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Hey friend. So you know how we’re always working to innovate in MMA? We’re doing it again starting with this email. This is the first edition of our weekly newsletter OverUnder. It’s where we provide you with the latest news and highlight the coolest and most important things happening in the sport. This sport moves fast and keeping up to date with the latest news could get difficult, so don’t worry, we’ll keep you updated. You’ll get an email from us every Friday at 8 AM ET.
Earlier this week, Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa got into a heated altercation at the UFC Performance Institute that led to the two being separated. This was just the start of Khamzat’s chaotic week, who got into a fight with Holland last night before the scheduled UFC 279 press conference.
Khamzat and Holland have been taking verbal jabs at each other for the past year and tensions finally boiled over last night. The issue started when Holland offered to trim Khamzat’s beard which led to Khamzat push kicking Holland in the chest.
While Khamzat and Holland were fighting, Nate Diaz’s crew jumped in and that’s when more chaos ensued. Bottles, punches, and kicks started flying right as the press conference was supposed to begin. UFC President Dana White walked onto the stage and announced that he was cancelling a press conference for the first time in UFC history.
You can expect the UFC Embedded production crew to release the footage soon.
Mark Zuckerberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Meta, was a recent guest on the Joe Rogan Experience where they discussed a number of things including Zuckerberg’s newfound passion for MMA. A week later, Zuckerberg posted a video on Instagram of him sparring. Now, we’re not suggesting Zuckerberg is a hardcore fan just because he trains. We’re suggesting he’s a hardcore because of his comments under the post.
Fighters like Alex Volkanovski, Aljamain Sterling, Conor McGregor, and more all got detailed replies from Zuckerberg on their comments where he showed his knowledge of the sport. He replied to Volkanovski saying that he can’t wait to watch him challenge for the Lightweight title and replied to Sterling acknowledging how stacked the Bantamweight division is. He’s paying close attention to what’s happening in our sport.
Zuckerberg follows 483 accounts on Instagram and a large portion of them are MMA accounts. It’s always a good thing when one of the most powerful men in the world is a fan of your favorite sport. Maybe we’ll see Zuck scoring rounds on Verdict in the future
It’s been an uphill battle for Nate Diaz since he started in the UFC and his potential exit from the promotion will be no different. From the days of UFC President Dana White saying Nate doesn’t move the needle, to him trying to get out of his contract for the past year, Nate has had to fight both inside and outside of the Octagon.
With one fight left on his contract, the UFC isn’t making it easy for Diaz who will fight the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 279. Diaz is currently a +800 underdog, making him the biggest underdog he’s ever been in his career. Khamzat has said that the UFC is bringing him in as a hitman to finish Diaz.
Nate is against all odds, but just imagine if he manages to pull this off… Defeats the final boss, middle fingers in the sky, and becomes a free agent. Nate Diaz can beat the system like no one else before him has. We’ll find out tomorrow.
Jose Aldo wants to fight at UFC 283 in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Nate Diaz starts his own fight promotion.
Kamaru Usman appears on the Joe Rogan Experience to discuss his loss to Leon Edwards.
Joe Rogan thinks Demetrious Johnson should be in the UFC Hall of Fame now.
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We're looking forward to bringing you the best stories in combat sports every Friday at 8 AM ET. Enjoy the fights