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As UFC 297 draws near, Sean Strickland has begun gracing his pre-fight media appearances with his trademark controversial takes.
Catch up with today's top news updates with Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup.
#3 Leah McCourt provides an update on Ryan Curtis
Leah McCourt, a close friend and fellow Bellator fighter, provided an update on Ryan Curtis' condition after revealing his "life-altering" injury a few days back.
Curtis suffered a broken back, a broken neck, and a dislocated spine in an incident that occurred during training on Jan. 11. His spinal cord also suffered trauma. The initial news stated that the treatment would require him to stay five months in the hospital and more time with specialists for rehabilitation.
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In a new Instagram post, McCourt stated that Curtis still had no movement from the neck down.
She wrote:
"Ryan’s mood is lifted so much reading all the messages of support and genuine love. He has still no movement from neck down... Ryan’s mood is good during the day but at night it can be overwhelming and panicky... Ryan is still in icu and the main focus is his recovery from the major surgery and trauma his body has went through, for him to be able to breathe on his own without extra help."
Read the full statement below:
McCourt has set up a GoFundMe for Curtis, where the top donation currently is Conor McGregor's. The Irish UFC star gave a little over $30,000 - a gesture that has been widely praised by fans. Bellator executive Michael Kogan has also donated close to $2,000.
Donations can be made here.
#2 Sean Strickland compares WMMA to a 'cat fight'
It is not a secret that Sean Strickland is no fan of women's combat sports. In the past, he has made fun of women's MMA, refusing to give female fighters any due credit.
He once again reiterated the sentiments during the recent UFC 297 media day appearance. He said:
"Women's MMA? Sure, have women's MMA... I don't like to watch it. I don't think most people like to watch it... There is a fast difference between men and women... Any one of you f**ks [reporters] could probably beat our co-main event in a fight... ... I don't want to see two f**king cats fight, I want to see lions fight."
Catch Sean Strickland's comments below:
Fans were divided in reaction. While some agreed with Strickland, others compared him to Andrew Tate and called him out.
Read the reactions here.
#1 Israel Adesanya predicts UFC 297 main event
Israel Adesanya has given his official prediction for Sean Strickland vs. Dricus du Plessis.
The former UFC middleweight champion has shared a beef with both men in the recent past. While he fought and lost to Strickland, he has yet to face du Plessis in a proper fight but has faced off with him inside the cage. 'The Last Stylebender' spewing the N-word at the South African is still fresh in everyone's memories.
Predicting the UFC 297 main event, Adesanya picked du Plessis as his winner via submission. He said:
"Official pick, I'm going to go with Dricus. Does it go the distance? I'm gonna say no. Not that I don't respect Sean or his skills. The guy beat me, so of course I respect his skills... I say sub."
Israel Adesanya's prediction below from 10:30:
