KEY POINTS

  • Julian Marquez challenged NFL stars Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill to a “badminton or pickleball” match
  • Mahomes and his Kansas City teammates accepted the UFC middleweight's challenge
  • The UFC star wants as many fights as possible

A UFC rising star is making a name for himself in a unique way

UFC middleweight Julian Marquez made headlines once again after scoring a second-round submission win over Sam Alvey at UFC on ABC 2 Saturday. Though “The Cuban Missile Crisis’” win was sensational enough, his post-fight interview also gained attention.

According to Marquez, he is the “baddest” man in all Kansas City and would like to challenge Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill to a “badminton or pickleball” match to prove it.

"I'm the baddest man from Kansas City, the baddest middleweight in Missouri," Marquez said. "And it's my time right now, so Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, I challenge you guys to a badminton or pickleball competition.”

"Straight up, if you guys want to see who the pound-for-pound champion of Kansas City is, you're coming after me,” he continued. “This magnificent beard tops all of what you guys have to bring."

Mahomes and his Chiefs teammates were quick to respond, ESPN reported.

Mahomes said he might “need a couple of weeks” to prepare, but he’s “always down” for such challenges.

Kelce, on the other hand, proposed a Kansas City restaurant as the venue, while Hill insisted, "I'm down."

Apart from the verbal agreement, nothing is concrete yet about the said badminton or pickleball match between Marquez and the NFL stars.

Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / ANDY LYONS

This year, Marquez has had a two-fight winning streak in the UFC. Ahead of his latest fight against Alvey, Marquez, 30, expressed his strong desire to get “as many fights as possible.”

“I'm here as a fighter,” Marquez told UFC’s official website. “I spent 31 months out of the Octagon, I need to get in there, I need to get as many fights as possible, and this was just a great matchup for me. And honestly, it's gonna be the best shine for me.”

“For 31 months there was this animal that was inside of me that was dormant, and I didn't know how to bring it out,” he added. “I didn't know where it was at and it's hard to find that. And I've been with James in some tough battles in the earlier part of my career, so James knew what to say and how to bring it out of me.”

RELATED STORIES