UFC Forced to Separate Tommy McMillen and Marwan Rahiki After Hotel Confrontation Gets Physical
Weeks of tension, rivalry, and intensifying exchanges between Tommy McMillen and Marwan Rahiki have finally spilled over at the fighter hotel.
The promotional build-up and the back-and-forth between Tommy McMillen and Marwan Rahiki for the Noche UFC card have the combat world hooked. And while the latter confirmed the conflict as entirely competitive, recent developments have turned that explanation on its head.
Tommy McMillen Reveals Brawl Forced UFC intervention
The featured bout on the Noche UFC main card will have two undefeated fighters pitted against each other. Naturally, the challengers will be determined to prove their invincibility inside the Octagon.
That undercurrent, however, has carried over to their mouths, with Rahiki mercilessly disregarding McMillen's latest three-round significant-strikes record. This callout ultimately tipped the scales when the fighters crossed paths at the Glendale, Arizona, fighter hotel.
In an interview with Full Send MMA during the Noche UFC media day, McMillen brutally addressed Rahiki's comments about fighting him "for a cheeseburger", detailing their previous brawl. He began, "I think I already proved that to be wrong.
"I popped up here in the elevator, and that's the first kid I saw. He was there with eight of his teammates, and I'm sitting here with my little brother Jonno and my striking coach JJ. I got right in his face right away. He tried to touch me. I pushed him out of my face."
He continued, "I told him he looks like a scrawny little b—, and Saturday night I'm going to make him look like my little brother," adding that he "punked" him in the elevator and security had to intervene.
From the online videos of the physical conflict, fans can see that the confrontation got quite handsy, alongside curse words being thrown. Although the fighters were separated before matters could escalate, 'Gun' seems to have already made his statement: his aggressive talk isn't merely promotional; he's ready to back it up with fists if needed.
The American fighter also called out the legitimacy of Rahiki's UFC record.
Tommy McMillen Pokes Holes in Marwan Rahiki's Undefeated Record
Tommy McMillen is going all in in his critique of his Moroccan opponent. In the same interview, the 11-0 fighter ruthlessly picked apart Rahiki's two UFC appearances.
McMillen quipped that 'Freaky' got "lucky" in his clash against Harry Hardwick in his UFC debut. According to the American fighter, Hardwick had significantly beaten Rahiki in the first round before the latter clipped the jaw in the second round by sheer luck. "He barely got the job done there," McMillen remarked, referring to the Doctor's stoppage.
Speaking about Rahiki's latest fight against Ollie Schmid, 'Gun' commented that the bout was on the prelims card against a fighter with a 5-3 record. In fact, the fight was on the UFC Perth main card, while Schmid's record is currently 4- 3. However, it must be noted that Schmid took the fight on short 4 days' notice.
Meanwhile, Rahiki hasn't been merciful with his words either, claiming that a volume-striking record is barely impressive, and that McMillen hasn't been hit as hard as the Moroccan hits.
Clearly, the rivalry is only intensifying, and the hotel confrontation was just a glimpse of what Saturday night brings. Besides Rahiki and McMillen, Jean Silva vs. Jose Delgado and Brandon Moreno vs. Joseph Morales are other interesting fights to look out for.
