標籤: Shawn

The UFC 328 card delivered not one, but two championship matches on Saturday night. In the night’s co-main event, flyweight king Joshua Wan silenced some skeptics about his UFC 323 title victory by defeating Tatsuro Taira in a back-and-forth battle to retain his title with a big fifth-round score.

In the evening’s headliner, Sean Strickland proved the oddsmakers wrong when he was able to slow down the wrestling game of Khamzat Chimaev to begin his second reign as UFC middleweight champion. After those two big fights, let’s see where Strickland and Vann land in our new UFC pound-for-pound rankings.

10. Tom Aspinall (15-3)

Englishman Tom Aspinall is the best heavyweight in the UFC. It became official when MMA GOAT Jon Jones decided to step away from the sport earlier this year. The Englishman has defeated many of the best fighters in the division over the past three years and is the undisputed leader in the eyes of most UFC fans.

After definitively avenging the only defeat of his UFC career in the summer of 2024, he made his first defense of the undisputed title in October. Unfortunately, a nasty blow from opponent Cyril Game ended the UFC 321 main event after just a few minutes. An immediate rematch in early 2026 appears likely.

9.Joshua Vann (16-2)

Joshua Vann has quietly put in an impressive performance in the Octagon. At UFC 317, he got his big opportunity in a clash with top-five veteran Brandon Royval and earned a hard-fought career-defining decision victory. The win earned the Myanmar native a championship opportunity at UFC 323.

In the card’s co-main event, he became the second youngest champion, but it was bittersweet when Pantoja suffered a non-contact injury to his elbow, leading to an immediate end to the fight in Round 1. He’s the new king of the division, but he didn’t earn the top spot in that fight.

8. Charles Oliveira (36-11)

Charles Oliveria holds several UFC records and is considered one of the greatest Brazilian MMA fighters of all time. There’s a lot to like about his fighting style, and his resume is full of big wins. But age catches up with everyone, and it has taken its toll on “Du Bronx” over the years as he has split his last four fights.

Since he is out of the title picture, the former lightweight king decided to pursue the BMF title in March instead. At UFC 326, Oliveira had the best performance of his career, as he completely dominated fellow future Hall of Famer Max Holloway to win his second championship in the company.

7. Merab Dvalishvili

Merab Davlishvili is truly “The Machine”. His tenacity and wrestling have turned him into one of the best bantamweights on the planet. If there were any doubts after his 2024 win over Sean O’Malley, he silenced them with an even more decisive rematch victory at UFC 316.

Following that fight, the champ put his gold on the line against fan-favorite Cory Sandhagen at UFC 320, and like his previous 13 fights, he dominated with his wrestling and cardio. He seems invincible at this time.

6. Shawn Strickland (31-7)

Wildman Sean Strickland may not be the brightest fighter in UFC middleweight history, but he has consistently proven to be a tough test for the world’s best, which is why he proved many doubters wrong by winning UFC gold in 2023.

While he lost in his first defense two years ago, “Tarzan” battled back for a title opportunity at UFC 328 in May, and shocked the MMA world when he ended Khamzat Chimaev’s dominance to become a two-time UFC middleweight champion.

5.Petr Yan (20-5)

The three consecutive losses led many to wonder if Petr Yan’s days as a top five bantamweight were over. However, his recent wins over Yadon Song, Deiveson Figueiredo and Marcus McGhee helped rebuild his title contender status. Earning a title shot at UFC 323.

In a rematch with a man who had defeated him two years earlier, the Russian was the greatest version of himself as he decisively defeated Merab Dvalishvili to become a two-time bantamweight champion. “No Mercy” proved that he is fully back to being an elite fighter in the world.

4. Alexander Volkanovski (28-4)

Alexander Volkanovski has solidified his place as the best featherweight of all time. However, a move up in weight for a second title shot and the rise of Ilya Topuria led to “The Great” suffering three consecutive losses and speculation that his best days were behind him.

