Khamzat Chimaev called out by UFC middleweight, Israel Adesanya predicts UFC 313, Joe Rogan makes surprising political revelation: MMA News Roundup

Khamzat Chimaev called out by UFC middleweight, Israel Adesanya predicts UFC 312 main event and Joe Rogan makes a surprising political revelation.

Find out more details in today's (Jan. 25) Sportskeeda daily news roundup.

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#3. Khamzat Chimaev called out by rising UFC middleweight contender

Rising middleweight contender Reinier de Ridder has called out Khamzat Chimaev, believing he has the skillset to outwrestle 'Borz' should they face off in the octagon.

After picking up the biggest win of his UFC career so far with a first-round submission over Kevin Holland at UFC 311, de Ridder spoke to MMA Junkie about his future.

During their chat, the Dutchman boldly called out Chimaev and claimed he would be able to neutralize his wrestling. He said:

"If I'm the only one bringing up his [Chimaev] name up I might be the only one to get the fight [against him]. What's he gonna do? Take me down? That'd be amazing right. I'd be interested to see his strategy for the fight. He boxes pretty well and his striking is not that bad either...But I see myself taking him down and down again and getting on top."

Check out Reinier de Ridder's comments regarding Khamzat Chimaev here (8:20):

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#2. Israel Adesanya predicts UFC 312 main event between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland

Israel Adesanya has cast his final prediction for the upcoming middleweight title bout between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland.

The pair previously faced off for the belt at UFC 297 last year, which saw 'Stillknocks' defeat 'Tarzan' for the title via a razor-close split-decision win. According to Adesanya, he's expecting another close fight, however, he believes du Plessis will be victorious once again.

Speaking to MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, Adesanya said:

"I say Dricus wins that one if it's close, maybe. Or maybe it's more decisive this time. It's going to be a hard fight for both men, but I think I would give the edge to Dricus in this fight."

Catch Adesanya's comments here (7:30)

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#1. Joe Rogan makes surprising political revelation

Joe Rogan recently made an eye-opening revelation regarding his political allegiance, despite his backing and endorsement of Donald Trump for the U.S. presidential election last year.

Following Trump's appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience last year, Rogan publicly announced his support for the Republican candidate. The UFC commentator was then recently in attendance for Trump's inauguration earlier this week.

However, according to Rogan himself, he doesn't believe he is a Republican. Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast, the 57-year-old explained:

"It doesn't make sense to be on a team, it doesn't make sense at all. Even for someone like me... I went to the inauguration, it was bizarre. I don't consider myself a Republican. I don't consider Democrat either. I consider myself an American... The idea I have to ignore things that make sense to me because it's coming from the wrong team is just stupid. These are bad faith arguments... That to me is just dumb, it doesn't benefit me at all. It doesn't benefit anybody... It's so limiting."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments here: