Jorge Masvidal ACCUSED of USING STEROIDS for Nate Diaz FIGHT! Sean O’Malley CALLED OUT! Makhachev | HO

UFC news today, we have Jorge Masvidal accused of taking steroids for Nate Diaz boxing fight and we have the details on the situation. We also have news on, Sean O’Malley getting called out by Ilia Topuria and much more.

Ilia Topuria Fires Back at Sean O’Malley for Comments!

What’s up, everyone, and welcome back to the MMA Zone. Today, let’s get started with Ilia Topuria firing back at Sean O’Malley for some recent comments. Sean O’Malley took a jab at Topuria’s pound-for-pound ranking as well as his height, which clearly hit a nerve with the UFC’s featherweight champ. As the MMA world continues to wait for official dates for the next fights of both O’Malley and Topuria, the stars got into a social media spat. It all kicked off when O’Malley took issue with the fact that Topuria is currently ranked number five in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, while “Sugar” is one spot lower at number six. O’Malley shared the following question and dig via X: “How’s Ilia higher on the pound-for-pound list? Less title defenses and 5 inches shorter. Please explain.”

Topuria didn’t take kindly to O’Malley’s comments. The undefeated fighter responded with a barrage of posts, which included an image of O’Malley after he was knocked out by Chito Vera, along with the caption, “Another hater but this one is ugly as F. The explanation.” If you haven’t been following these two over the last few months, you may not know that O’Malley campaigned for a fight with Topuria, but since Merab Dvalishvili has been winning consistently since 2018, the consensus is he’s locked up a fight with the bantamweight king. Topuria, meanwhile, is expected to fight featherweight legend Max Holloway later this year.

All that aside, do you agree with the UFC rankings? Should Topuria be ranked higher than O’Malley? While it’s true he has yet to defend his title and O’Malley has done so, Topuria is coming off an electrifying knockout of Alexander Volkanovski, who was widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters. In fact, Volkanovski is still holding down the number seven spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.

Jiri Prochazka Gets Slammed for UFC 303 Performance!

Next, let’s take a look at Jiri Prochazka getting slammed for his UFC 303 performance. Alex Pereira continues to receive immense praise following his jaw-dropping knockout of Prochazka at UFC 303. This marked the second time Pereira stopped the former light heavyweight champ, and this time, there were no questions about whether the fight should have been stopped. While Pereira generates massive hype, some observers are questioning the approach Prochazka took in the fight. Recently, Tristar’s Firas Zahabi took Jiri to task over the fact that he attempted no takedowns in the contest. On Zahabi’s YouTube channel, the renowned coach said this about Prochazka’s game plan at UFC 303:

“You’d think Jiri would have like 10 more years under his belt in wrestling and still, he didn’t even feint a takedown. He tried one little clinch. He didn’t even knock on that door. Very disappointing strategy by Jiri. Jiri was just seemingly happy to strike. And I will tell you, within the first minute of round one, within the first minute of round one, Pereira had landed like four kicks and you could tell he was already hurting Jiri’s leg.”

Zahabi isn’t the only person wondering why Prochazka didn’t take the fight to the ground sooner and more often. While Pereira’s leg kicks may have compromised Jiri’s movement, Zahabi has a point. Prochazka has nearly 40 pro MMA fights under his belt, and it’s hard to imagine his overall MMA game isn’t more complete than Pereira’s. That said, recently, the Czech Samurai reportedly revealed he was battling a staph infection before UFC 303. CNN Prima recently shared this comment from the popular fighter:

“The last two weeks have been healthwise, even though I said everything was fine, it wasn’t. This was manifested by staphylococcus, a spot on the body after a tick bite, an unhealed wound on the leg, a cramp in the back after heavy lifting.”

So, what do you think? Could that help explain why Jiri didn’t use his wrestling and clinch game? Was he thinking he might not have the gas to do so, or does Pereira deserve all the credit for shutting Jiri down with leg kicks and finishing him with that high kick in round two?

Beneil Dariush on Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan!

