Nina-Marie Daniele believes there are still plenty of stars in the UFC right now.
The UFC influencer is known for her quirky interviews and light-hearted content with MMA’s best fighters.
She has trained and interviewed current and former UFC champions, such as Israel Adesanya, Alex Pereira, Tom Aspinall, Dricus Du Plessis and Jon Jones.
There in an ongoing debate among the MMA community as to whether UFC CEO Dana White lacks stars in his promotion.
This follows Pereira losing his light heavyweight strap to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 313 with fans claiming the promotion is short of star power as seen when the likes of Conor McGregor held two titles.
A recent fan poll suggested that Ilia Topuria, Jones and Islam Makhachev were the UFC’s biggest names outside of Pereira right now.
Daniele responded swiftly to the social media post and named four current UFC fighters who have equally passionate fan followings.
“Khamzat Chimaev, Sean Strickland, Charles Oliveira and Sean O’Malley have an insane and loyal fan base!” Daniele wrote on X.
Strickland, Oliveira and O’Malley are all former UFC champions, while Chimaev is likely to challenge du Plessis for the middleweight strap this year.
Daniele may not be far off in her estimations as O’Malley was included in the UFC’s top five best-selling fighters in 2024.
However, there are also some notable omissions from her list.
UFC legends Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway, who came in at third and second respectively on the best-selling list – with Pereira and Jones making up the top five – were missing.
Fans were quick to respond to Daniele’s comments and there was one popular consensus.
One took to X and said: “We can remove Strickland from the list.”
While another added: “Tried to sneak Strickland in.”
MMA fans believed at one point that Daniele, 36, was dating ex-middleweight champion Strickland due to the amount of time the pair spent together.
This prompted Strickland to confirm that Daniele was like a ‘little sister’ to him in light of the relationship rumours between the pair.
A third didn’t agree with any of Daniele’s names, saying: “Khamzat is inactive, Strickland’s last fight was embarrassing, Oliveira is sick and O’Malley will struggle to ever reclaim a belt in my opinion.”
O’Malley hasn’t fought since dropping the bantamweight title to Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 306 last September.
However, this month Dvalishvili confirmed a rematch with ‘Suga’ was next on his list after defeating Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January.
Oliveira, meanwhile, defeated Michael Chandler in a five round war at UFC 309 in November.
The Brazilian had a brief stint as the UFC lightweight champion after going 11 bouts undefeated in the promotion, but he hasn’t fought for the 155-pound belt since getting submitted by current champion Makhachev.
Strickland broke his nose against du Plessis last month in his last Octagon appearance.
The defeat could be his final shot at UFC gold, while Chimaev is expected to be du Plessis’ toughest test to date when he meets the South African champion in 2025.
Where to buy UFC London tickets
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With the UFC only coming to the UK a handful of times per year, the opportunity to see MMA’s biggest stars in action can be limited.
However, this month UK-based MMA fans will have the opportunity to see the excitement live as the UFC returns to the 02 arena for UFC Fight Night 254, Edwards vs Brady.
See some of the UK’s finest as Leon Edwards, Molly McCann, Nathaniel Wood and more take to the Octagon in what’s set to be a thrilling night of fights.
To get tickets to UFC London, follow the links below.
UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady (02 Arena, 22 March)
- UFC London tickets at Ticketmaster, from £308.40 – buy here
- UFC London tickets at Vivid Seats, from £316 – buy here
- UFC London tickets at Stubhub, from £181 – buy here
- UFC London tickets at Viagogo, from £209 – buy here
For fans looking for an unrivalled Fight Night experience, Seat Unique offers UFC London hospitality packages complete with floor-level seating, UFC athlete appearances, post-fight Octagon experiences and more.
Get your UFC London hospitality tickets below.
UFC London hospitality tickets (02 Arena, 22 March)
- UFC London hospitality at Seat Unique, from £4,599 – buy here
