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MMA News Roundup: Dana White Dubs Jon Jones GOAT Not Khabib, NSAC Refuses to Pay Igor Severino, Brandon Moreno’s Unexpected Hiatus

Published 03/26/2024, 7:36 AM EDT

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Each passing day makes for some significant developments in the world of combat sports. As such, we have yet another edition of the daily roundup to help you stay updated with the biggest headlines in our favorite sport. We will start today with Dana White, doubling down on Jon Jones‘s status as UFC goat. Then we will shift our attention to NSAC, refusing to pay Igor Severino. Finally, we will sump up the news compilation with Brandon Moreno, who announced a hiatus from MMA.

Without wasting much time, let’s dive into the stories!

Jon Jones and not Khabib Nurmagomedov is the UFC GOAT, says Dana White

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The answer to the question of who is the greatest UFC fighter of all time has been the same for Dana White for years. While some fans believe Khabib Nurmagomedov to be the greatest, the UFC CEO stood his ground and maintained his stance that the reigning heavyweight champion is the best to ever fight inside the Octagon.

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“He’s [Jones] never been beat.  He destroyed everyone at light heavyweight, which, at the time, was the toughest weight class in the company and the sport,” Dana White told Lex Fridman. Not only did the 54-year-old talk about Jon Jones’s exploits in the light heavyweight division but also commended the impact he made when he easily dispatched Ciryl Gane on his heavyweight debut.

“He moved up to heavyweight, won easily at heavyweight… Nobody can debate who’s the greatest of all time. It’s absolutely, positively Jon Jones. He’s never lost. He’s never been beaten in the Octagon ever,” Dana white added. It remains to be seen who becomes the first to topple Jon Jones, as fighters like Tom Aspinall are now making waves in the UFC.

Igor Severino fails to secure pay after UFC Vegas 89 bite incident

Calling Igor Severino’s UFC debut a disaster would be an understatement. The 20-year-old Brazilian infamously bit his UFC Vegas 89 opponent Andre Lima during the second round of their fight. That resulted in an immediate disqualification for Severino, with Lima securing a $50,000 bonus and Dana White deciding to fire the young Brazilian for his illegal act. However, that wasn’t the end of Severino’s punishment.

According to ‘MMA Fighting‘, the Nevada State Athletic Commission reportedly withheld the purse Igor Severino was supposed to get for the fight against Andre Lima. This, as expected was due to the biting incident. The person who broke this news has not been identified as they have been instructed to remain silent and not discuss the issue publicly. Although Dana White had sacked Severino, Lima appeared to be not in favor of that decision. It remains to be seen if the UFC CEO considers the statements made by ‘Mascote’ to keep the 20-year-old employed by the promotion.

Brandon Moreno is taking a break from MMA

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Former two-time UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno recently shared a message in Spanish on his Instagram account with a video. He claimed to have been tired out of his mind from fighting. Moreno has fought at least once every year since 2016, but now, ‘The Assassin Baby’ feels like he needs to step down for a while and take a much-needed break from MMA.

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“I just think I’ve reached a limit in my mind, and I’m tired,” said Brandon Moreno (translated by ‘MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura). However, the former champion assured the fans that he’s not done fighting and will be back to compete again after he fully recovers from his predicament. “It’s not goodbye or anything like that, it’s just wait for me, be patient with me, let my body, but more than anything my mind, my head, compose itself and recover — recover and we’re going to get back to doing things right,” Moreno added. We will have to wait and see how long ‘The Assassin Baby’ will be on a break, and if he loses touch on his return, like many fighters have in the past after taking a break from fighting.

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Written by:

Himanga Mahanta

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Himanga Mahanta is a senior UFC writer at EssentiallySports. An all-rounder in his coverage of the sport, Himanga is a reliable voice with a knack for providing analytical coverage of breaking stories from the world of MMA. His 1700+ articles include perspective pieces on trending UFC stories, and both live and post-event coverage of weekly events.
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Edited by:

Joyita Das