<ul class="summary-list"><li>A <keyword id="11922275" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ufc" source="Orion">UFC</keyword> 267 welterweight match that took place Saturday should have been stopped in the second round.</li><li>But an <keyword id="11922276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mma" source="Orion">MMA</keyword> referee called Yacheslav Kiselev allowed the fight to go on.</li></ul>ABU DHABI - <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/mma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MMA</a> referee Yacheslav Kiselev was relieved of the rest of his UFC 267 duties because of a questionable performance during the preliminary section of the Etihad Arena card in Abu Dhabi.Kiselev was the man in the middle for the three-round <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/ufc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UFC</a> welterweight fight between <keyword id="12427426" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="elizeu-zaleski" source="Orion">Elizeu Zaleski</keyword> and <keyword id="12427427" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="benoit-saint-denis" source="Orion">Benoit Saint Denis</keyword> which Insider attended Saturday.Zaleski won the opening round on all three of the judges' scorecards, before performing to such a high standard in the second, that he was awarded a 10-8 - a score reserved for dominance.Such was the ruthlessness of his abilities in that second round, he landed an absurd 106 of his 173 shots, causing a great amount of damage with a knee strike and punishing punches that were nothing short of unrelenting.Saint Denis was hurt multiple times in the contest but just refused to go down.To save the fighter from himself, and from taking an extended beating at the hands of Zaleski, ref Kiselev should have stepped in and waved the bout off.But he didn't.Instead, he allowed Saint Denis to return to his stool at the end of the second, and reenter the battleground in the third.The third round, while more even, should never have taken place as the bout was effectively over in the second."Holy hell," established former MMA referee <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnMcCarthyMMA/status/1454488091050250244" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John McCarthy tweeted</a>."I just watched the worst job of officiating at a UFC event ever," McCarthy added. "Please don't let him do another fight … ever!"<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Big John McCarthy (@JohnMcCarthyMMA) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1454488091050250244?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2021</a></blockquote><a href="https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1454493742216491015" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to ESPN</a>, the UFC "pulled" Kiselev from another fight he was scheduled to officiate.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-ESPN MMA (@espnmma) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1454493742216491015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2021</a></blockquote>ESPN reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/bokamotoESPN/status/1454488698112839684" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brett Okamoto reported</a> that Kiselev was supposed to also referee the light heavyweight bout Magomed Ankalaev against Volkan Oezdemir - a 205-pound match that introduced the main card, broadcast on ESPN+ in the US.A light heavyweight championship bout between the UFC champion Jan Blachowicz and challenger Glover Teixeira headlined the event.

An MMA referee was banished from the rest of the UFC 267 event because of a highly questionable performance

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12416964" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="sean-strickland" source="Orion">Sean Strickland</keyword> continues to talk about fantasies he has of killing someone.</li><li>The American <keyword id="11922275" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ufc" source="Orion">UFC</keyword> fighter said he'll try to rewire his brain once he has finished his <keyword id="11922276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mma" source="Orion">MMA</keyword> career.</li></ul>American fighter <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/sean-strickland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sean Strickland</a> continues to talk about his fantasies of killing someone.It has become a disturbing trend for the <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/ufc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UFC</a> middleweight as it follows a statement he made earlier in the year in which <a href="https://www.insider.com/ufc-fighter-sean-strickland-said-he-wants-to-kill-somebody-2021-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said he wanted to "kill somebody" in a fight.</a>That was July when he spoke to the media shortly after a solid win over ranked contender Uriah Hall in Las Vegas.He told the media that he's probably the "last one" the UFC would want as a champion as it would make him "super happy" to end a person's life.He said: "I would own that shit, too. I don't know if it would make me liable, I might have to say, 'I'm sorry,' if the cops came, but I would own that shit. Own it. Be a psychopath, it's fucking fun!"Two months later, he elaborated on this when speaking on <a href="https://www.mmafighting.com/2021/10/27/22749439/sean-strickland-doubts-ufc-will-release-him-despite-opening-up-about-homicidal-thoughts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MMA Fighting's "MMA Hour."</a>He said he has wanted to kill someone his "entire life" and "that's a big reason why I didn't have a social life."Strickland continued: "Like, when I went out and got arrested, I just wanted to. There was just something in me that knew that if I could just kill a human being, it would make me feel good for a short time."Strickland claimed that other people feel similar but he's different as he's the one who admits to those feelings.It is what led to the start of his journey in mixed martial arts, as training helped contain those fantasies."I'd just go train, I'd fight, go train, I'd fight, go train, I'd fight. But if it wasn't for that, I fantasize about it all the time."<h2>Strickland wants to rewire his brain but still enjoys these thoughts</h2><div type="image" title="Sean Strickland throws a shot at Uriah Hall during his July win." height="1000" width="2000" msid="87363495" hostid="261"></div>He said that he's had confrontations in public before and if people instigated, he'd start feeling happy as he'd "finally get to fucking kill somebody and it's gonna be justified."Strickland later continued: "There are certain times in my life when I really tried to manipulate the situation to make it where I can kill somebody, but it just hasn't fucking panned out."He said he doesn't socialize much any more because of that, and that he claims he is "nice" and "polite" when he meets people."If you've ever seen me meet somebody, I'm so nice, I'm polite," Strickland said, adding: "You don't understand me … I like when I leave the house with the potential thought that maybe I could kill someone. I like it."Strickland is on a five-fight win streak after coming unstuck to a spinning wheel kick and punches in a first-round loss to Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in 2018.He is the No.7-ranked contender in the 185-pound division, and is yet to book a new opponent after outpointing Hall earlier in the summer.At 30 years old, Strickland will likely be in the fight game but some time yet but he said after he is done with the sport he will focus on "rewiring" his brain and "finding more value in human life.""But right now I fucking enjoy it, you know? I fucking like it."

