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Morning Report: Chael Sonnen claims security guard asked him to arrange Dana White meeting, UFC fight

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3 months ago

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Morning Report: Chael Sonnen claims security guard asked him to arrange Dana White meeting, UFC fight

Chael Sonnen might have just kickstarted a UFC hopeful's fighting career.

The former two-division title contender has told many a tall tale in his day, so take this one with a grain of salt, but his latest story portrays him as the benevolent businessman willing to lend a helping hand. According to Sonnen, a recent trip to Las Vegas saw him unwittingly become beholden to a security guard after he helped Sonnen and his son find a washroom. When Sonnen told the guard, “I owe you one,†the words were taken quite literally and Sonnen was taken up on his offer almost immediately.

“Frank Solomon, the security guard, calls me over about three minutes later,†Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “He says, ‘Hey, I'm ready to cash in on that.'

“‘Cash in on what?'

“‘Cash in on that favor. You just said you owe me a favor. I'm ready to cash in on that. I'd like to meet with Dana White. Like to do a fight in the UFC.'

“That's a pretty big ask, Frank Solomon. I don't know that I can get you in front of Dana White. ‘Do you have a record? Do you have an amateur record?' He said, ‘Well, I wrestled in high school.‘ This is a big guy. I mean, this guy ain't going to be an easy night for anybody even before I find out about his training, but I do ask and he says, ‘I was a wrestler in high school, but I also did track and field. Pretty fast.' And he just had a great attitude. Now, the mere fact that he would take a shot, because he had access to me, to get into Dana White's office for a face to face, the mere fact that he would take a shot isn't something I laugh at. That's something that I respected.â€

Unsurprisingly, Sonnen didn't immediately rush to his former boss to pitch Solomon, explaining that he would usually go through a standard vetting process before discussing a potential signing with White. However, he made a more realistic counteroffer to Solomon, telling him how he could take the first steps to fighting his way to the UFC, and Solomon passed that psychological test with flying colors.

“I'll put a ‘stooge test' out there, which is to find out will they do something less?†Sonnen said. “Are they willing to earn access? Are they willing to earn that or they want to just be given that? That was my stooge test to Frank Solomon. This was his chance on Monday when we speak to go, ‘Hey, I'm out.' Frank tells me something different.

“He says, ‘Oh yeah, I'm fine if it's not Dana. I didn't really mean UFC. I meant MMA. I want to get out there. I got a message. I want people to understand. You don't have to grow up doing this since you're 10 years old. You can learn things later in life.' He's got this whole message, which was halfway inspirational, by the way, and then he tells me, ‘I'll even pay to do it.' Now, I would never accept that, and I would never put him in contact with anybody that allowed him to pay to do it, but it was the the the principle. ‘I want this so bad that I am willing to start at the bottom.' Alright, Frank Solomon.â€

Sonnen put in a call to Oregen promoter Kevin Keeney, the owner of Full Contact Fighting Federation, which has has seen several future UFC fighters pass through its gates including Sonnen himself. If Sonnen's story is to be believed, Solomon is now set to make his MMA debut in September and Sonnen will be in the house to watch him.

“Within four minutes of getting in touch with Kevin Keeney, getting the website, [Solomon] fills out this application,†Sonnen said. “He is booked for a fight. He is coming to Oregon. I believe the date is September 5. I'd have to look, it's off the top of my head. I'm hoping to be there so that I can watch and lend a little bit of support. But I just thought you'd think that was an interesting story, and I'm not sure what to do with it.

“I threw out ‘I owe you one' to this guy. That's an expression. If I owe you one, I'll always do it, but I didn't even mean it. It was just something you say. ‘What's up?' It means ‘Hello.' But it was said, and three minutes later, he told me he wanted to cash in. Alright, Frank. Let's cash in.â€

Mailbag. Which UFC fighters would make the best Odyssey cast?

Next? Magomed Ankalaev could fight Paolo Costa next to silence “Borrachinha.â€

Comeback. Anthony Joshua survived a shocking pair of knockdowns to come back and beat Kristian Prenga.

Comeback! Getting kicked out of the ring didn't stop bare-knuckle boxer from securing a win.

Champion. Thad Jean defeated last-minute replacement Ernesto Rodriguez

Rough. Steve Garcia says “It broke me†when he had to tell his son about UFC White House loss.

Arrival. Former KSW star and recent MVP MMA standout Salahdine Parnasse is set to headline UFC Paris.

Smoke. Fighter *gasp* lights up a joint to celebrate win.

UFC Abu Dhabi post-fight show.

The Prop Quiz King is here.

Wrestling with Aljo and D.C.

