Dricus du Plessis fires back at Dana White, Bryce Mitchell harassed by ex-girlfriend, Robert Whittaker reacts to UFC 293 slurs: MMA News Roundup

Welcome to Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup, where we present the biggest UFC news updates and other stories from the world of mixed martial arts.

In today's issue, we will discuss Dricus du Plessis' latest comments regarding Dana White, and Bryce Mitchell reveals details about his ex-girlfriend. Also, Robert Whittaker reacts to the multiple slurs made by fighters at UFC 293.

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#3. Dricus du Plessis responds to Dana White's criticism

Middleweight contender Dricus du Plessis has fired back at Dana White, who previously criticized his decision not to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 293.

'Stillknocks' looked set to face 'The Last Stylebender' in Sydney, Australia following his stunning TKO victory over Robert Whittaker at UFC 290. However, the South African declined the title fight, due to the short turnaround as well as an injury.

Du Plessis' decision to step away from the bout drew criticism from multiple sources, including White, and ultimately led to Sean Strickland causing a major upset by defeating Adesanya last weekend.

During a recent appearance on the FightWave podcast, Du Plessis reacted to Dana White as well as Strickland's victory. He said:

"I've been ready to address every situation of what might happen this weekend, and what the UFC might say, what Dana might say – obviously, him not being very happy that I turned down a fight on seven weeks' notice with an injury, which I don't really understand, but at the end of the day, it's business for them and you have got to respect that."

Catch the rest of Dricus du Plessis' reaction here.

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#2. Bryce Mitchell reveals details of destructive break-in by "evil" ex-girlfriend

Bryce Mitchell is currently preparing for a featherweight matchup against Dan Ige at UFC Vegas 79 later this month. In the midst of his fight camp, 'Thug Nasty' is facing some serious issues at home.

In a video posted by MMA Mania on X (formerly Twitter), Mitchell revealed that his ex-girlfriend had broken into one of his farmhouses in Searcy, Arkansas and caused major damage to the property.

The No.10-ranked featherweight also stated that it's gotten to the point where he's fearing for the safety of his wife:

"So, I'm out of town for my fight and my coward ex-girlfriend came by my house and vandalized my house today. She destroyed all of my fruit trees. I'm making this post because this sh*t is evil, and I'm begging the community of Searcy to help me. I'm outta town and my animals and my wife is at home by herself. I please, I need my neighbours to help."

Check out the video here:

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#1. Robert Whittaker disgusted by slurs used at UFC 293

Robert Whittaker is one of the most popular fighters in MMA. 'The Reaper' is not only highly respected for his elite talent in the octagon but also for the way he carries himself outside of the cage.

Unsurprisingly, Whittaker has been fast to condemn the language used at the UFC 293 pay-per-view in Sydney, Australia last weekend. During the night, fighters Charles Radtke and Manel Kape both made homophobic remarks during their post-fight interviews.

Reacting to the event on his MMArcade Podcast, Robert Whittaker expressed his frustration and disapproval of the remarks made on such a public platform:

“There was some crazy stuff said post-fight. They’re just saying some real slurry, bigotry, bad words, things you can’t say in 2024! I’m not one to tell anybody what to do, okay? But I just want everyone, all the fighters, all the fighters that fight… Understand, you want to be real, okay?”

Catch Whittaker's comments here (28:20):