and more.
#3 USADA watched Paige VanZant poop in the bathroom
Paige VanZant recently shared a wild story about how USADA officials would breach privacy to not let fighters go out of their eyesight.
Interrupting her husband Austin Vanderford, who was speaking on how he enjoyed the feeling after a successful weight cut, VanZant said on A Kicka*s Love Story podcast that USADA once witnessed her defecate ahead of a fight.
Talking about how she fell sick every time while rehydrating after cutting weight, VanZant recalled the time USADA visited her in the hotel room before her fight against Alex Chambers at UFC 191.
"I was about to fight Alex Chambers... It was right when USADA [was] implemented in the UFC. My drug testers show up right after weigh-ins... Every single time I would weigh in and try to rehydrate - instantly sick. So, part of USADA is once they see you, you cannot leave their sight, because... Maybe you're gonna go do something to mask the drugs or take something... So, I had my drug tester in the bathroom with me for two hours, while I sh*t my brains out."
VanZant went on to win the fight against Chambers via a third-round submission.
Watch VanZant's comments below from the 32:20 mark:
#2 UFC's parent company considered replacing Dana White
An email authored by an executive of UFC's parent company WME/IMG, now Endeavor, was recently disclosed in the ongoing anti-trust lawsuit.
It was sent by an official named Brent Richard in March 2016, right before WME/IMG purchased the promotion for $4 billion. Unearthed by order of a federal judge, the content of the email revealed plans of finding a replacement for Dana White as the "key man" of the UFC.
In an email that seemed like a discussion of all the pain points regarding the promotion, Richard wrote on White:
"Need to develop a retention, transition, and ultimately replacement for Dana."
Read the full email on MMA Fighting.
White's contract with the promotion has since been extended. In a 2022 interview, Richard said that he already had his replacement in mind when he would eventually leave the company - and it was not Daniel Cormier like many believe - he confirmed.
#1 Fans betrayed by Nina-Marie Daniele's latest skit
Backed by Dana White, Nina-Marie Daniele rose to social media stardom over the last few months owing to her fun and quirky interviews with UFC fighters.
The MMA influencer-reporter recently took to her social media accounts to announce that she would be "breaking some BIG" fight news" with Dana White. It led her followers to believe the reveal would be related to UFC 300, or any other upcoming fight card.
However, disappointing a large section of her fanbase, the news turned out to be about the Power Slap League.
Fans were naturally enraged at this bait-and-switch and made this discontent amply clear in the comment section.
Read the reactions here.