Ankalaev won… or did he?!?!?!?

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

“What are you gonna do, punch me?â€

I could have done with a couple of corner stoppages.

Mark Vologdin (12-4-2) vs. Borislav Nikolic (16-2); UFC Belgrade, Aug. 1

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Henry Cejudo (wrestling); RAF 12, Aug. 22

Mike Perry (15-8) vs. Dillon Danis (2-0); Duel Arena 1, Aug. 29

Salahdine Parnasse (23-2) vs. Dan Hooker (24-14); UFC Paris, Sept. 5

David Martinez (14-1) vs. Dan Ige (19-11); Noche UFC 4, Sept. 12

Ignacio Bahamondes (17-7) vs. Muslim Salikhov (22-6); Noche UFC 4, Sept. 12

Renato Moicano (21-7-1) vs. Brian Ortega (16-5, 1 NC); UFC 331, Sept. 19

Patricio Pitbull (37-9) vs. Doo Ho Choi (17-4-1); UFC 331, Sept. 19

Casey O'Neill (11-2) vs. Eduarda Moura (12-2); UFC 331, Sept. 19

Colby Covington vs. Belal Muhammad (wrestling); RAF 13, Sept. 19

Who makes the cut for the Meshew Foster Family?

Jed's Boys

If we had to come up with a list of “Jed's Boysâ€, one per weight class, who do you think he would choose?

Rec 1ReplyRead 8 replies

I can think of one UFC headliner climbing the charts…

Who’s the most boring great fighter of all time?

Was just reading the reaction to Ank’s latest win and it got me thinking about who would be the greatest technical fighter who was successful but massively boring.

Your opinions please.

Rec 1ReplyRead 69 replies

If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKLee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and like us on Facebook.

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Johnny Walker wanted to take it slow at heavyweight, then UFC called

Published

11 hours ago

on

November 8, 2026

By

Johnny Walker wanted to take it slow at heavyweight, then UFC called
Johnny
Walker's heavyweight run is going faster than he planned.

Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights Sean Brady
and Gabriel
Bonfim were originally scheduled to headline
UFC Vegas 124 on Nov. 7 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. However,
Brady pulled out because of a severe staph infection and the
promotion didn't book a replacement to keep Bonfim on the card.
Walker then accepted the headlining matchup against Waldo
Cortes-Acosta on nine days' notice.

What a victory over Waldo Cortes-Acosta could mean for Johnny
Walker

Walker (23-10, 1 NC) made his heavyweight debut against Mick Parkin
in October, scoring a bonus-winning first-round knockout. The
former light heavyweight recently revealed he originally wanted to
take things slow in his new weight class.

“I was thinking to take small steps and go slow in the division,â€
Walker said at media day ahead of UFC Vegas 124. “See how I feel at
heavyweight. That was my plan. God had different plans than me. God
has better plans for me.â€

Cortes-Acosta (17-4) was riding a three-fight win streak before
losing to Alexander
Volkov and Curtis
Blaydes this year. A win over “Salsa Boy†will launch Walker
into the heavyweight Top 10 in just his second appearance in the
division.

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MMA

Ilia Topuria goes in on Paddy Pimblett, open to coaching against him on The Ultimate Fighter

Published

12 hours ago

on

November 8, 2026

By

Ilia Topuria goes in on Paddy Pimblett, open to coaching against him on The Ultimate Fighter

Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett might finally be ready to fight each other.

For years, Topuria and Pimblett have been embroiled in a heated rivalry, but the two have yet to settle things in the cage. After Topuria won the lightweight title last year, Pimblett even entered the cage to set up a showdown between the two. Ultimately, that never materialized as Topuria took time off for personal reasons and Pimblett lost an interim lightweight title fight with Justin Gaethje in January.

But after Topuria also lost to Gaethje in their title unification bout at UFC White House, the path is now clear for the two to settle their bad blood, and Topuria says there's even the possibility that their rivalry will headline the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

“Paddy, Paddy, Paddy… I'll eat him up like the sausage he is!†Topuria told ABC.es. “There are no easy opponents. Paddy's a guy to be reckoned with, but come on, with that head of his, you just aim the punch that way and hit him.

“I've heard some rumors [about The Ultimate Fighter], but I haven't had any conversations with the UFC. I don't know what their interests are. When we resume talks with them, we'll see if we're on the same page. There are still good times ahead, but what matters most to me is getting back to training, feeling healthy and well, and then we'll be ready for whatever comes up.â€

While there's still no official word on whether or not the UFC is interested in Topuria and Pimblett coaching opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter, Pimblett has also called for it, suggesting the two could “bring the ratings back†to the program. Also, unsurprisingly, Pimblett thinks he would get the better of Topuria, both on the show and in the cage, which Topuria disputes.