However, he has bounced back from those setbacks to establish his dominance at 145 pounds with back-to-back wins over Diego Lopes. Most recently appearing in front of his countrymen at UFC 325. Although he did not get the finish, he once again proved that he is a cut above the Brazilian native.

3. Alex Pereira (12-3)

Alex Pereira’s UFC story is legendary. After nine fights, he became a two-division champion and scored devastating victories over some of the best fighters of the era at middleweight and light heavyweight. The 38-year-old has been a revelation for the company and has connected with the MMA fanbase with a fighting approach similar to cage fighting icon Fedor Emelianenko.

After being on the wrong side of a disappointing decision loss in March, the Brazilian returned with a vengeance at UFC 320. He came out of the gate in his rematch with Magomed Ankalev and blew him away in a matter of minutes to regain his place at the top of the division.

2. Ilya Topuria (17-0)

Ilya Topuria will go down as one of the greatest featherweights of all time. But instead of further enhancing his 145-pound resume, “El Matador” moved to lightweight in search of history. Well, he achieved the feat in June by becoming just the 10th fighter to win gold in two divisions. Crushing former 155 pound champion Charles Oliveria and adding him to his hit list of veterans.

1. Islam Makhachev (28-1)

Islam Makhachev has solidified his place as one of the greatest UFC lightweights of all time with his wins over Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski (twice) and Charles Oliveira. Not only is he a dominant wrestler, but he has one of the most underrated standup games in the game.

At UFC 322, he made his mark in UFC history when he moved up in weight and became the latest fighter to win titles in two divisions, as he became the new welterweight king with a dominant win over Jack Della Maddalena.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

The Carolina Hurricanes had a full plate as they prepared for a tough game against a Philadelphia Flyers team with their backs against the wall and a chance to stamp their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. However, one player had something else in mind and needed an incredibly important position.

Shawn Walker, the Hurricanes’ second-pairing defenseman, was far from Philadelphia on the morning of Game 4. Instead, he was in the air on his way back to Raleigh.

His wife, Taylor, was expecting. And it so happened that their first child was about to arrive soon.

“She called me at 1:00 at night – I was still awake and she said her water had broken,” Walker told the media after the game. “So, I immediately called ‘Brownie’, and thankfully there was a 6:00 a.m. flight.”

‘Brownie’, or rather, Michael Brown, is the Hurricanes Manager of Team Services: the man behind the team’s travel and logistics. Walker arrived in time for his daughter’s birth, with the undercarriage touching down back in Philadelphia at 2:00 p.m. Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon chartered a private jet so he would not miss the game.

“It was like one of the easiest and hardest games I’ve ever played, if that makes any sense.” Walker said. “You know, you just live in the moment – ​​going without sleep, I ate my pregame meal in the hospital cafeteria.

“Yeah, it’s absolutely crazy. But, you just show up, and the people were amazing. Everyone, from Team Services, the owner, the whole organization really made it possible for me to be there and get back on time.”

In Game 4, Walker had the second-most minutes among Hurricane skaters, with 23:13 of ice time, and he was first for the Hurricanes in hits, with three. He also recorded two shots on net and one takeaway.

Of course, being able to wrap up the series sooner was a joy that he expressed his gratitude for as he looked forward to reuniting with his family.

“I didn’t want to go up to the boys and tell them we better win tonight,” he said, laughing. “I really appreciate everyone — and this is huge for everyone, but spending this time with my family is going to be really special.”

Congratulations to both Shawn and Taylor!

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

There is no doubt that Shawn Strickland is one of the best 185-pound fighters on the planet. Because of the impressive resume he has built inside the Octagon, he deserves the top spot in our UFC middleweight rankings.

The 30-7 star has victories over some of the best middleweights of the last decade, including division legend Israel Adesanya. Additionally, seven of his losses inside the UFC have come against elite talents, including future Hall of Famers Alex Pereira and Kamaru Usman.

However, a major reason for their rise to fame, or rather infamy, is the lack of a filter between their brain and mouth. Fight fans are accustomed to bold hot takes from competitors. But Strickland lets fly with any and all ideas about social issues on media programs and social media. And in many instances, they provoked serious reactions because of how controversial they were.

