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Navajo Stirling recalls fighter having mental breakdown before DWCS bout

Published

3 weeks ago

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Navajo Stirling recalls fighter having mental breakdown before DWCS bout
Navajo
Stirling saw a fighter in shambles right before his
Dana White's Contender Series bout.

Stirling earned his
Ultimate Fighting Championship contract with a knockout win on
Contender Series in 2024. He was sharing the locker room with
Quemuel
Ottoni, who was set to face Kody
Steele. Ottoni eventually didn't make the walk to the Octagon
and Stirling has now detailed what happened behind the scenes.

Navajo Stirling recalls Quemuel Ottoni's dramatic Dana White's
Contender Series fight-week incident

Stirling (10-0) recently revealed that Ottoni (12-4) was aggressive
towards Steele, and even other fighters, throughout fight week
until the weigh-ins. However, the Brazilian's nerves got the better
of him right before stepping out for his bout and he allegedly
started crying backstage, even ripping off his hand wraps multiple
times.

Cutman Brad Tate, who was in charge of wrapping Ottoni, refused to
repeat it after a point. The bout was eventually called off and
Steele won his contract in a later Contender Series outing.

“The guy that was on Contenders [Series] was probably the worst
one,†Stirling told Full Send MMA. “He was fighting Kody Steele. He
choked out Alex
Pereira back in the day. I was in the locker room with him… At
the weigh-ins, he is puffing his chest, he is even looking at me,
like, ‘You wanna go?' I'm like, ‘Bro, save it for tomorrow.' He's
staunching Kody Steele out at the weigh-ins. And I was thinking,
‘This is going to be a banger.' We get to the fight night and he
just started crying. He took his gloves off three or four times.
They had to re-wrap his hands. I think he had cutman Tate. The
cutman said, ‘F*ck this guy, I'm not wrapping his hands
anymore.'â€

Both Tate and Steele have confirmed Stirling's story about Ottoni,
who had choked out UFC superstar Pereira in the latter's
professional MMA debut in 2015. Ottoni and Pereira's careers have
taken contrasting trajectories since. While Pereira went on to
become a two-division champion, Ottoni is yet to make it out of the
regional scene. He has fought only once since the Contender Series
fiasco, suffering a first-round technical knockout loss.

Meanwhile, the undefeated Stirling already has five UFC wins to his
name. The Kiwi is now scheduled to face Jan
Blachowicz (29-11) on less than three weeks' notice at
UFC Belgrade in Serbia on Aug. 1.

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MMA

Next up? Islam Makhachev names most deserving title challenger

Published

4 hours ago

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August 17, 2026

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Next up? Islam Makhachev names most deserving title challenger
Islam
Makhachev has named the ideal next challenger for his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title.

Makhachev retained his belt with a hard-fought victory over
Ian
Garry at UFC
330 in Philadelphia. The Russian revealed that Carlos
Prates is the preferred next opponent after recording his first
title defense at welterweight.

Islam Makhachev backs Carlos Prates for next UFC welterweight
title shot

Prates and Michael
Morales, who were both in attendance at UFC 330, are in the
running for the next title shot, with Makhachev believing the
Brazilian currently has the stronger case. He dismissed Shavkat
Rakhmonov, who's been sidelined with injuries since December
2024, and Morales, who hasn't been as active as Prates.

“If you ask me today, Shavkat [Rakhmonov] is not fighting; Prates
is still fighting, still active,†Makhachev said during the
Paramount+ post-fight show. “Morales also is good, but I don't
remember the last time he fought. If you ask who is more deserving,
I think Carlos Prates.â€

Morales and Rakhmonov are both unbeaten, while Prates holds a
record of 24-7. The latter's last loss came against Garry in April
2025, but he has remained active since then, picking up finishes
against Geoff Neal
and two former champs: Leon
Edwards and Jack
Della Maddalena.

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MMA

UFC champion blasts retired coach for ’sh*t’ performance at UFC 330

Published

5 hours ago

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August 17, 2026

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UFC champion blasts retired coach for ’sh*t’ performance at UFC 330

Sean Strickland has harsh words for Din Thomas after UFC 330.

A former fighter and veteran MMA coach, Thomas ended up at the center of a social media storm this past weekend after announcing his retirement from corner work following his fighter Gillian Robertson's loss to strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern in Saturday's UFC 330 co-main event.

Following Din's comments, fans and media members criticized Thomas for choosing a low moment to abandon Robertson, who he's coached for years. Now, Strickland is adding his two cents and he's not being diplomatic about it.

“Din Thomas is a f*cking c*nt,†Strickland wrote on Twitter. “I've had my ass kicked in multiple weight classes through my career and won two titles. You're a dickhead. It's probably better you retire. You're a shit coach.

“You only lose when you quit. Din sounds like you're a f*cking loser.â€

Strickland's response carries some weight given his own career experiences. As he pointed out, he began his career as a promising welterweight with an uneven record before moving up to 185 pounds where he established himself as a contender before breaking through and winning a UFC title with a memorable upset of Israel Adesanya in 2023. He is currently in his second reign as middleweight champion after defeating the previously unbeaten Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 this past May.

Whether Thomas intended to slight Robertson or not, his retirement announcement came at an awkward time given how his fighter struggled in her five-round loss to Dern. Robertson went 5-0 after dropping down to 115 pounds to earn her title shot and was aiming to become Canada's first UFC champion since Georges St-Pierre.

Strickland defended Robertson's effort replying to a Twitter commenter.

“He's just a c*nt,†Strickland said. “Girl goes out there and tries to do something and you put her down. Dickhead.â€

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MMA

Mackenzie Dern names three potential opponents following UFC 330 win

Published

5 hours ago

on

August 17, 2026

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Mackenzie Dern names three potential opponents following UFC 330 win
Mackenzie
Dern has already started looking ahead after defending her

Ultimate Fighting Championship title.

Dern (17-5) thoroughly outclassed Gillian
Robertson at UFC
330, using her grappling to secure a unanimous decision and
retain the strawweight belt in Philadelphia. She's now name-dropped
who could be next in line for a title shot.

Mackenzie Dern names Weili Zhang, Tatiana Suarez and Lupita
Godinez as possible UFC title challengers

When asked in a post-fight interview who she could face next, Dern
initially admitted she's unsure. She claimed the next challenger
for the 115-pound throne could be Tatiana
Suarez (12-1), Lupita
Godinez (14-6), or former champ Weili Zhang
(26-4).

“I know there's Tatiana, Weili… Who else? Lupita could be coming up
pretty soon,†Dern said.

Godinez is unlikely next in line, having lost three of her last
five bouts. Moreover, the Mexican contender has already lost to
Dern.

Suarez previously challenged for UFC gold, losing to Zhang in
February last year. The former then bounced back with two wins,
beating Amanda
Lemos and Godinez. Meanwhile, Zhang vacated the title after
beating Suarez to challenge for the women's flyweight title, but
lost to current 125-pound queen Valentina
Shevchenko.

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