Le Journal

Sean O’Malley thought he was just having some fun when he decided to wear a COVID-style face mask during his first staredown with Song Yadong ahead of UFC 324, but that’s not the way the move was perceived. Reactions varied but Song called the move “totally racist” with O’Malley taking a pretty obvious jab at his opponent hailing from China. On Wednesday during UFC 324 media day, O’Malley addressed his decision to wear a mask during that faceoff and issued an apology for his actions. “My intentions were never harmful,” O’Malley said. “It’s supposed to be a little silly joke. It was that and it got taken out of [context]. I apologize if I offended anybody.” Prior to O’Malley’s arrival at media day, Song admitted the move was low, but he took it as his opponent trying to rattle him before they actually meet in the octagon. At this point, Song is seemingly putting it all behind him but he never understood why O’Malley decided to go that route in the first place. “I’m OK but I think don’t bring racism in this sport,” Song said. “Just keep it a sport. He already regretted it. He got an interview from China, he said he was sorry to fans. He’s trying to get inside of my head like a mind game. But I don’t care, I just focus on the fight. I don’t care. I just want to win the fight. Focused.” Saturday serves as an incredibly important moment during O’Malley’s career after he appeared strapped to a rocket ship for superstardom in the UFC after becoming bantamweight champion. That success was short lived, however, with O’Malley defending the belt once and then dropping back-to-back fights against Merab Dvalishvili. The second loss saw O’Malley finished by a submission, which effectively dropped him out of title contention with two losses to Dvalishvil. Now he’s got new life with Petr Yan putting on a masterclass to beat Dvalishvili this past December to become a two-time champion at 135 pounds. Of course, O’Malley was paying very close attention because while he has two losses to Dvalishvili on his resume, he also holds a win over the new champ in Yan. That’s why O’Malley truly believes a win at UFC 324 puts him right back into position to go for gold again. “It’s got to be me versus Petr next,” O’Malley said. “If I go out there and take care of business. If not, I don’t know. I just feel like I’m trying to manifest that. I think I go out there and put on a beautiful performance, me versus Petr at the White House is huge.”

Ex-UFC fighter Jairzinho Rozenstruik is currently in custody after being arrested in Florida on two separate charges listed as a domestic violence offense. Online court records show that Rozenstruik was arrested on Jan. 19 by the Pembroke Pines Police Department and taken to the main jail where he was hit with a pair of charges and also placed on an immigration hold. The immigration hold is set for 48 hours with that charge hitting on Jan. 20. Based on records, Rozenstruik was hit with a third-degree felony for false imprisonment with his bond set at $2,500. A second misdemeanor charge was also levied against Rozenstruik for touch or strike/battery/domestic violence with a $1,000 bond. A police report obtained by MMA Fighting from the Pembroke Pines Police Department revealed that officers responded to a “suspicious incident” and upon further investigation they determined it was “a domestic battery incident.” Police stated that Rozenstruik “made vague allegations” that his partner (who is not identified by name or relation in the report) was pushing him during an argument and advised officers “they figured it out” and did not need law enforcement. Rozenstruik claimed he got into an argument with his partner and she pushed him with one arm but did not touch or strike him. Police stated that Rozenstruik was “uncooperative and did not want to provide any furtherinformation” and that his partner had left the house. Police eventually returned to the residence where they made contact with Rozenstruik’s partner and she told authorities that she got into an argument with the ex-UFC fighter while they were driving to their storage unit. The alleged victim claimed “during the argument she chose to ignore Jairzinho which prompted him to allegedlyactually and intentionally slap her hand causing her cell phone to fall to the car floor.“ She claims she picked up the phone and Rozenstruik struck her hand again and then she attempted to exit the vehicle when the veteran heavyweight allegedly “grabbed her by the arm to prevent her from leaving the vehicle.” She told police she “punched Jairzinho with a closed fist in the head multiple times in self-defense” The police report states that she stayed in the vehicle as the argument continued before Rozenstruik parked and he “attempted to kiss” her but she declined and called him “a nasty beast.” She told police that comment angered Rozenstruik and “he allegedly actually and intentionally bit her right bicep against her will.” Rozenstruik allegedly then moved the car to a new location where the argument continued and “she attempted to exit the vehicle again and Jairzinho actually and intentionally grabbed her armpreventing her from leaving the vehicle.“ Police say the alleged victim then stated she punched Rozenstruik again in “self-defense which caused him to release her arm” before grabbing her purse and leaving the vehicle. Police stated that Rozenstruik’s partner had “a visible bite mark on her right bicep, redness on both of her forearms and a red scratch/bruise mark under her right eye” and she allowed police to photograph her injuries. The report states that Rozenstruik was “uncooperative during the investigation and had changed his account of the incident multiple times and withheld information regarding the incident. Multiple attempts were needed for Jairzinho to give his account of the incident.” “Due to the above factors and the totality of the circumstances, probable cause that Jairzinho was theprimary aggressor during this incident and committed the alleged crime was established,“ police stated in the report. As a result, Rozenstruik was arrested and taken into custody without incident. Rozenstruik, 37, spent six years on the UFC roster where he was a top 10 heavyweight for much of his career competing in the promotion. He scored impressive wins over Andrei Arlovski, Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem during his career with the UFC. He was eventually released from his contract in…

Amanda Nunes isn’t letting a potentially lengthy delay stop her plans of becoming undisputed UFC champion again. Bantamweight titleholder Kayla Harrison was scheduled to defend her belt against Nunes in the co-main event of UFC 324 this Saturday, but the bout was removed from the card when Harrison was forced to withdrew due to having to undergo neck surgery. UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the promotion plans to re-book the matchup sometime in 2026. That leaves Nunes having to wait even longer to make her comeback after retiring at the top of the game in 2023. The 37-year-old “Lioness” spoke to UFC Brasil about the missed opportunity. “With this news about Kayla having to undergo surgery and all that, it’s a bit sad because I did a whole preparation, the camp was perfect, I was very ready physically, mentally, and spiritually,” Nunes said (Portugese translation via MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz). “We’re sad about all of this, but what can you do, right? It was out of our control, so now it’s a matter of waiting to see what the UFC is going to do.” At first, it wasn’t clear if Nunes would be unavailable to fight on Jan. 24, and one bantamweight contender, Norma Dumont, volunteered to step in for Harrison to fight Nunes for an interim title. Nunes is open to fighting an opponent besides Harrison, but she’s only stepping into the cage again for a shot at regaining undisputed status. “Everyone’s talking about an interim belt, someone to fight and all that, but guys, that doesn’t exist for me,” Nunes said. “I only fight for the real belt. If the UFC takes the belt now [from Harrison] and puts someone else to fight for it, I’ll fight, but an interim belt doesn’t exist. “There’s no such thing as me fighting another opponent out of nowhere right now. None of that exists. It’s about waiting to see whether Kayla is going to come back or not, and seeing what’s going to happen.” Since the UFC 324 bout was canceled, Nunes has frequently posted clips of herself continuing to train and even followed through with the trip to Las Vegas for Saturday’s show at T-Mobile Arena. The message is clear that Nunes is still fully set on completing her comeback, but only when the time is right. “But one thing is certain: I’m good, I’m training a lot, I’m motivated, I’m strong,” Nunes said. “I’m 37 years old, the flame is still alive, the lioness is still in the jungle. I’m ready to take my belt back, no matter who it’s against.”

Better start practicing your swordfighting. And pro wrestling. And dragon riding. And mech piloting.