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Dana White cut the ribbon at the new UFC Performance Institute in Mexico City, Mexico on Thursday. Elsewhere, Francis Ngannou's next MMA venture was announced.
Catch up with the most exciting MMA news updates with Sportskeeda's Midnight Roundup.
Dana White cuts the ribbon at Mexico's UFC Performance Institute
Ahead of UFC Mexico and Día de la Bandera ("Flag Day" in Mexico), Dana White cut the ribbon and launched the new Performance Institute in Mexico City. Speaking with the media, he said:
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"This has been a dream slash goal of mine for a very long time going back to 2011 ... Thanks to everybody who made this happen."
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Watch the video and the media conversation below:
Previously, White had told ESPN MMA that his goal with the new UFC P.I. was to "take kids off the streets" and help them train in combat sports and learn other skills at the establishment.
PFL announces Francis Ngannou's next MMA fight
We finally have more details on Francis Ngannou's next fight inside the cage.
PFL CEO Peter Murray previously told Sportskeeda MMA that there will be a huge announcement for the PFL vs. Bellator heavyweight winner. PFL announced on social media on Thursday that 'The Predator' will face the winner of the said fight between Renan Ferreira and Ryan Bader, set to go down on Feb. 24, 2024, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Read the fan reactions to the announcement here.
Max Holloway puts a fan in their place
Max Holloway, classy as ever, recently silenced a fan with his sporting nature yet again.
Considered one of the nicest guys to ever do it, 'Blessed' tweeted a popular GIF in response to journalist Luke Thomas' opinion that Ilia Topuria's first title defense should be against Yair Rodriguez, should 'El Pantera' win against Brian Ortega at UFC Mexico.
Assuming Holloway was speaking about himself, a fan suggested that he should have waited for the title fight instead of taking the BMF. In response, Holloway made it clear that he was talking about a rematch for Alexander Volkanovski.
"Never waited for anything always earned it. I always believed if volk was to lose the title he’ll prolly get immediate rematch anyway."
The fan took it sportingly and said:
"Just got put in my place by Jerome Holloway."
'Jerome' is Max Holloway's real first name that he doesn't use for fighting.
Ilia Topuria has three names in mind before aiming for the P4P spot
Ilia Topuria seems to have planned his immediate future right after winning the UFC featherweight belt. He wants to fight again in 2024 before clashing with Islam Makhachev in a super fight for the No.1 pound-for-pound position.
Speaking with the Spanish media after arriving in Madrid after UFC 298, 'El Matador' said [Via Eurosport]:
"The three rivals I would most like in the next fight are Conor McGregor, Max Holloway, or Sean O'Malley. I want to fight again before the end of the year and then the next target would be Islam Makhachev. That fight would be the one that would bring me closest to number one in the pound-for-pound ranking. I see myself as a double champion."
He also reiterated his desire to fight at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain.
Jorge Masvidal sends two-word warning to Nate Diaz
Jorge Masvidal, who was rumored to fight in a boxing match against his former BMF opponent Nate Diaz, sent a surprise two-word warning to the Stockton native on X on Thursday:
"YOU'RE DEAD."
This comes after Masvidal claimed in an interview with Lowkick MMA that he could hurt Justin Gaethje, the current UFC BMF champion, in a potential fight.
"If you put me against Gaethje in there, I would break his f*cking eye orbital, and I would f*cking chop him up. Hopefully, that can happen at some point."
For the upcoming BMF title fight set to go down at UFC 300, Masvidal picked Max Holloway as his winner.
OF star to dump fighter if he loses!
In what could be a marketing or promotion skit, one OF star was recently seen with Bellator's Johnny Eblen on the street. Speaking with TMZ, Eblen stated that he spent $85,000 on shopping for the woman. The model and influencer in question is Jessenia Rebecca, who has over 2 million followers on Instagram.
In a follow-up interview, Rebecca stated that if Eblen loses his upcoming fight against Impa Kasanganay, on Feb. 24, 2024, at PFL vs. Bellator, she would break up with him.
Watch her comment below:
Defending her statement on an Instagram post, Rebecca said:
"Since when was being honest wrong? Do you think if I stopped being attractive or gained a bunch of weight he would be with me? No! He likes me cuz I’m attractive and I like him cuz he’s a CHAMPION. Either one of us can get dumped if we lose the thing that the other found attractive. Let’s start being honest in 2024."
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