UFC fighter upsets Dana White with a prank, Bryce Mitchell has a new opponent, Max Holloway sets a new record: MMA News Roundup
Welcome to Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup, where we present the biggest UFC news updates and other stories from the world of mixed martial arts.
In today's issue, we talk about the Kansas City card, Bryce Mitchell's new opponent, and more.
#3. Dana White 'p***ed off' with Clay Guida's antics
Clay Guida is a longtime UFC veteran and a warrior of many battles, but that does not mean he gets away with sneaky shenanigans.
Guida took on Rafa Garcia to kickstart the main card at Kansas City. After suffering a unanimous decision loss, Guida was seen taking his gloves off inside the cage. It looked like 'The Carpenter' was about to call it quits, which led to Daniel Cormier approaching him for an interview.
Guida quickly admitted that he had "tricked" the audience and only wanted to congratulate his opponent and wish his mother a happy birthday on the mic.
Watch the video below:
When asked to comment on the incident at the press conference after the event, Dana White was perfectly clear about how disappointed he was:
"That pi**ed me off actually, to be honest with you. No, that pi**ed me off. I like [Clay Guida], he’s a nice guy, but you’re faking your retirement so you can say f**king happy birthday to somebody? Yeah, we're running a live event here, I was not happy about that."
Watch White's comments from the 11:20 mark onwards:
#2. Bryce Mitchell has a new opponent for UFC 288
Bryce Mitchell was originally supposed to fight Jonathan Pearce on the main card of UFC 288 on May 6. However, Pearce had to pull out due to an undisclosed injury, leaving the promotion looking for a possible replacement.
The revised main card was unveiled during the live broadcast of UFC Kansas City on Saturday night, which showed that 'Thug Nasty' is now set to fight fellow featherweight prospect Movsar Evloev on short notice.
It is also noteworthy that Beneil Dariush is no longer on the card after his opponent Charles Oliveira had to withdraw from the event. Dana White said during the post-event press conference that he, Sean Shelby, and Mick Maynard will be discussing potential co-main events in the next few days.
#1. Max Holloway (and his chin) sets a massive record
It is widely believed to be MMA gospel that if a certain Alexander Volkanovski did not exist, Max Holloway would still be the UFC featherweight champion.
Holloway hasn't lost in the 145-pound division to anyone except the champion and is 12-0 in non-title fights at featherweight since falling short against Conor McGregor in 2013. Overall, he has beaten the likes of Charles Oliveira, Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo, Brian Ortega, Frankie Edgar, Calvin Kattar, and even the current interim champion Yair Rodriguez.
The Hawaiian is known for having a concrete chin. No fighter in the promotion has to date managed to land a knockout against 'Blessed'. However, they have collectively found themselves on the receiving end of his hands. With the win against Arnold Allen at UFC Kansas City, Holloway became the first-ever UFC fighter to land 3,000 significant strikes in the promotion.
He currently has 3,122 significant strikes to his name, according to statleaders.ufc.com. He is also the only fighter to have landed 3,000+ total strikes. The current number is 3,366.
Holloway also holds the record for landing the most number of strikes in a single fight. His record of 445 significant strikes against Calvin Kattar alone is more than the combined significant strikes of the second-ranked fight on the list.