Alexander Volkanovski breaks two UFC curses, Bryce Mitchell earns Dana White's respect, Joe Rogan wants rule changes: MMA News Roundup

Alexander Volkanovski broke two curses at UFC 314 in his featherweight title fight against Diego Lopes. The event also saw Joe Rogan demand a big change in MMA rules.

Here are today's top combat sports updates, presented by Sportskeeda MMA.

---

Alexander Volkanovski broke two curses at UFC 314

According to the fans, Alexander Volkanovski overcame two well-known "curses" that often affect fighters.

Musician Drake, notoriously famous for betting on the losing parties, ufc-314-gets-fans-worried-the-drake-curse" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">wagered $545,000 on Volkanovski with an estimated payout of $915,600. Previously, fighters like Conor McGregor and Israel Adesanya have lost after the singer-rapper bet on them.

However, Volkanovski emerged victorious against Diego Lopes at UFC 314 with a unanimous decision and broke out of the jinx.

He also became one of the few fighters to win a UFC belt after 35, and the first fighter to do so in the divisions from flyweight to lightweight.

The MMA world showered love and respect on the Australian following the victory.

Volkanovski's two-time rival Islam Makhachev wrote on Instagram:

"Congrats legend"

Georges St-Pierre said:

"Back in the horse."

Actor Chuck Norris commented:

"Masterclass performance! You’re an absolute warrior, Alex. Congratulations."

See more comments here or under the post below:

---

Dana White commends Bryce Mitchell for fighting back "like a man"

Despite his loss to Jean Silva at UFC 314, Bryce Mitchell earned high praise from Dana White. He complimented 'Thug Nasty' for bouncing back after the severe media backlash following his controversial comments about Adolf H*tler, for which he was reprimanded by White.

The promotional CEO said:

"You know what happened. He is a grown man. He stood his ground, came out and faced the media several times, and came in here and fought... He felt like his back was against the wall. He stood up like a man and he fought and he did his thing."

---

Joe Rogan wants MMA rule changes, again

During the UFC 314 prelims fight between Yan Xiaonan and Virna Jandiroba, the former was spotted grabbing the fence to stop a takedown attempt. It infuriated Joe Rogan, who was on commentary duty.

Rogan called for a change of rule in MMA, saying there should be automatic point deductions for fence grabs and eye pokes:

He told Daniel Cormier and Jon Anik:

"I feel like it’s a one-point thing every time. If you don’t have that, people are gonna be encouraged. I think eye pokes and fence grabs... No one would do it if you took a point away every time. If it were just an immediate, automatic point deduction every time you grabbed the fence, there would be no more fence grabs. And eye pokes... They should change the rules. One point every time there’s a fence grab, and one point every time there’s an eye poke."

Jandiroba won the fight via unanimous decision.

This wasn't the first time Rogan asked for an MMA rule change. He has previously called for a change in the weight-cutting system, calling it "sanctioned cheating," and also wanted back-of-the-head shots to be made legal inside the cage.