Ahead of his return in the championship main event of UFC 328 this weekend, we take a look at some of Strickland’s most outrageous and controversial opinions.

Shawn Strickland doesn’t want women in the workforce

UFC fans have discovered over the years that the former middleweight champion is conservative in many of his views on society. This includes the roles of men and women in society, and in 2023, he stated that he would prefer women to stay at home and have children rather than be part of the American workforce.

“We need to go back to getting women out of the workforce, and maybe that’s where we went wrong, guys. We let women vote, no offense. Think about America before you let women vote… You let these women into the workforce, now we make less money, you’ve got kids raising themselves on TikTok, we need to go back to like 1942, maybe 1958, after dealing with the Germans. We let women in. “Needs to be put back in the kitchen.”

Sean Strickland hated Bad Bunny’s performance in the Super Bowl

One of the biggest stories of 2026 was music mega-star Bad Bunny – one of the most downloaded artists of all time – performing during the Super Bowl. The February demonstration became the most watched demonstration ever. But leading up to a fight against Anthony Hernandez in February, Strickland offered some anti-gay views on the NFL’s decision.

“I think they all gathered around a table and said, ‘You know, guys, how can we ruin this game? How can we make it gay? Why don’t we bring in a gay alien who doesn’t speak English and have him perform?'”

Bunny is Puerto Rican, which makes him a US citizen because Puerto Rico is a US commonwealth.

Shawn Strickland shows no love for women’s MMA

Next weekend will bring the most valuable promotion and a big first for Netflix. A mixed martial arts event headlined by female MMA legends Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. However, the middleweight title contender is not a fan of the upcoming bout between the 39-year-old and the 44-year-old.

“Ronda Rousey is going to steamroll her, and we’ll just see two middle-aged women going through menopause fight each other. I don’t know. I’m not interested in that. Who gives a s***?”

Sean Strickland wants opponent to die in cage?

Strickland has expressed a number of bizarre views on life and death over the years. However, the most controversial was a comment from five years ago in which he toyed with the idea of ​​ending an opponent’s life in the cage. This should have raised big red flags with the UFC brass.

“I would love nothing more than to beat someone up in the ring. Nothing more. That would make me extremely happy. I would also own that ***… Be a sociopath, it’s fun!”

The rise before UFC 328

On Saturday night, Strickland will get his second chance to become middleweight champion when he faces current title holder Khamzat Chimaev. It was always expected that the tension between the two foul-mouthed fighters would increase as we get closer to UFC 328.

The first salvo in trash talk came last week when Strickland suggested he might pull out a gun if Chimaev and his friends tried to confront him before their fight.

“I’ll just pull out my gun, and I can shoot him. If you come at me with three Chechen guys who don’t speak English, I’ll pull out my gun, and I’ll shoot each one of you.”

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

肖恩·迈克尔斯直接回答了职业摔角最常见的假设问题之一。

晚上 7 点在布鲁克林与卡梅隆·安东尼一起发表讲话，迈克尔斯解释了为什么他和巨石强森之间的梦幻比赛从未在摔跤狂热大赛上进行过，他也毫不讳言原因。

“他不喜欢我，”迈克尔斯说。 “我认为在他任职的这些年里，摔跤界发生了一场大混乱，亨特和我对他做了一些事情，卑鄙之类的。所有这些都被夸大了。所有这些都不准确，但这些都是他年轻时被喂饱的。但后来，直到今天，我们相处融洽，我们谈论一些事情。”

迈克尔斯将这种敌意归因于洛克在职业生涯早期传递的错误信息，声称迈克尔斯和 Triple H 虐待了他。他坚决反驳这些说法，称它们不准确且夸大其词，同时承认这种看法在很长一段时间内影响了洛克对他的感情。两人已经过去了，迈克尔斯指出，他们今天相处得很融洽，并互相交谈。

