UFC welterweight Mike Perry on Monday issued a public apology for his past use of the N-word and vowed not to use it again.

Perry, who in 2018 said he was allowed to use the slur because a DNA kit revealed him to be 2 percent African, indicated in a tweet that the motivation for his apology was wanting to do better for his newborn son.

“I know some won’t care but some might appreciate this. This is for my son and me as a son to be different than my father. Also black history month,” Perry wrote. “I would like to apologize for any time I ever said n***a , [sic] plain and simple you won’t hear it from me anymore.”

Perry accompanied his apology with the hashtag #NoDisrespect.

Perry has been caught on camera multiple times using the N-word, most recently last summer in the immediate aftermath of punching an older man in a restaurant altercation. He’s also openly used the N-word on social media, including in a spat with actor Michael Jai White, who is Black.

Fatherhood could be having a positive effect on Perry. He and girlfriend Latory Gonzalez announced the birth of their son, Ocean, on Jan. 6.

Perry, 29, has fought for the UFC since August 2016. He’s 7-7 with the promotion and has lost three of his past four fights, most recently dropping a unanimous decision to Tim Means at UFC 255.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-mike-perry-apologizes-n-word-wont-use-it-again

Dominant UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will face one of his toughest tests to date on Feb. 13, as he meets former teammate Gilbert Burns in the main event of UFC 258.

On a 16-fight winning streak, Usman has defeated Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal in defense of the title he took from Tyron Woodley in 2019, and now he puts his belt on the line against the surging “Durinho,” who has won six in a row on his way to the biggest fight in his career.

This bout has been forced to the curb on at least two occasions, hopefully the third time is a charm, and we get to see Usman vs. Burns on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas.

(Video courtesy of UFC)

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/not-ready-for-kamaru-usman-vs-gilbert-burns-maybe-this-ufc-258-promo-will-help

Matt Serra and Din Thomas tour the desert outside Abu Dhabi on camelback, ATVs and sand surfboards. They join Dana White and Khabib Nurmagomedov at a local MMA event, where they discover multiple athletes… plus announcer and chef talent to boot.

Take a look at the latest episode of Dana White: Lookin’ For a Fight, from the UFC’s third trip to Fight Island.

(Video courtesy of UFC)

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white-lookin-for-a-fight-with-khabib-on-ufc-fight-island

Jessica Penne is back.

Having concluded a 20-month U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension, Penne (12-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) is being targeted for a return against Hannah Goldy at UFC 260 on March 27. The event doesn’t currently have an announced location or venue.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the planned booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Initially a four-year suspension, Penne’s discipline was reduced to a 20-month order by USADA after she tested “positive at trace levels for two metabolites of stanozolol, 16β-hydroxystanozolol and 3′-hydroxystanozolol” due to a tainted supplement. The suspension was made effective retroactively to the date of the test, April 8, 2019. It was Penne’s second career USADA suspension.

A former UFC women’s strawweight title challenge, Penne has lost three straight fights. After a loss to then-champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Penne was then defeated by Jessica Andrade and Danielle Taylor.

Goldy (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a Dana White’s Contender Series signee, was defeated by fellow UFC debutant Miranda Granger at UFC on ESPN 5 in August 2019. Goldy has not competed since then, though was booked for, and withdrew from, a fight vs. Loma Lookboonme in February 2020.

With the addition, the latest UFC Fight Night on March 27 lineup includes:

• Champ Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou – for heavyweight title
• Champ Alexander Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega – for featherweight title
• Jimmy Crute vs. Johnny Walker
• Modestas Bukauskas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
• Hannah Goldy vs. Jessica Penne

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-260-jessica-penne-usada-suspension-over-fights-hannah-goldy

Sam Alvey knows he’ll have to shed a lot of weight to hit the middleweight mark, but “Smile’n Sam” remains unfazed.

Alvey (33-14-1 MMA, 10-9-1 UFC) will return to 185 pounds for the first time in over three years when he takes on Zak Cummings at a UFC Fight Night event on April 10.

After missing weight for the first time in his career in a unanimous decision loss to Ramazan Emeev in October 2017, Alvey decided to move up to light heavyweight.

He found early success at 205 pounds with a knockout of Marcin Prachnio and a split-decision win over Gian Villante but went on to lose four straight, followed by a split draw against Da Un Jung at UFC 254, which prompted his decision to move back down to middleweight.

Despite knowing it won’t be an easy move to cut back down to the 185-pound division, Alvey – who’s always walked around at well over 200 pounds – says he’s not sweating it.

“I got about 40 pounds to go, but it’s OK,” Alvey told MMA Junkie. “I’m not used to it recently, but I’m used to it a lot throughout my career. I always walked around 225, and now I’ve got to work my way back down to 185 pounds. If I can lose 25 pounds, then cut the last 15, that’ll make everything pretty easy. Well, easy, quote-unquote, it’ll never be easy. But it’ll be worth it when I’m getting my hand raised.”

Having fought in three different weight classes throughout his career, Alvey has always shown his willingness to compete against anyone, from former champions to rising prospects. So, despite his recent losing skid, Alvey continues to draw tough competition as he gears up to face Cummings in April.

“I’m the easiest guy in the world to work with because I don’t have any criteria,” Alvey said. “They ask, ‘Hey, you want to fight this guy over here?’ I say, ‘Let’s do it!’ and that has always been the case. It’s led to some bad weight cuts, it’s led to some short-notice fights, but I think that’s why they like me so much, because I’m the guy that says ‘yes,’ always.”

To hear the full interview with Alvey, check out the video below.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/02/ufc-news-sam-alvey-has-40-pounds-to-cut