MMA News Today: Former UFC Champ Questions Paul's Ceiling Because He Never Went Through 'Broke Athlete' Phase, Sterling Told He's Faking 145-Pound Move For Attention, & More
Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For August 17, 2023, we’re taking a look at:
Former UFC Champion Questions Jake Paul’s Ceiling As A Fighter Because He Never Went Through The ‘Broke Athlete’ Phase’Weight Bully’ Aljamain Sterling Told He’s Faking Move To 145 Pounds To Garner Media AttentionMichael Bisping Has A Surprising Take On Ian Machado Garry Trying To Emulate Conor McGregor
Former UFC Champion Questions Jake Paul’s Ceiling As A Fighter Because He Never Went Through The ‘Broke Athlete’ Phase
Following his win over Nate Diaz, there has been a lot of talk around Jake Paul and what his real ceiling is as a boxer.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Demetrious Johnson spoke about Paul’s ability and how he needs to choose between being a legitimate boxer and making as much money as possible.
As one of the best minds in combat sports, Johnson said that Paul’s ceiling in boxing isn’t necessarily affected by his age because of his path into the sport but questioned if he’s pushing himself the way he needs to, in training.
Responding to Ariel Helwani’s question, “Mighty Mouse” said that Paul’s financial muscle changes everything.
“No, Jake Paul never went through the broke athlete phase. What I mean by broke athlete phase, when I was a ‘professional athlete’, I was working 40 hours a week, driving to the gym, doing cross fit, driving to the other gym…he’s never had to go through that broke phase. He came to the sport with money so he’s got the best access to the best trainers, best nutritionists, best of whatever he needs. It’s just him taking the time of like hey, I’m gonna work on this and going to get actual rounds, joining a gym”
He went on to mention that because of all the luxury in his training, Paul may not be seeking out means to challenge his own ego and through that, become a better martial artist.
‘Weight Bully’ Aljamain Sterling Told He’s Faking Move To 145 Pounds To Garner Media Attention
In the lead up to his fight with Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has been open about a desire to move up to 145 pounds.
He recently confirmed that this is his last fight at 135 before he tries his hand at featherweight. His UFC 292 opponent isn’t so sure.
Despite Sterling’s size and plan to leave the division so that his friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili can fight for the title, “Suga” believes that Sterling just wants the media attention that a move up in weight brings.
In a fight week interview with Daniel Cormier, O’Malley disputed his opponent’s claims that this is his last outing at bantamweight.
“I don’t know if that’s necessarily true. I go out there and knock him out, he takes a year off, he might go do I really want to go to 145. I don’t know how he good he does at 145, 135 he’s dominating so we’ll see when it comes to it. I think he likes the attention, that’s the only headlines he gets is by him saying ‘I’m gonna go up to 45’, that’s the only time I ever see anything about Aljo is his weight, ‘Oh, I’m a big bantamweight, I’m a weight bully'”
Michael Bisping Has A Surprising Take On Ian Machado Garry Trying To Emulate Conor McGregor
Since arriving in the UFC, Ian Machado Garry has split fans down the middle with his incredibly high self-confidence.
Despite backing it up with his recent performances in the Octagon, there are still some that see Garry as trying to follow in Conor McGregor’s footsteps too closely.
Ahead of UFC 292, where he will look for his sixth consecutive UFC win against Neal Magny, Michael Bisping gave his thoughts on Garry’s personality and ambition.
“You wanna be known, you wanna get your name out there,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “You wanna be – you wanna set your stall out very, very high. Now, some people it’s rubbing up the wrong way. Some people are saying he’s too cocky, some people saying he’s trying to become the next Conor McGregor and all the rest of it. Why not? Why wouldn’t you wanna be the next Conor McGregor? I’m talking about the double champ version in 2016, and the ridiculous loaded man that he is. Everybody wants to do that, everybody wants to emulate that.”
Read more on the story here.
For more MMA news, check out:
Coach: Zhang Weili Still Only At ’60-70 Percent’ Of Her PotentialChris Weidman Calls UFC Out For ‘Disrespectful’ Card Placement: ‘Put My Body On The Line & They Put Me On The Prelims?’Dustin Poirier Calls For Justin Gaethje Trilogy On Home Turf: ‘I Did The First Fight Where He’s From’
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