Ilia Topuria and Merab Dvalishvil cut weight together, Joe Rogan talks UFC middleweight's sparring, Canelo Alvarez plays down super fight: MMA News Roundup

Ilia Topuria and Merab Dvalishvili help each other get through their weight cuts, Joe Rogan weighs in on UFC middleweight's sparring session, and Canelo Alvarez talks a potential showdown against Terence Crawford.

Find out more details in today's (Feb. 17) Sportskeeda daily news roundup.

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#3. Ilia Topuria and Merab Dvalishvili help each other get through grueling weight cuts before UFC 298

UFC 298's main card features two fighters hailing from Georgia as Ilia Topuria takes on Alexander Volkanovski and Merab Dvalishvili faces Henry Cejudo.

Ahead of their bout this weekend, both Topuria and Dvalishvili have had to undergo a grueling weight cut in order to make the card. Whilst fighters typically are supported throughout their cut by their team, the two Georgian stars opted to go through the process together.

In a video courtesy of Setanta Sports, both fighters were pictured in the midst of their weight cut and had messages of support for one another. Dvalishvili said:

“Brother, we are unbreakable, brother! We’ve been through worse times. I’m with you brother and we celebrate together!”

Topuria responded:

“Of course, Merab! This is nothing. This is a God’s gift! This is our chance to fight for our dreams. How can we not suffer this? We have suffered much worse days! What’s this? This is a two-day problem and then we celebrate! Then we celebrate… Without any doubt, Merab! God is with us!”

Check out the video here:

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#2. Joe Rogan weighs in on Sean Strickland sparring against Sneako

Sean Strickland recently came under fire from fans and MMA personalities after his sparring session against influencer Sneako went viral.

The pair stepped into an octagon together with training pads during Sneako's livestream on Rumble. It was watched by tens of thousands of fans at the time, who saw 'Tarzan' go full throttle and land heavy shots on the streamer.

UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin eventually stepped in to stop their scrap, which also left Sneako bloodied and bruised.

During a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast with Chris Williamson (JRE #2104), the UFC color commentator weighed in and noted the difference between Strickland sparring Sneako compared to when he spars against UFC competition. He said:

"He [Strickland] beat up that kid, who's a smaller-than-him streamer named Sneako, which is not a good look. He beat the sh*t out of him. I just don't know why he wanted to do that... When he was training with Alex Pereira, he was light sparring, 'cause he's smart. That guy's not Sneako, that guy already knocked you out. Pereira knocked him out in the first round."

Catch Rogan's comments here:

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#1. Canelo Alvarez weighs in on potential Terrence Crawford bout

Canelo Alvarez has dismissed any notion that he may soon face Terrence Crawford in a boxing bout.

Following the undisputed super middleweight champion's dominant victory over Jermell Charlo last September, there had been rumors he may face Crawford next. 'Bud' is currently regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport.

Upon the rumors, Crawford took to social media and admitted he was eyeing up a showdown against Alvarez, believing it is the biggest fight to make in boxing.

However, during a recent interview on 'Box Azteca' (via Dazn), 'Canelito' rejected the idea of their super fight.

According to Alvarez, he can't see how a bout against Crawford has any upside for him. He said:

"They criticized me because I fought Charlo, who gained weight, who is bigger than me, because I’m a small fighter for these weights...So now, if you imagine Crawford as a welterweight. 168lbs, I have everything to lose and nothing to gain because if I win, they’ll say, 'Oh, he was too small, and everything!'"

Check out Alvarez's comments here: