UFC veteran obsessed with Kendrick Lamar's show, Sean Strickland fires coach, Logan Paul challenges Lionel Messi to a fight: MMA News Roundup

A UFC veteran opened up on his reaction to Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl half-time performance last Sunday. Elsewhere, Sean Strickland said Erick Nicksick will not corner him for fights anymore.

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

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Anthony Smith can't stop watching Kendrick Lamar's performance

Kendrick Lamar delivered an iconic performance at the Super Bowl halftime show during the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs game.

The rapper's Grammy-winning son 'Not Like Us', recorded as a diss track aimed at Drake, grabbed the most eyeballs. The show, featuring Serena Williams, SZA, DJ Mustard, and Samuel L. Jackson, left the NFL fanbase divided.

Veteran UFC fighter Anthony Smith sided with Lamar. Sharing his reaction on an episode of his On Paper Podcast, 'Lionheart' said:

"Not only did I watch the halftime show, I rewatched it on YouTube later. Now I'm watching other people watch the Super Bowl halftime show...just random streamers and other artists and athletes and watching them watch the Super Bowl halftime show... Did we just watch someone's funeral on live TV before they're gone that's crazy.''

Check out Anthony Smith's comments below (52:47):

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Sean Strickland mouths off at Eric Nicksick for UFC 312 criticism

Eric Nicksick was frank in his assessment of Sean Strickland's UFC 312 performance against Dricus du Plessis.

The MMA coach called his pupil's show "uninspiring" and "underwhelming" in an interview on Ariel Helwani's show. UFC fans largely seemed to agree with Nicksick, especially after Strickland was seen repeatedly ignoring the coach's corner advice during the fight.

Strickland, however, feels differently. Addressing Nicksick's comments, the former UFC middleweight champion said on X:

"I like Eric [Nicksick]. He’s a friend of mine and he’s going to continue to be a friend of mine. Will he probably be in my corner? Probably not... We all f**king have excuses and they don’t f**king matter. The only reason I’m doing this video is Eric had to go do a f**king podcast and become an influencer so I’ve got to kind of explain myself."

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Logan Paul wants to settle the legal battle with Messi inside the ring

Logan Paul has officially challenged the Argentine soccer superstar to hash it out inside the squared circle.

The heart of the matter is: Messi's hydrating electrolyte drink Mas+, which was launched in June 2024, has an eerily similar packaging and label design to Paul's Prime Hydration.

After Paul and business partner KSI's fans pointed out the similarities online and accused Mas+ of ripping off Prime Hydration, the former filed a lawsuit against the latter over alleged "anti-competitive" business practices. Mas+ claimed that Prime asked them to stop selling bottles until they changed the packaging. Prime sued back, accusing Mas+ of trademark infringement.

While the legal battles rage on, Paul took to social media to issue a challenge to Messi:

"Brother, you copied us. Everyone saw it. They saw what you did... But that’s illegal. That’s trademark infringement. We’re holding him accountable, and it’s harassment?"

Paul continued:

"Hey, hey, all jokes aside, I will consider [dropping lawsuit] if Logan Paul vs Messi 2025. I’ll see you in the ring."