Many believe that aside from Islam Makhachev’s knockout loss to Adriano Martins, the man who pushed him the most in the Octagon was Arman Tsarukyan. As a result, many are buzzing about how a second fight between the two will play out and whether we could hear “and new” after the rematch. Recently, Beneil Dariush was asked to weigh in on the expected fight. It sounds like the lightweight contender is expecting another close contest. Dariush believes Makhachev should be the favorite. While talking to the media recently, Beneil offered this take:

“Man, I thought he looked really good. I thought he looked really good against Charles. Charles is a very difficult fight for most people, you know, and he was able to pull it off. I think Arman has a really good shot against Islam, but I would favor Islam. You know, it’s like a 60-40 or 55-45 fight. It’s going to be close. Just what I think. I think Makhachev is better at energy conservation.”

Islam has received praise for his cardio on more than one occasion, and given Dariush has long been one of the best lightweights on the planet, it would be silly to dismiss his analysis. It’s also worth noting that he fought Arman last December and was quickly taken out by the surging fighter. In Tsarukyan’s last outing, he narrowly got by Oliveira with a split decision win at UFC 300, while Islam choked “Du Bronx” out in their 2022 scrap. Do those results mean Makhachev should be a big favorite against Arman in their rematch? No, but there’s no denying that Makhachev has been dominant over the last couple of years. His first fight with Alexander Volkanovski was a lot closer than many expected, but that fight was pushed to the back of many people’s minds after Islam knocked out Volkanovski in the rematch.

UFC Fight Updates!

Now, let’s take a look at some fights that have been added to the UFC’s upcoming schedule. The UFC continues to book fights for the promotion’s September 14th event at The Sphere. Not surprisingly, more Mexican fighters have been added to the card, which honors Mexican Independence Day. Case in point, MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura recently reported that Mexican flyweight Edgar Chairez will face Peru’s Kevin Borjas at the UFC’s September 14th Sphere show. Additionally, another flyweight bout has been booked for UFC 306, where Mexico’s Ronaldo Rodriguez will battle America’s Ode’ Osbourne. ESPN Deportes’ Carlos Contreras Legaspi first reported this fight.

Marcel Dorff recently shared that New York’s Charalampos Grigoriou has announced he will battle Japanese bantamweight Toshiyomi Kazama on August 10th. That event will take place at UFC Vegas at the Apex. Finally, Dorff also reported that France’s Nora Cornolle will face former bantamweight champion, Dutch fighter Germaine de Randamie, at the UFC’s September 28th card in Paris.

DDP Says Sean Strickland vs. Robert Whittaker Needs to Happen!

Up next, Dricus Du Plessis (DDP) says Sean Strickland versus Robert Whittaker needs to happen. Sean Strickland has reportedly said he plans to wait on the sidelines until he gets another shot at the UFC’s middleweight crown and has scoffed at the idea of fighting Robert Whittaker in a title shot eliminator. However, this hasn’t stopped people from calling for the fight, including DDP, who currently holds the middleweight belt.

Since Strickland defeated Paulo Costa at UFC 302, he has made it clear that he plans to wait for a title shot. Strickland continued to maintain that stance after Whittaker quickly put away Ikram Aliskerov at UFC Saudi Arabia last month. Strickland believes that since he narrowly lost to Du Plessis in January and beat Adesanya last September, he should face the winner of the DDP vs. Adesanya fight on August 17th. However, Du Plessis sees it differently and believes the UFC will make Whittaker vs. Strickland a reality. Speaking to Submission Radio, the South African fighter said:

“In my opinion, if I was… how I see this playing out, you cannot not do the Whittaker vs. Strickland fight. I think that’s the fight that needs to happen. Now, I know Strickland, when we were at the press conference, said Whittaker is nothing but a blitz and an easy fight. And now he doesn’t want to take that fight. Let me tell you one thing: Robert Whittaker is no easy fight for anybody. Strickland is also an incredible fighter. That’s just a fight that makes so much sense. You can main event that fight on any card. And I honestly think that’s how it’s going to play out. I think the UFC will make Whittaker vs. Strickland, and ultimately, that will determine who’s the number one contender.”

DDP is right. Whittaker vs. Strickland could headline a card, and with the UFC’s busy schedule, they are always looking for headlining fights that can draw in fans. Additionally