UFC president Dana White will not be flying his private jet Down Under for UFC 293 – however an NBA superstar who earns US$30 million annually will be taking his place.
Fox Sports Australia can reveal Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray will be front row in Sydney next week cheering UFC middleweight king Israel Adesanya against American Sean Strickland.
UFC 293 | SUN SEP 10: The UFC returns to Sydney with an explosive fight card headlined by Israel Adesanya who will defend his middleweight title against Sean Strickland. ORDER ON MAIN EVENT ON KAYO SPORTS >
It comes as Adesanya this week blasted his US rival for being both an “idiot” and gym bully, declaring: “I’m going to paint my nails for that fight and I’m going to knock him out”.
Selling out in just 13 minutes, Sydney’s September 10 event will see a heavyweight cast of A-list celebrities sat cageside, with Hollywood’s Chris Hemsworth among the names being whispered.
Elsewhere, UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer has been confirmed for the event — despite having not worked the company’s most recent show in Singapore – while the broadcast team will comprise Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier and Laura Sanko.
The absence of UFC commentator Joe Rogan comes as little surprise given he no longer travels outside the States for events, while White has as yet given no reason for his absence, but was also not present for February’s UFC 284 blockbuster in Perth.
When it comes to those watching on however, Murray is by far the biggest name currently inked onto the Qudos Bank Arena guest list.
The Denver star, who played a crucial role in taking the Nuggets to a world championship this year, will spend the entire week in Sydney as he takes a break from that hefty five-year deal worth US$170 million.
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Over the past 18 months, Murray has become close mates with Australia’s UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski – who, in turn, has introduced him to his own friend and training partner, Adesanya.
Volkanovski is also expected to be on hand next week as Sydney’s CBD hosts several unique fight week experiences, including a UFC open workout inside the historic Town Hall on Wednesday night.
Over 2000 fans are expected to jam into the venue for a 6pm session showcasing the likes of Adesanya, Strickland and cult UFC heavyweight Tai Tuivasa.
Then on fight night, Murray will join a massive Homebush crowd to cheer a card stacked overflowing with hometown heroes like Tuivasa, Justin Tafa, Tyson Pedro, Jamie Mullarkey and rising featherweight Jack Jenkins.
Murray’s unique friendship with Volkanovski began last year, when the basketballer visited Australia for a series of promotional events, one of which included the champ.
From there, the two star athletes became great mates, with Murray even walking along Volkanovski in July as they entered T-Mobile Arena for the champ’s UFC 290 showdown against Yair Rodriguez.
At the after-party, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neill also joined in festivities with the duo.
During his time with the Wollongong fighter, Murray has also developed a friendship with Adesanya and several other members of their City Kickboxing Crew.
Asked about Strickland this week, the middleweight champ had clearly not forgotten statements his latest rival made at a previous press conference – when he blasted the New Zealander’s fondness for both anime and painted fingernails.
“He’s an idiot,” Adesanya told MMA Fighting of his rival.
“I’m not going to lose to an idiot.
“He says he’s not going to lose to a guy that jerks off to cartoons or paints his nails.
“Well, I’m going to paint my nails for that fight and I’m going to knock him out with my painted nails.”
Adesanya also slammed Strickland for engaging in sparring sessions so wild, he’s been caught on video knocking some of his training partners out.
“I don’t like the way he conducts himself,” the champ continued.
“Even his sparring footage will pop up in my feed sometimes and I’m just like ‘what the f …? Who does that?’.
“He’s a gym hero.
“He’s just an idiot and he’s not the kind of person I associate myself with … he’s fugazi.”
Later, Adesanya added: “The way he is normally backstage is not the same way when the crowd’s there.
“When the crowd’s there, he puts on the clown persona and tries to entertain people, which they love and it’s cool, but he’s not the same.
“I even put a little receipt, just one of them, on a clip I did [running into him] backstage — if you want to have this energy at the press conference, you could have had this energy backstage when I smacked you on the ass. He’s a fake guy.”
So as for his plans come fight night?
“I’m going to paint my nails and knock him out,” Adesanya said.
“That vision right there gets me up.
“That’s what motivates me because I’ve had that vision of having my nails painted, knocking him out and just showing my nails to the camera like ‘look, with my frosted tips, I knocked his b … ass out’.
“That vision right there, to make that vision come true, I’ve done everything in my power to make sure I knock this guy out.”
Hemsworth, meanwhile, is one of the nation’s most recognised UFC fans, alongside the likes of Mel Gibson, Hugh Jackman and Daniel Ricciardo.
Four years ago, the famed Marvel actor joined great mate Matt Damon cageside for UFC 234 in Melbourne – which was also headlined by Adesanya, who beat the legendary Anderson Silva.
Speaking on Logan Paul’s podcast recently, Volkanovski revealed he had met Hemsworth at the same Melbourne event, saying: “He sees me, came over and said ‘I was hoping you were on the card’.
“I was like ‘what the f..?’.
“I was just blown away. But I have caught up with him a couple of times and he always takes time to say hello … solid dude.”