Valter
Walker's teammates love him, and for good reason.
Walker (16-1) has a loud personality that would put many extroverts
to shame. However, the boisterous
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight's teammates, who
aren't men of too many words, absolutely adore him. Walker's
teammate Muhammad
Saidov (10-0) recently revealed a heartwarming story about “The
Foot Hunter.â€
Valter Walker's Gor MMA teammate Muhammad Saidov shares story
of fighter's generosity
Saidov claims Walker snuck money into his kit bag multiple times
when he was going through financial hardship. Walker also bought
protein for Saidov, never letting anyone know about his small acts
of kindness. The unbeaten Russian wholeheartedly loves his
teammate, regardless of his antics.
“I love Valter very much,†Saidov told Red Corner MMA. “Although
his mentality differs from us; he's a very good-natured guy… He is
not selfish at all. He is a very kind and straightforward person… A
friendly and vibrant person, he is always there to help. Even when
I have some financial troubles, he secretly puts cash in my bag. I
would come home from training, take my stuff out to do the laundry,
and find some money in there. Once he bought some protein for me.
And he does those things quietly… I have only got very warm
feelings towards him.â€
Walker's team, Gor
MMA, had a lot of representation at
UFC Abu Dhabi. Saidov started the night well for the team with
a second-round stoppage win over Dustin
Jacoby. Walker followed immediately after, making Thomas
Petersen tap to a calf-slicer in hardly over 90 seconds.
This was Walker’s fifth consecutive submission win. Meanwhile,
Bodgan Guskov led the charge for their gym in a main event clash
against Magomed
Ankalaev. Guskov had stepped up to fight on 14 days' notice but
fell short in a last-round stoppage loss.
“Valter
Walker used to secretly put cash in my gym bag when I needed
money.”
UFC newcomer Magomed
Saidov, who scored a TKO over Dustin
Jacoby in his debut, shares how Valter
Walker quietly helped him during difficult times, revealing the
UFC heavyweight would secretly put money… pic.twitter.com/2rmXtzLBOO
Ian
Garry's failed title bid didn't deter him from lecturing
Michael
Morales backstage.
Morales (19-0) was in attendance when Garry (17-2) challenged
Islam
Makhachev (29-1) for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title in the main
event of UFC
330. Despite suffering a unanimous decision loss, Garry gave
Makhachev a tough test and took a moment backstage to talk to
potentially the next challenger to the 170-pound title, Morales,
who weighed in as a backup for UFC 330.
Ian Garry calls for new wave of fighters to avoid trash talk
while confronting Michael Morales
Garry confronted Morales backstage about their recent feud while
the undefeated Ecuadorian barely responded.
“All the s*** you talk, it’s OK. Make sure you back it up,†Garry
said. “I don’t know whatever story you made up about meeting me;
I’ve never encountered that sort, you know that, right? Listen,
you’re a good fighter. Show up, keep winning, and you can do
anything. Does that make sense? You’ve got massive fights in this
division. You’ve got me, you’ve got [Carlos] Prates, you’ve got
Islam. Show up and fight. Does that make sense?â€
Garry then talked up Morales before once again urging him to avoid
trash talk.
“You’re an animal,†Garry added. “You’re strong. I don’t know about
any story where I’ve met you and I’ve talked sh*t to you. In this
sport, people talk sh*t; I ignore it. You’re a good fighter. You’re
young, you’re strong up here, and that means you can do anything.
That makes sense? Spread good, do good. You knock people out, you
beat people up, that’s what gets respect. There are too many people
in this sport talking sh*t, being negative. We're the new
generation of the sport; change it.â€
The
beef started with an alleged altercation between Garry and a
teammate of Morales at the UFC Performance Institute. Morales later
claimed that Garry had already left when he arrived at the P.I. to
back his friend. While Morales is rallying for the next
welterweight title shot, Makhachev considers Carlos
Prates the most deserving contender.
Neil
Magny believes he can close the gap on Jim Miller
for the most wins in
Ultimate Fighting Championship history.
Magny (32-14) scored a second-round stoppage win over Ramiz
Brahimaj at UFC
330. The win saw him surpass Max
Holloway and tie Charles
Oliveira for the second-most wins in UFC history (25). Magny is
now only behind Miller (28). “The Haitian Sensation†believes he
will eventually tie or break Miller’s record.
Neil Magny moves within three wins of Jim Miller after UFC
330
Magny has fought the who's who of the UFC welterweight division
since making his debut in the promotion in 2013. The 39-year-old is
the unofficial gatekeeper to the top tier of the division, having
shared the cage with all current 170-pound championship contenders
and derailed several hype trains previously. Still going strong, he
sees himself eventually becoming the all-time leader for Octagon
wins.
“I think Father Time is working in my favor to catch up to Jim,â€
Magny said at the post-fight press conference. “From durability and
timing, I think I can catch that record eventually.â€
Top-ranked contenders Shavkat
Rakhmonov, Ian Garry,
Michael
Morales, Carlos
Prates, and most recently, Yaroslav
Amosov are among those who bested Magny, all of whom are in and
around the title mix. Meanwhile, he's upset several surging
contenders during their ascents, including Mike Malott,
Jake
Matthews and Daniel
Rodriguez.
Neil Magny is
hot on the heels of Jim Miller’s
all-time #UFC
win record after his performance at #UFC330:
“I think Father Time is working in my favor to catch up to Jim. …
From durability and timing, I think I can catch that record
eventually.” pic.twitter.com/d1PC2EKm1g
Lucas
Fernando likely wouldn't have debuted in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship if not for his wife.
Fernando (14-3) made his promotional debut against Rafael
Tobias at UFC
330. He put on a striking clinic before dropping Tobias with a
knee to the body and finishing him with vicious follow-up shots in
the third round.
Lucas Fernando rebounded from DWCS and LFA losses to earn his
UFC opportunity
Fernando called his wife during the post-fight press conference and
said he couldn't wait to return to her in Brazil after being in the
U.S. for a month. He also credited his wife for talking him out of
quitting mixed martial arts after his loss on
Dana White's Contender Series in 2023. While Fernando was
skeptical about fully committing to the sport after his defeat, his
wife convinced him to pursue his dream of a UFC career.
“My wife, I miss her a lot,†Fernando said at the post-fight
presser. “I've been in the United States for a month training, so I
can't wait to go home… After the loss in Contender, I called her up
and said, ‘You know, maybe this is not for me. I should look for
something else. Or maybe shouldn't dedicate to this 100%. She said
no. She believed in me, she supported me, she supported this dream
of mine to be in the UFC.â€
Fernando suffered a decision loss against Cesar
Almeida at DWCS in 2023, which was followed by another defeat
in the
Legacy Fighting Alliance. He then rebounded with four
consecutive wins that saw him win and defend the LFA light
heavyweight title twice to earn another shot at the UFC.
#UFC330’s
Lucas
Fernando admits his wife talked him out of walking away from
MMA after his failed DWCS loss:
“She believed in me, she supported me, and she’s always supported
this dream of being in the UFC.” pic.twitter.com/jkcP6Wnzpk