即使个人问题早点解决，时间安排也可能导致比赛无法进行。当迈克尔斯从休养了几年的背伤中恢复过来时，洛克已经过渡到好莱坞，不再是 WWE 的全职成员。

“我想这就是每个人都希望看到的，”迈克尔斯说（H/T to WrestlingNews.co）。 “但当我回来的时候，他已经开始了他的好莱坞事业和类似的事情。”

尽管从未参加过比赛，迈克尔斯还是满怀钦佩地谈到了巨石强森。当被要求比较两者时，他毫不犹豫地推迟了。 “你要说什么？我的意思是，那个家伙进来了，我记得第一次在《周六夜现场》上看到他，我就想，天啊，这个家伙会成为一个巨星，”迈克尔斯说。

迈克尔斯还回顾了​​洛克早期的WWE生涯，当时他以洛基·约翰逊的儿子的身份被介绍给观众，但尚未被他迷住的观众却高呼“洛基糟透了”。

“当他第一次上场时，他听到了很多‘洛基糟透了’之类的口号。所以更衣室里总是有挖苦之类的东西，”迈克尔斯说。迈克尔斯表示，洛克对拒绝的回应最终决定了他的职业轨迹。 “他认识到了这一点，觉得你必须带着更难、更有侵略性的东西回来。然后他改变了这一点。在他这样做之后，他们让他加入了国家队，他真的开始从那里起飞。”

Shawn Michaels has given a direct answer to one of professional wrestling’s most frequently asked ‘what-if’ questions.

Speaking with Carmelo Anthony on 7PM in Brooklyn, Michaels explained why the dream match between him and The Rock never happened at WrestleMania, and he didn’t mince words about the reason.

“He didn’t like me,” Michaels said. “I think over the years that he’s had, there’s been a big feud in the wrestling business with Hunter and I doing things to him, being mean and things like that. It’s all been blown out of proportion. None of it was perfect, but these were things that he was fed a lot of when he was younger. But afterward, and to this day, we get along with each other, and we talk about things.”

Michaels blamed the feud on the misinformation given to Rock early in his career and alleged that Michaels and Triple H mistreated him. He strongly hit back at those accounts, calling them inaccurate and exaggerated, while acknowledging that this perception shaped Rock’s feelings towards him for a significant period. The two have since moved on, with Michaels noting that they still meet and talk with each other today.

Even if personal issues had been resolved sooner, time would have made the match impossible. By the time Michaels returned from the back injury that had sidelined him for several years, The Rock had already made the transition to Hollywood and was no longer a full-time presence in WWE.

“I think everyone would love to see it,” Michaels said. “But by the time I came back, he was pretty far along with his Hollywood career and things like that.”

Despite never having a match, Michaels spoke about the Rock with admiration. When he was asked to compare the two, he avoided the question without any hesitation. “What are you going to say? I mean, the guy came in, and I remember seeing him for the first time on Saturday Night Live and I was thinking to myself, Holy cow, this guy is going to be a huge star,” Michaels said.

Michaels also reflected on Rock’s early WWE performance, when he was introduced to the audience as Rocky Johnson’s son and received chants of “Rocky sucks” from the crowd, who had not yet sold for him.

Michaels said, “When he first got there, he was getting a lot of ‘Rocky Sucks’ chants and stuff like that. So there was always ribbing in the locker room and stuff like that.” According to Michaels, Rock’s reaction to that rejection ultimately defined his career path. “They recognized it and realized you had to come back with something tougher, something more aggressive. And then they changed it. And when they did that, and they put them with the Nation, they really started to take off from there.”

It seems that hunger and a tough slice of steak cost WWE fans the chance to see the unexpected alliance between bitter rivals Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels.

During the 2000s, there was very little light for WWE. However, one of the best spots was the rivalry between Jericho and Michaels. Its first peak came with a match at WrestleMania 19 which was later won, but then he received a low blow from his opponent. Then, when Jericho won the World Heavyweight Title in 2008.

The pair of current and future Hall of Famers created magic together. Be it a war of words or in the ring. Without a doubt, they were some of each other’s greatest rivals during their legendary careers. However, a few years later, Jericho actually advocated for hated enemies to become allies to solve a shared problem.

“The idea was a storyline involving Bray Wyatt and Shawn Michaels,” Jericho told Game Hub. “The premise was that the Wyatt Family would attack me, and the only person I could call that was crazy enough to have my back was Shawn — even after our rivalry.

“He comes back to confront me, and just as we were about to go at him, the Wyatt Family attacks both of us. Now you don’t know if Shawn was going to accept my offer or not, but he’s in it,” he said. “With the SummerSlam match in mind, it would be Jericho and HBK against The Wyatt Family. That was a really solid pitch.”

Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels never teamed up because of bad steaks?

This idea sounds like fun and would definitely benefit the Wyatt Family as they look to establish themselves on the main roster. However, the idea was turned down by then-WWE boss Vince McMahon. Jericho claims that the pitch failed because he spoke to the company’s founder at the worst possible time. during lunch.

Jericho claimed, “When Vince is eating, he’s not paying attention to anything else.” “…Vince was sitting there eating his steak, and when I finished, he said, ‘Bad cow.’ I said, ‘What?’ He says, ‘Bad cow – the steak is tough.’ I said, what do you think about my pitch?

“He says, ‘What else do you have?’ The steak destroyed the entire angle. But that’s the nature of working for Vince – if he doesn’t like it, you’re done. To some extent, it is the same with Tony. You have to please your boss.”

So Hunger and a “Bad Guy” ended the chance for WWE fans to see Jericho and Michaels unite against the Wyatt Family.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

The 2026 NBA Draft class is expected to be one of the deepest in recent history, with most outlets unanimous in predicting Darin Peterson (Kansas), AJ DiBantsa (BYU) and Carlos Boozer (Duke) as top-3 picks. However, the Arkansas Razorbacks’ Darius Acuff Jr., who recently had a 28-point performance against the Texas Longhorns, is also part of a draft class widely viewed as a lottery pick.

Speaking after his match-winning performance, Texas head coach Sean Miller effectively claimed that Acuff Jr. was the best point-guard he had ever seen in college basketball.

Shawn Miller on Darius Acuff:

“In my 34 years, I’ve never seen a better point guard… He’s a generational player. This No. 1 pick thing, I don’t know why people aren’t talking about him more. I can’t imagine anyone better than him” 👀

(🎥: @pigtrailnation) pic.twitter.com/PdMhWXVyks

– The Field Of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) 5 March 2026

“Normally a guy like Acuff gets a lot of credit or a lot of respect as a young player in college basketball. It can happen sometimes when a guy is overhyped, he certainly has as bright a future beyond college as he does. But in my time, and I’ll go 34 years now, I’ve never seen a better point guard. When people talk about who’s going to be the number one pick in the NBA draft, or the best player in the conference Who. I mean just for perspective, and I think ours is great, he’s averaging 25 points per game,” Miller said, according to a post by The Field of 68.

Miller claimed that he could not imagine a better player, and he did not understand why Acuff Jr. was not talked about more.

“Guys like him, they don’t come around very often in college basketball. He’s a generational player. He’s really, really, really good. It’s the number one choice thing, I don’t know why people aren’t talking about him more. I can’t imagine anyone better than him.”

Acuff’s statistical production this season already places him in elite historical territory. The Arkansas star is averaging 22.2 points and 6.4 assists per game, which ranks ninth nationally in scoring, while maintaining 49.3% shooting from the field and nearly 40-43% shooting from three-point range. He also posts a nearly 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, while averaging only two turnovers per game.

The performance against Texas also added a notable scoring streak. Acuff has scored 17 or more points in 24 consecutive games since a win over the Duke Blue Devils in November.
Despite this, Acuff is only viewed as a top-10 lottery pick, not even close to being viewed as the best player of the draft. In addition to the unanimous top-3 prediction, Caleb Wilson is also viewed as a close No. 4 pick.