A few days removed from the second anniversary of the January 6th insurrection attempt at the US Capitol, similar scenes have erupted in Brasillia, Brazil.
However former president, Jair Bolsonaro – the man alleged to be at the center of the controversy – is far removed from the action (at the instruction of his lawyers). He’s currently holed up thousands of miles from home in Reunion, Florida, in a vacation house owned by former UFC featherweight champion José Aldo, while political opponent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was sworn into office a week ago.
Though the political climate in the country is not expected to affect the UFC’s plans for UFC 283, if and when Bolsonaro returns to Brazil, he will face a number of ongoing investigations stemming from his time in office.
Aldo is one name on a long list of Bolsonaro supporters inside the Brazilian MMA community; he stands alongside Darren Till, Paulo Costa, Anderson Silva, Wanderlei Silva, Rafael dos Anjos, Royce Gracie, and Ronaldo Souza in support of the former president.
This news comes just a month out from Aldo’s professional boxing debut in Rio de Janeiro on February 10.
The AllStar MMA roundup
- Roxanne Modafferi: MMA is a small world and that can be a problem
The best of the rest
- NBA star Kyle Kuzma slams ‘embarrassing’ ESPN and media coverage of Dana White slapping wife – BloodyElbow.com
- Angela Lee announces sister Victoria Lee, ONE Championship veteran, dead at 18 – MMAFighting.com
- Khabib Nurmagomedov retires from MMA coaching to ‘spend more time with his family’ – MMAMania.com
- Former UFC fighter Cain Carrizosa arrested after allegedly beating woman into convulsion – MMAJunkie.com
- Conor McGregor mocks ‘wally’ Jake Paul after giving away ‘50%’ of his purse to PFL – BloodyElbow.com
The soapbox
Israel Adesanya gets his walk on with Xzibit:
Former TUF alum Dustin Lampros now hunts child predators:
McGregor teases:
Jiri doing wild man things after the worst shoulder injury the UFC has ever seen:
Justin Gaethje on Dave Portnoy, again:
The Leech wants smoke:
Rafael Fiziev on chasing Islam Makhachev, not the title:
The morning view
JHK chats with Terrance Saeteurn ahead of A1 Combat 7:
Dan Hardy breaks down Kelvin Gastelum vs Nassourdine Imavov:
The Weasle makes his 2023 UFC champion predictions:
MMA On Point details the legendary career of Georges St-Pierre:
Done Deals
Monday:
- Guram Kutateladze to be replaced by Melquizael Costa opposite Thiago Moises at UFC 283 on January 21st (per Guilherme Cruz)
- Nurullo Aliev to fight Rafael Alves at UFC Vegas 70 on February 25th (per Nolan King)
UFC Roster Watch
Fighters removed this week:
- none to note
Fighters Added this week:
- none to note
Credit to UFC Roster Watch
On this day in MMA…
On the 9th of January, 2010, Tony Halme, best remembered by the MMA community as the first opponent of Randy Couture in the UFC, died at the age of 47 years old from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Halme’s fight opposite Couture would serve as his final professional MMA bout.
On top of his mixed martial arts career, which ended in a total of 3 recorded wins and 7 losses, Halme dabbled as a professional wrestler in the early 1990s under the moniker of “Ludvig Borga” in the World Wrestling Federation, and also found fleeting success as a professional boxer, retiring with a 13-6 record.
Following his career in sports entertainment, Halme was somewhat surprisingly elected to Finnish Parliament, serving from 2003-2007 (but not without his share of controversy). He was alleged to be working on a book about his life at the time of his death.