American fighter Sean Strickland continues to talk about his fantasies of killing somebody

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="992778" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="UFC">UFC</keyword> boss Dana White appears to be expecting a monstrously successful pay-per-view event on Saturday, July 11 — the first of four events on "<keyword id="9060271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fight-island">Fight Island</keyword>" this month.</li><li>"Fight Island" is a quarantined area on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi and you can see new photographs of what it is starting to look like, below.</li><li>The UFC welterweight champion <keyword id="8755261" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kamaru-Usman">Kamaru Usman</keyword> fights a late replacement in <keyword id="9540084" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jorge-masvidal">Jorge Masvidal</keyword> in the main event of UFC 251.</li><li>If fan-favourite Masvidal wins and defends the title against <keyword id="2944528" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Conor-McGregor">Conor McGregor</keyword>, it could be the biggest UFC fight ever, White said.</li></ul>FIGHT ISLAND — The UFC boss Dana White said UFC 251 — which is the company's first "Fight Island" show in Abu Dhabi — is trending in such a way that it is already comparable to the most successful UFC fight of all time.There has been great expectation about what "Fight Island" really is — whether there would be fighting on the sand, coconuts falling from trees, and Dana White sitting on a throne surrounded by tiki torches.Though the UFC has been to Abu Dhabi before, most recently for UFC 242, the "Fight Island" reality is slightly different than prior trips to the United Arab Emirates because of the stringent coronavirus testing in place, together with many other health precautions.There is also a training Octagon which was built in a quarantined area on the beach at Yas Island.<div type="image" title="UFC Fight Island training Octagon" height="500" width="1000" msid="76902192" hostid="261"></div>The "Fight Island" festival concept is one thing, but combined with the quality of Saturday's card at UFC 251, which will take place inside an air-conditioned, closed to the public, and purpose-built venue called the Flash Forum, the pre-fight hype has been taken to another level, according to White."I was just telling those guys, I just left the fighting meeting. This thing is trending off the charts," White told the media Friday.UFC 251 features three title fights and many other compelling athletes taking part, but the show is headlined by the UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman making another defense of his title against a late replacement, Jorge Masvidal.Usman was originally scheduled to fight Gilbert Burns, who is the No.1 contender in the division. However, Burns tested positive for the coronavirus late last week and was prevented from flying to Abu Dhabi.Within a day, though, UFC decision-makers had successfully negotiated a deal with Masvidal to step-in on short notice.After Masvidal tested negative for COVID-19, flew private to the UAE, quarantined, <a href="https://www.insider.com/jorge-masvidal-and-kamaru-usman-weigh-170-for-fight-island-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">and lost 22-pounds to make weight at the 170-pound welterweight limit</a>, the main event was on and White appeared to realize that he might have booked the most commercially successful fight of the year."Masvidal was brilliant to take this fight … when the fight fell out, Masvidal slid into that spot," White said. "This thing is trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight. The only thing this fight is comparable to is Conor vs. Khabib [<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-best-selling-pay-per-view-events-boxing-ufc-wrestling-tv-history-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the best-selling UFC fight ever</a>]."Our UFC store … we've sold more merchandise now than we did in all of 2019. We already beat 2019 with merchandise. This thing is trending as big as I've ever seen in my entire career," White said.<h2>Masvidal vs. McGregor could be the UFC's biggest fight of all time</h2><div type="image" title="The Flash Forum where UFC &quot;Fight Island&quot; fights will take place" height="1335" width="2000" msid="76902193" hostid="261"></div>"'Fight Island's' not happened yet, but going into today, this is [already] one of the most successful events we've ever done, if you look at the numbers and what's going on."It's got to deliver now," he said. "We're doing right now what nobody else can do. Nobody else can pull off, what we're pulling off, and I think a lot of people are fascinated by that."White was then asked, should Masvidal defeat Usman and add the welterweight title to his "Baddest Mother F-----" belt, then could a bout between him and McGregor become the biggest UFC fight ever."Yeah, it could be," White said, before reigning it in. "I don't know, I wanna get through tomorrow."I can't wait for tomorrow. You know how difficult this sport is to run and manage."All the things that happen, the s--- that's happening, COVID-19, if one guy tests positive all hell breaks loose. I want tomorrow in my back-pocket, move on to Wednesday, then to Saturday."Here is the full UFC 251 card on Saturday:<ol><li>Kamaru Usman (C) vs. Jorge Masvidal — welterweight title</li><li>Alexander Volkonovski (C) vs. Max Holloway — featherweight title</li><li>Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo — bantamweight title</li><li>Jessica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas — women's strawweight</li><li>Amanda Ribas vs. Paige van Zant — women's flyweight</li><li>Volkan Oezdemir vs. Jiri Prochazka — light heavyweight</li><li>Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Muslim Salikhov — welterweight</li><li>Makwan Amirkhani vs. Danny Henry — featherweight</li><li>Leonardo Santos vs. Roman Bogatov — lightweight</li><li>Marcin Tybura vs. Maxim Grishin — heavyweight</li><li>Raulian Paiva vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov — 129-pound catchweight</li><li>Karol Rosa vs. Vanessa Melo — 141-pound catchweight</li><li>Davey Grant vs. Martin Day — bantamweight</li></ol>Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/jorge-masvidal-and-kamaru-usman-weigh-170-for-fight-island-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jorge Masvidal came in at 170-pounds for his 'Fight Island' main event, after weighing 192-pounds and eating pizza just days ago</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/jorge-masvidal-is-one-win-from-a-conor-mcgregor-fight-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jorge Masvidal went from streetfighting to 'Fight Island' and is just one win away from immortality and a massive Conor McGregor payday</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/paige-van-zant-comments-on-ufc-fighter-pay-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paige van Zant said fighting in the UFC is fun, but she could have just worked a regular job and gotten paid the same</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/dana-white-expects-conor-mcgregor-to-fight-ufc-again-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UFC boss Dana White expects Conor McGregor to come out of retirement next year</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/max-holloway-says-he-hasnt-sparred-for-ufc-title-fight-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One of the UFC's best fighters says he didn't spar for his 'Fight Island' title fight and did training sessions over Zoom, alone</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/jorge-masvidal-wore-a-donald-trump-mask-to-fight-island-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jorge Masvidal arrived at 'Fight Island' wearing a Donald Trump mask and a bright, Miami pink Versace robe</a>

Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal's 'Fight Island' bout is trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight, Dana White said

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="992778" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="UFC">UFC</keyword> welterweight champion <keyword id="8755261" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kamaru-Usman">Kamaru Usman</keyword> and the challenger at UFC 251 <keyword id="9540084" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jorge-masvidal">Jorge Masvidal</keyword> both made weight Friday.</li><li>The weigh-in ceremony was held at the Flash Forum on "<keyword id="9060271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fight-island">Fight Island</keyword>," which is a quarantined area of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.</li><li>Both fighters had to make weight under extraordinary circumstances as they had to take part in a mandatory quarantine on arrival to the United Arab Emirates.</li><li>Masvidal took the fight on a week's notice, reportedly weighed 192-pounds a week ago, and even ate a bit of pizza during his private flight to the country.</li><li>UFC 251, the first of four "Fight Island" events, begins on Saturday, July 11.</li></ul>FIGHT ISLAND — Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal have weighed-in at the welterweight limit of 170-pounds Friday, ahead of their headlining UFC championship bout at UFC 251 on Saturday.The last week has been one of the most chaotic UFC has had to endure all year, as its original headliner Gilbert Burns — a consistent 170-pounder — was scheduled to challenge the champion Usman but had to withdraw from the contest after testing positive for the coronavirus, last week.Burns was prevented from flying to "Fight Island," a quarantined area of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and UFC decision-makers scrambled behind-the-scenes to salvage its main event this weekend.Within hours, they were negotiating with the "Bad Mother F-----" Jorge Masvidal.A day later, <a href="https://www.insider.com/jorge-masvidal-is-one-win-from-a-conor-mcgregor-fight-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an agreement was struck and the Floridian fighter tested negative</a> for the coronavirus so his management made plans to get him to the Middle East.First Round Management, Masvidal's representatives, flew him by private jet to Abu Dhabi. But, en route, they stopped in Rome.Masvidal then posted a photograph on his social media channels saying they stopped so he could get pizza, which isn't something most people would think of doing if they needed to cut a lot of weight for an upcoming competition.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—ESPN MMA (@espnmma) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1280546942813040640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2020</a></blockquote>Masvidal told <a href="https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1280859007117221888" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sports Center</a> that the photograph was more of a stunt than a genuine meal."Let's clarify one thing," he said this week. "I have about eight guys on the team when we stop that I had to feed. So I took a bite out the pizza, because … when in Rome, right?"I had to take a bite of the pizza, I wish I could eat the whole damned thing but I didn't. I had a bite … it was amazing."<div type="image" title="Jorge Masvidal" height="1369" width="2000" msid="76899613" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/07/ufc-251-jorge-masvidal-weight-cut-wont-be-hard-says-mike-dolce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reports suggested earlier in the week</a> that Masvidal weighed 192-pounds when he got the call to replace Burns.If true, he would have to lose 22-pounds in six days, in quarantine in a hotel room to abide the health and safety regulations in place for arrivals in the United Arab Emirates because of the ongoing health crisis worldwide caused by the coronavirus.Regardless, Masvidal did it.Even though he had to strip naked with a towel protecting his bare midsection, he weighed 170-pounds, just like Usman, who, to his credit, would also have had to endure a weight-cut while in quarantine.