Midnight Roundup! UFC icon breaks down Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev, Sean Strickland hints at exciting Paulo Costa clash, and more

UFC legend Georges St-Pierre recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight at the promotion's Saudi Arabia event. Elsewhere, Sean Strickland took to social media and seemingly accepted Paulo Costa as his next opponent in the cage.

Read all the latest news in mixed martial arts with Sportskeeda's Midnight Roundup.

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Georges St-Pierre shares thoughts on Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev at UFC Saudi Arabia

Georges St-Pierre recently discussed the highly anticipated Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev middleweight bout booked for the UFC's Saudi Arabia card. The former two-division champion stated that 'The Reaper' could give Chimaev problems in the cage and push him to his limits.

While Whittaker is widely considered among the best middleweights in the UFC today, the Chechen-born fighter's grappling prowess has never failed him. Given their resume, many are unsurprisingly excited to see them clash in the octagon.

During an interview with Main Event TV, St-Pierre was asked for his thoughts on the Whittaker-Chimaev fight. Stating that the Australian was a stylistic nightmare for Chimaev, he said:

"If there is a guy that can stop Chimaev, it's Robert Whittaker because if you look at Chimaev, we can compare it, in a way, to Yoel Romero where Romero was a very good wrestler, very explosive and powerful guy, and Whittaker was the kryptonite of Yoel Romero, was able to beat him twice. So, stylistically, he's very capable of doing the same to Chimaev - to make Chimaev look bad."

He continued:

"He's from a karate background like I am and Robert Whittaker utilizes all his karate skills very, very well... So, I think if there's a guy to stop Chimaev now, that has the possibility to do so, it's Robert Whittaker, but he's going to have to be on his A-game because Chimaev is no joke and he seems unstoppable right now."

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Sean Strickland drops major hint for potential Paulo Costa clash at UFC 302

Sean Strickland recently took to social media and revealed that he's accepted the Paulo Costa fight after previously turning it down. Strickland revealed that he wasn't happy about his purse money and didn't want to get short-changed for a fight against someone as high-profile as Costa.

Nevertheless, it appears Strickland has sorted out his financial demands with the UFC and is now prepared to sign the dotted line for a blockbuster fight against Costa. According to reports, the fight is being targeted for UFC 302 in New Jersey on June 1.

'Tarzan' recently took to X and revealed that he had spoken to UFC brass about his financial demands. Confirming that he's down for a fight with the Brazilian, he wrote:

'Well had a meeting with the UFC and told them that I don't want to be rich. I want to be able to support a family after my career is done. They actually were pretty supportive, made it happen. Thank you fans! Alright @BorrachinhaMMA you got your wish... Let's do some bleeding.''

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Jamahal Hill sends cold warning to Alex Pereira before their UFC 300 clash

Jamahal Hill is confident about getting his hand raised against Alex Pereira at UFC 300 this weekend. After more than a year away from action due to injury, the former light heavyweight champion is gearing up to reclaim the 205-pound title against Pereira in the headliner of the promotion's milestone-numbered event.

Just days before the fight, Hill shared his thoughts on 'Poatan' and predicted that he would push the Brazilian into deep waters when they clash in the cage. Speaking at the UFC 300 media day event, 'Sweet Dreams' said:

"I did see that he could possibly be an opponent in the future and I was excited for it. I wanted him to win. When I got hurt and I had to give up the belt, it was like alright, what's the best course? What's the best that could happen now? Because somebody else is going to win the belt. Who better than Alex to win the belt?"

Hill clarified that he wasn't fazed by Pereira's combat sports resume and continued:

"Y'all think - and he is - he's one of the - he's a two-division GLORY champion, two-division UFC champion, kickboxing great, hands of stone, bad man, just a monster, dangerous, scary dude. He's all those things. But watch what I do to him."

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Holly Holm responds to Ronda Rousey blaming UFC 193 loss on concussion

Holly Holm has reacted to Ronda Rousey's recent claims that she lost their iconic UFC 193 fight due to being negatively affected by a concussion.

The two went toe-to-toe in November 2015. While many expected the seemingly invincible Rousey get her hand raised, Holm shocked the MMA community by beating 'Rowdy' via a stunning second-round knockout.

In a recent interview, Rousey revisited her fight against Holm and claimed she was not completely healthy going into the bout. She revealed that she suffered from multiple concussions and had a terrible weight cut during fight week. She said:

"People making all these judgements about me in a fight, when I was literally, my first loss, I was not like - my mouthguard was bad. I literally came into that fight concussed from slipping down some stairs already after all these years of concussions. And then, I had an absolutely terrible weight cut, which means you have less fluid in your brain to protect it."

Catch Ronda Rousey's comments below (15:05):

During her recent appearance at the UFC 300 media day interviews, Holm was asked about Rousey's comments. Dismissing her former rival's excuses, she said:

"I was the better fighter that night... I think that it's probably just hard for her to really want to admit that, I was just the better fighter."

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Kayla Harrison addresses weight-cut concerns ahead of her UFC 300 debut this weekend

Kayla Harrison recently weighed in on her upcoming UFC debut against Holly Holm this weekend. While Harrison is widely known for being one of the most accomplished combat sports athletes ever, this is the first time the two-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo would compete at 135 pounds.

Given that she's never dropped weight to 135 pounds before, competing almost exclusively at 155 pounds, many raised questions about her ability to cut down in a safe and healthy manner. Harrison recently addressed such concerns and said:

"Do I need to flex on all y'all? No, I'm just kidding. My weight is good. Everything is dialed in. I have a superb team behind me. Eric Pena, the UFC PI has been helping out, my chef and nutritionist Dara has been making ridiculously delicious meals so I've been disciplined, I've been dedicated, and it's going to show."