Simon Samano

@benfowlkesMMA Who wore it best? Max Holloway (as a shirt) or my daughter (as leggings). 😆

May 16 is Rousey vs. Carano on Netflix. That May 16 Apex show might just be the worst and most irrelevant card in UFC history, made simply to fill a schedule quota.

With the news of the WNBA successfully negotiating a new deal, it’s worth putting their numbers next to the UFC. A few things immediately stand out… The WNBA, a league that was losing money as recently as 2024, just secured a 354% minimum salary increase overnight. From $66,079 ➝ $300,000+ In one deal. Meanwhile, the UFC, a $12 Billion organization that generated about $1.5 Billion in revenue in 2025 with roughly 57% margins, still pays its lowest tier fighters $12,000 per fight. That number hasn’t meaningfully changed in over a decade. A 2021 pay analysis found 19% of UFC fighters earned less than about $25,000 annually. Here’s where it gets even sharper: ⛹🏼‍♀️Basketball WNBA players now capture about 20% of league revenue 👊🏼 UFC fighters sit at 15 to 18%, despite massive revenue growth ⛹🏼‍♀️WNBA minimum: $300,000 per season 👊🏼 UFC minimum: $12,000 per fight, before fight expenses ⛹🏼‍♀️ WNBA players own their NIL. Caitlin Clark’s Nike deal is hers. 👊🏼 UFC controls NIL in perpetuity. Fighters get flat fees. Not allowed their own sponsors when fighting. The difference isn’t revenue. It isn’t popularity. It’s structure. The WNBA has a union. The WNBPA held the line for 17 months, threatened a strike, and won. UFC fighters, classified as independent contractors, have no union no collective bargaining no real leverage A league a fraction of the size just delivered 25x higher minimum pay. That’s not a coincidence. Will we ever see the fighters form a union? 🤔 📊 Full breakdown in the graphics above Source: WNBA/WNBPA CBA March 2026 · TKO Group Holdings 2025 Earnings

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apparently GSP and Anderson Silva were just figments of our imagination.

Dolores Huerta chose to hide and suppress her own pain for the sake of the movement. She had to sit there as her (alleged) rapist was being glorified as a freedom fighter. I cannot imagine.

What an epic self-own lol.

Man, just LISTEN to this pandemonium.

And Ronda Rousey made the UFC (and Dana White) a lot of money. See how that works? Almost as if it’s a 50/50 thing.

MVP and Netflix have managed to hijack a lot of buzz that should be surrounding the #UFCWhiteHouse card, and they’ve done so with a #RouseyCarano card full of fighters the UFC could’ve/should’ve signed. I wonder how the folks at Paramount are viewing this.

Not just this, but the way I heard it, Diaz taking this fight closes the door on a UFC return completely. So whatever Diaz is making or planning for future fights, he’s doing so knowing there’s no UFC homecoming possible now.

Reunion: The #49ers are signing back one of their former stars, agreeing to terms with LB Dre Greenlaw, sources say. The former SF draft pick spent last season with the #Broncos and now returns on a 1-year, $7.5M deal.

What the hell are we doing here? Seriously.

Mike Evans on why money was not the biggest factor in his decision to sign with #49ers: "It was just (about) football. Something that I can be excited about. Every time I come to Levi's Stadium and I see how the crowd is and I see the energy that they bring and I see the rich history of the San Francisco 49ers, it just excites me. So I feel like it's given me a second wind in my career. And that's why I chose to come here."

We’ve never, ever had this before. A President completely untethered to truth. I mean completely untethered to truth. That’s such a bad thing. But you know what’s even worse? Way, way too many people don’t care. And way too much of the media no longer cares.

Gina Carano responds to Sean Strickland criticizing her fight vs. Ronda Rousey 🗣️ "I don't pay attention to him or his words. I think they're sadly coming from a hurt place. And hurt people, hurt people."

“As Real As It Gets” used to be an old UFC tagline. That’s what this answer is from Francis Ngannou after I asked for his thoughts on critics who say he ruined his legacy since leaving the UFC — and I appreciate the authenticity very much.

I stood beside @SJSamano when he asked this question. Glad Simon got it out and glad that Francis answered. It was so obviously genuine hearing MMA's lineal heavyweight champion talk today about his effort to gain independence from the UFC.

@robdogj @MrMWells Please don’t ever confuse me for being “on Uncle Dana’s nutz.” I take offense to that!

@MrMWells @SJSamano ok...I thought he was asking for Uncle Dana 😆

Francis cooked with this

Trump is a convicted felon and has pardoned a ton of convicted felons. Being worried about “anything that would get flagged for security” is quite funny.