<h2>Cutting that much weight is 'really not that odd'</h2>Losing 22-pounds in less than a week is fairly regular behaviour when preparing to compete at a certain weight in all combat <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword>, not just mixed martial arts.Speaking to ESPN Radio on Friday, the former two-weight UFC champion and current UFC commentator Dan Cormier had more.He said: "It's not really that odd to have to lose that much weight. The difference is, usually you're preparing yourself for that big weight cut."Cormier competes in the heavyweight division today, and fights a trilogy bout against the UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 252 on August 16 at the UFC-owned Apex facility in Las Vegas.But prior to his move to join the big boys of MMA, Cormier competed as a light heavyweight and said that, when he would make his way to the city he was due to fight in, a week or so before the event, he would usually be 20-pounds over the 205-pound limit.When many fighters cut weight, they're not cutting fat, they're manipulating their water and sodium levels.This means they're stepping onto the scales extremely dehydrated. And after the weigh-in ceremony is complete, they rehydrate and put the water weight back on."I don't anticipate it being that much of a problem because he's also going to have 30 hours to recover before he fights in the Octagon," Cormier said. "He'll be fine."Cormier then said his weight on fight night would likely be the same as it was before he had to cut weight.Other weigh-in results from Friday's ceremony ahead of UFC 251 are below (all in pounds):<ul><li>Alexander Volkanovksi (145) vs. Max Holloway (145)</li><li>Peter Yan (135) vs. Jose Aldo (135)</li><li>Jessica Andrade (115) vs. Rose Namajunas (116)</li><li>Amanda Ribas (126) vs. Paige van Zant (126)</li><li>Volkan Oezdemir (205.5) vs. Jiri Prochazka (205)</li><li>Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (171) vs. Muslim Salikhov (171)</li><li>Makwan Amirkhani (146) vs. Danny Henry (146)</li><li>Leonardo Santos (156) vs. Roman Bogatov (155.5)</li><li>Marcin Tybura (252) vs. Maxim Grishin (223)</li><li>Raulian Paiva (129) vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov (126)</li><li>Karol Rosa (136) vs. Vanessa Melo (141)</li><li>Martin Day (136) vs. Davey Grant (136)</li></ul>Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/jorge-masvidal-is-one-win-from-a-conor-mcgregor-fight-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jorge Masvidal went from streetfighting to 'Fight Island' and is just one win away from immortality and a massive Conor McGregor payday</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/paige-van-zant-comments-on-ufc-fighter-pay-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paige van Zant said fighting in the UFC is fun, but she could have just worked a regular job and gotten paid the same</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/dana-white-expects-conor-mcgregor-to-fight-ufc-again-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UFC boss Dana White expects Conor McGregor to come out of retirement next year</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/max-holloway-says-he-hasnt-sparred-for-ufc-title-fight-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One of the UFC's best fighters says he didn't spar for his 'Fight Island' title fight and did training sessions over Zoom, alone</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/jorge-masvidal-wore-a-donald-trump-mask-to-fight-island-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jorge Masvidal arrived at 'Fight Island' wearing a Donald Trump mask and a bright, Miami pink Versace robe</a>

You Searched For "elizeu zaleski" and got 4 results

An MMA referee was banished from the rest of the UFC 267 event because of a highly questionable performance

Alan Dawson

American fighter Sean Strickland continues to talk about his fantasies of killing somebody

Alan Dawson

Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal's 'Fight Island' bout is trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight, Dana White said

Alan Dawson

Jorge Masvidal came in at 170-pounds for his 'Fight Island' main event, after weighing 192-pounds just days ago

Alan Dawson