â€If you listen to him, he'll say, ‘He beats me at everything,' but I beat him at anything I want,†Topuria said. “After a loss, it's hard to talk about these things, but Paddy, on the ground, just grappling, doesn't win a single point against me. He doesn't take me down, he doesn't pass my guard, he doesn't do anything. I don't see him as being any better than me on the ground. He's a pushover, he's got a sausage body, he thinks his size gives him an advantage, but he can't do anything.

“He's not like Justin. Justin is a dog; he knows how to dodge punches, he's very experienced, and he's very freestyle. He does things that, to me, are poorly executed, but they're effective. Paddy has nothing, no knockout punch, no unexpected takedowns, no submissions out of nowhere. Paddy is very predictable; you can see his intentions.â€

And if the Pimblett fight does materialize and Topuria looks as impressive as he thinks he will, then “El Matador†believes that even the welterweight title fight with Islam Makhachev that he lost when Gaethje upset him could be back on the table.

“Everything can make sense again, of course,†Topuria said. “Yeah, it's going out there for my next fight, knocking out Paddy, and everyone's going to be like, ‘WOW, look how focused Ilia is!' You're only as good as your last fight.â€

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UFC Vegas 124: 'Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker' Live Results and Highlights

Published

1 day ago

on

November 7, 2026

By

UFC Vegas 124: 'Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker' Live Results and Highlights
Trending:

Dricus du Plessis' move to light heavyweight teased by next potential opponent

The Octagon remains at the Apex for tonight's UFC Vegas 124 event, a 14-bout fight card headlined by Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker.

Cortes-Acosta (17-4 MMA) will enter this evening's main event with hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid. ‘Salsa Boy' is coming off unanimous decision losses to Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov in his most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those setbacks, Waldo had strung together three straight stoppage wins, including a second-round TKO victory over Derrick Lewis.

Meanwhile, Johnny Walker (23-10 MMA) made his return to heavyweight last month and scored first-round knockout victory over Mick Parkin. The 34-year-old Brazilian has gone 2-3 over his past five fights overall.

UFC Vegas 124 is co-headlined by a women's strawweight bout between perennial division contenders Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba.

Suarez (12-1 MMA) will enter the contest on a two-fight winning streak, this after scoring victories over Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez in her most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those triumphs, Tatiana had suffered her first career loss at the hands of Weili Zhang in a bout for the women's strawweight title.

Meanwhile, Virna Jandiroba (23-4 MMA) most previously competed this past April, where she scored a unanimous decision victory over Tabatha Ricci. Prior to that, ‘Carcará' dropped a decision to Mackenzie Dern in a fight for the promotion's then vacant strawweight title at UFC 321.

Get all of tonight's live results and highlights below (refresh for updates):

UFC Vegas 124 Main Card (8pm EST on Paramount+)

265 lbs: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker – Walker def. Cortes-Acosta via TKO at 2:27 of Round 3

115 lbs: Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba – Suarez def. Jandiroba by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

135 lbs: Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith – Smith def. Grant via KO (punches) at 1:00 of Round 1

205 lbs: Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando – Fernando def. Elekana by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

135 lbs: Priscila Cachoeira vs. Nina Milosevic – Milosevic def. Cachoeira via TKO (elbows and punches) at 3:40 of Round 2

125 lbs: Mitch Raposo vs. Marcos Degli – Raposo def. Degli by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

UFC Vegas 124 Prelims (5pm EST on Paramount+)

145 lbs: Ollie Schmid vs. Keiichiro Nakamura – Schmid def. Nakamura by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

265 lbs: Thomas Petersen vs. Gabriel Lorenco – Peterson def. via TKO (punches) at 4:47 of Round 3

125 lbs: Karine Silva vs. Gabriella Fernandes – Silva def. Fernandes by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

145 lbs: Murtazali Magomedov vs. Jose Delano – Magomedov def. Delano by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

145 lbs: Austin Bashi vs. Carlos Calderon – Bashi def. Calderon via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:07 of Round 1

185 lbs: Andre Petroski vs. Mantas Kondratavicius – Petroski def. Kondratavicius via TKO (ground and pound) at 4:39 of Round 2

170 lbs: Seokhyeon Ko vs. Wellington Turman – Ko def. Turman by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

170 lbs: Jose Souza vs. Jonny Parsons – Souza def. Parsons via KO (punches) at 4:16 of Round 2

Who are you picking to emerge victorious in tonight's heavyweight main event between Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Johnny Walker? Share your predictions in the comment section Penn Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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