Midnight Roundup! UFC rejects Sean Strickland, MMA stars "witch"-hunt Taylor Swift, Nina-Marie Daniele vs. Brendan Schaub on X, and more

Sean Strickland made a bizarre request to the UFC, which got turned down almost immediately. Elsewhere, a couple of fighters shared their conspiracy theories about Super Bowl and Taylor Swift.

Catch up with the best MMA tidbits with Sportskeeda's Midnight Roundup.

UFC turns down Sean Strickland's request

After Jake Paul's recent comment calling Sean Strickland an "embarrassment" and challenging him to a fight for $1 million, the former middleweight champion seemingly requested the UFC to let him box the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

In a video filmed wearing a robe, Strickland said that his demand was turned down due to Paul's inability to sell a fight.

"Hunter (Campbell) explained to me that (Jake Paul) sells no fights. When they have fights, they give away tickets. He doesn't make money. His target audience is children. They don't buy pay-per-views. A little depressing. ... Get some adults to follow you, and, then, we will fight."

Watch Sean Strickland's comments below from 17:35:

Diego Sanchez and Bryce Mitchell have a Taylor Swift conspiracy theory

Both Diego Sanchez and Bryce Mitchell are renowned for their conservative ideals, which sometimes can get borderline conspiratorial.

'Thug Nasty' has been talked about more for his 'Flat Earth' claims than for his fighting of late, while Sanchez made headlines for his 'Satanic' claims about Sam Smith's Grammy performance last year.

After Sunday's Super Bowl LVIII, where Taylor Swift was present to support Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs, Mitchell took to Instagram to share his theory that the game was rigged.

Sanchez commented that the singer-songwriter was, among all things, a "witch". Mitchell agreed, calling her 'Zeena, the satanic leader'.

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Brendan Schaub and Nina-Marie Daniele debate on Sean Strickland

Former MMA fighter Brendan Schaub believes that the recently viral sparring footage of Sean Strickland demolishing Sneako, real name Nico Kenn De Ballinthazy, was "orchestrated by the UFC".

Retaliating, Nina-Marie Daniele, who shares a close bond with Strickland, called Scaub out on X:

"Here's the thing about Brendan Schaub, I love the guy. But this take has to be more stupid than Sneako agreeing to spar Sean Strickland lol. @BrendanSchaub do you really think Dana White and the UFC would risk it all for Sneako and @SStricklandMMA? I have the answer, it's hell no lmao"

Schaub responded:

"Listen here’s the thing about Nina Marie. Love the girl but she’s new. How long are we gonna pretend the UFC has morals and this is such a reach. Maria you attend every power slap event for starters. Which was created by the ownership of the UFC.

"Legit mma Journalist are banned for not giving cupcake questions from UFC events. Don’t even get me started on fighter pay. Assuming UFC is open to a YouTuber getting his ass whooped is far from a bad take. A lawsuit doesn’t scare the UFC please look into current lawsuit from over 100 plus former fighters. I can go on how this is far from a “reach” still love ya"

Take a look at the interaction below:

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T. J. Dillashaw battles 'roids' allegations

T. J. Dillashaw will likely never live down the steroid allegations. Fans repeatedly mocked him about "EPO" as he showed off his new elaborate chest tattoo in a recent Instagram story.

Check out the photo shared by MMA Uncensored below:

One fan commented "mid-life crisis", while another said, "Juiced up to his eyeballs in PED". A third commented, "Back on the EPO."

Read the comments here.

Khamzat Chimaev will not fight at UFC 300

Fans have one less fighter to wonder whether they will feature on UFC 300. Khamzat Chimaev, who often claims he's ready to "smash everybody", told MMA Uncensored that he won't be competing at the event because of Ramadan.

"I will fight everybody. Leon (Edwards), (Dricus) du Plessis, anyone, but not (during) Ramadan. I think Ramadan (is during) UFC 300. Maybe somebody in Saudi Arabia. I want to fight there. Not fighting in Ramadan anymore."

The event is taking place on April 13, 2024, and Ramadan this year will tentatively stretch from March 10 to April 9.

Alexander Volkanovski trolled by daughters

In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Alexander Volkanovski revealed how his daughters recently roasted him about his losses to Islam Makhachev.

The featherweight champion said that (at some point) after his second defeat, his daughters said that they were scared someone was going to break into where they were staying.

Volkanovski tried to calm them down by saying that he was a world champion in fighting. His daughters responded with, "But what if it is Islam Makhachev?"

Watch the segment below from 7:50: