Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 11, 2024, we’re taking a look at:
- Hall tells interesting story behind highlight reel finish
- Parkin says Pereira may struggle with bigger grapplers
- Anik suggests Poirier vs Diaz
Uriah Hall Says Michael Jai White Deserves Credit For His Finish Over Gegard Mousasi
Back in 2015, UFC middleweight Uriah Hall secured one of his greatest ever wins when he stopped Gegard Mousasi in Japan.
Hall spoke about the way he was able to secure this second-round finish during a recent episode of the Jaxxon Podcast, where he revealed an interesting story behind this win.
He stated that when watching Mousasi's previous fight with Lyoto Machida, he noticed a tell where the Dutchman dipped his head whenever Machida feinted with his hips.
Hall then combined this with a technique that he learned during his final preparations that came courtesy of Hollywood star Michael Jai White.
Two weeks before that fight, I was hanging out with Michael Jai White, that m*********** is legit by the way, and he was showing me how to throw techniques without no fat, no tell, no telegraph. It was the hardest s*** ever, I'm still working on some of it. He was showing me the spinning back kick and I think I was this close to him and he was like, 'You can do it from here' and I was like what?! He showed me how to move my body that way so when I did that jump spinning back kick, I took away the fat a little bit because I expected him to move a certain way and it just lined up perfectly.
UFC Heavyweight Mick Parkin Says Alex Pereira May Struggle At Heavyweights With Keeping Opponents Off Him
Following another defense of his UFC light heavyweight title, fans want to see whether Alex Pereira can move up another weight class to try and win a third title.
"Poatan" went from middleweight up to 205-pounds seamlessly and with his ferocious power, he clearly has the ability to put anyone out cold.
Heavyweight contender Mick Parkin believes that Pereira may encounter one issue if he does decide to compete with the big boys on the roster.
Parkin, who regularly trains alongside the interim champion Tom Aspinall, is looking to match the longest active win streak in the division when he returns at UFC 304.
He spoke in a recent interview with Violent Money TV about how despite Pereira's improving grappling defense, this could become an issue for him against larger opponents.
It’s a lot different, the size. I think he’s amazing, he just keeps taking these fights and knocking everybody out. He hits so hard that he could definitely hit as hard at heavyweight and knock any heavyweight out in the world. His defensive wrestling is actually looking good but with a bigger guy it’s a lot harder so it might be a bit harder for him to get a bigger guy off on top of him. He might come up and get huge, he’s still got a big frame for it.
But yeah, the bigger guys, I don’t know if he’s that confident as well that he would just walk the big guys down and think I’m knocking you out or if he’d be a bit more, ‘oh I don’t want to get taken down by these guys’. I don’t know how his mindset is but I definitely feel he could do good.”
Jon Anik Believes That Nate Diaz Makes A Lot Of Sense For Dustin Poirier's Farewell Fight
There aren't too many options out there right now that make sense for Dustin Poirier following his lightweight title fight loss at UFC 302.
"The Diamond" recently said that he was leaning towards this being his last outing because at this stage, what is he fighting for if he isn't trying to become the champion.
One match-up that UFC commentator Jon Anik believes would be a great way to close out his career is one of the few big names in and around his weight class that Poirier is yet to face.
He was booked to fight Nate Diaz in what would have been a massive fight at Madison Square Garden back in 2018 but it never took place due to Poirier withdrawing due to an injury.
Anik spoke in an interview with MMA Junkie about how following Diaz's win over Jorge Masvidal in boxing, now could be the perfect time to put them back together.
Nate Diaz is a massive superstar and that is among a myriad of reasons why Dustin Poirier is of an appetitive nature for that particular fight and match-up and part of the reason we talked about this in context was not just Nate Diaz suggesting that he wants to come back to the UFC and pursue a championship but also because I was with Dustin Poirier recently and there aren't that many fights that make sense for him and even some of the match-ups that have been suggested have some relative downside.
For more MMA news, check out:
- Jon Anik Maintains Conor McGregor Has ‘An Itch That Can Only Be Scratched In The Octagon’ Amid UFC Return Uncertainty
- Dan Ige Makes Fresh Plea For Diego Lopes Rematch With ‘Equal Opportunity To Prepare’ At Sphere-Held UFC 306
- Michael Page Gives Grim Assessment Of Ian Garry’s Title Chances After UFC 303: ‘Leon’s Gonna Kill You…Shavkat’s Gonna Kill You’