UFC fighter receives death threats, Jake Paul's Dec. 15 opponent rumored, Alex Volkanovski calls out a lie: MMA News Roundup
Find out about the biggest UFC updates and other stories with Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup.
Today's issue will discuss Jake Paul's next fight, Alexander Volkanovski on UFC 294, and more.
#3. Michel Pereira receives death threats for Israel flag
Despite being a Brazilian, UFC star Michel Pereira walked out with a flag of Israel in the recently concluded UFC Vegas 81. He later explained at the post-fight press conference that it was an act of solidarity.
"It is because of the war. I have many friends in Israel, and I saw same videos that broke my heart. I have a kid now, and I saw some videos with kids… I felt like I had to show support to Israel,” said Michel Pereira [translated by @AgFight].
However, some fans did not take it in a sporting manner.
Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Pereira revealed that his family has received death threats ever since.
"I didn't see much, but my wife received a lot of messages, a lot of threatening messages, to kill us. So I didn't see it, but I'm going to let everyone know that if something happens, if someone comes to my house, they will pay."
Pereira's action comes just a week after Dana White announced that the promotion has lifted the ban on fighters walking out with country flags.
#2. Fans guess who Jake Paul will fight next
After Jake Paul announced he would return on December 15, the combat sports Twitter entered a frenzy trying to guess who the opponent would be.
The most common consensus was that he would fight yet another retired fighter. At the top of the list was Darren Till, who was recently released from the UFC after requesting to be removed from the roster.
Till revealing on The MMA Hour that he is close to signing with Misfits Boxing for a November or December fight further added fuel to the rumor.
However, fans also had a field day suggesting various other matchups for Jake Paul. Some predictions made sense, such as KSI or a rematch with Tommy Fury, while others were outright hilarious, like Brock Lesnar or "Taylor Swift's boyfriend", Travis Kelce.
Read all the comments here.
#1. Alexander Volkanovski dismisses a popular fan opinion about UFC 294
Alexander Volkanovski disagrees with the idea that he has nothing to lose at UFC 294.
'The Great' accepted a short-notice fight against Islam Makhachev to replace an injured Charles Oliveira. Hailing the courageous decision, the MMA community started the narrative that Volkanovski would be able to perform without the pressure of high stakes.
The UFC featherweight champion dismissed the claim at The MMA Hour:
"A lot of people act like there's nothing to lose for me... That's a lie. Everyone knows I want this rematch. Everyone knows I want this belt. If I lose this fight, I ain't getting another shot at the title anytime soon. Let's be real. I ain't getting a rematch anytime soon either."
Volkanovski predicted a knockout win for himself and plans on not leaving the matter to the judges.