UFC news, rumors: Jon Jones, Sean O’Malley and more highlight the biggest MMA moments of May

May was a slow month for the UFC as the promotion recovered from an all-time great UFC 300 card. The same did not happen outside the cage. There was plenty of drama that kept the news cycle spinning.

UFC champions Jon Jones and Sean O’Malley were some of the big names making headlines last month. The news was not restricted to the current champions either. Bonafide legends Anderson Silva, José Aldo and Ronda Rousey have captured the public’s attention over the past 30 days.

Take a look at some of the biggest MMA stories you might have missed in May 2024.

Jon Jones continues to irritate Tom Aspinall

Jones vs. Stipe Miocic will happen come hell or high water. UFC president Dana White is determined to make his longtime dream fight a reality, possibly a full year after the fight’s failure at UFC 295. Tom Aspinall replaced the injured Miocic on that card, but did not fight the undisputed heavyweight champion heavy, Jones. Instead, Aspinall defeated Sergei Pavlovich to become interim champion last November. Aspinall is forced to take your time elsewhere despite winning a title unifier as Jones and Miocic wrap up their never-ending business. Aspinall and Jones have repeatedly sparring on social media about the situation. Jones further drew the interim champion’s ire by musing about a fight with UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira after Miocic.

“If Alex P became heavyweight champion, would you consider him the GOAT?” Jones he wrote on the social networks. “Being back in the gym made me think differently. That fight after Stipe could be the next biggest move I could make. This assassin has already defeated so many champions and is already considered a legend to millions of people around the world. huge fight that the UFC could make. Give Alex the chance to avenge all the great Brazilian champions I defeated.”

Sean O’Malley gets hit

A relaxing day turned into a high-stress situation for the UFC bantamweight champion. O’Malley was playing video games and streaming them to his fans when a police force raided his property. O’Malley appears to be a victim of swatting, a trend in which perpetrators make fake emergency phone calls in an attempt to send a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team to someone’s home. Victims are often streamers who broadcast live online.

“I peek out the window to see if maybe it’s something else, but then they’re on the intercom and I see a bunch of police officers,” O’Malley said on “Timbo Sugarshow“podcast with your coach Tim Welch. “They say, ‘Come out with your hands up.’ So I come out with my hands up. I was like, ‘I’m just going to listen. I could get shot. I was like, ‘OK, if I just listen to them, I’ll be fine.’ But you never know: someone sneezes, pulls the trigger – I have shotguns pointed at me, AR-[15]s from four different police officers pointed at me. I was like, ‘I’m just going to listen and come back.”

O’Malley said he was detained by officers who did not recognize him; however, additional reinforcements identified him as a UFC fighter.

“I was sitting in the back of that police car in handcuffs and I thought, ‘Man, this is crazy: I had freedom five minutes ago. Now I have none. Zero,'” O’Malley said. “They said I killed my parents or something, and they thought there was an active shooter in there.”

Ronda Rousey becomes scorched earth

Rousey was once the UFC’s main attraction and is among the most popular American athletes alive. Nowadays her relationship with the MMA community is tense. Rousey went radio silent following back-to-back knockout losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes — her only two professional losses — before transitioning into a fruitful professional wrestling career in WWE. Rousey is now opening up after retiring from both professions to promote her new book. During an interview with “High performanceOn the podcast, Rousey blamed the media for her strained relationship with MMA fans.

“Ask the MMA media [why what I gave wasn’t enough] – they’re the ones saying that,” Rousey said. “That I was a fraud and I was over the top and I was exposed and I never had anything and I was just lucky and all that stuff, that I was impolite or I was a loser or whatever else I just assume at this point because I don’t take the time to read it. “

UFC legends regularly fill seats at pay-per-view events, but Rousey has been noticeably absent since retiring. The UFC Hall of Famer and former bantamweight champion fears she will be booed if she attends a live UFC event.

“Everything negative that could be said has been said, and I feel very vilified by the MMA media at this point and not very welcome back, which is why I haven’t been to a UFC fight since,” Rousey said. . “I’m sure if I walked into the arena I would be booed. That’s how I feel.”

Derrick Lewis gets naked

What’s crazier: Lewis’ knockouts or his post-fight antics. It’s a difficult question to answer. The UFC’s knockout leader has become a fan favorite due to his unparalleled knockout power and colorful personality. His stoppage time victory against Rodrigo Nascimento at UFC Fight Night on May 11 was impressive, but his post-fight antics drew more attention. Lewis celebrated the knockout by taking off his shorts and fanning Nascimento with them. He continued by taking off his underwear to delight the St. Louis crowd. The production truck even switched scenes at one point to avoid the possibility of showing viewers more than was suitable for television.

José Aldo returns and enters free agency

UFC Hall of Famer Aldo is in complete control of his career. Aldo made a surprising return at UFC 301, ending his 18-month retirement from MMA to fight bantamweight challenger Jonathan Martinez. “The King of Rio” won at home while fighting for his UFC contract. Aldo told CBS Sports he would not re-sign with the UFC immediately while he explored options. The former featherweight champion was hesitant about signing with another MMA organization, but expressed excitement about the upcoming boxing fights. Whatever Aldo’s next step is, it was comforting to see his hand raised in front of his compatriots in what could be his final UFC fight.

Silva x Sonnen in boxing

Aldo is not the only Brazilian UFC legend taking an interest in boxing. Record UFC middleweight champion Silva is scheduled for an exhibition boxing fight against a familiar opponent. Silva will face two-time UFC rival Sonnen in Silva’s hometown of São Paulo, Brazil on June 15. The fight is scheduled for five two-minute rounds. Interestingly, his first fight at UFC 117 will be inducted into the UFC Fight Wing Hall of Fame later that month during International Fight Week. Silva is the favorite to beat Sonnen thanks to his activity and great attacking advantage. Silva competed in five professional boxing fights, most notably beating Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and losing to Jake Paul. Sonnen’s background is primarily in wrestling. Sonnen stated in his “Good Guy/Bad Guy” ESPN shows that Silva offered an MMA fight, but Sonnen opted for boxing in preparation for an upcoming boxing match with Jorge Masvidal.