MMA News

Author: Kyle Dimond

  • Chael Sonnen: Story Of Conor McGregor’s UFC Return Is Being ‘Mistold’

    Chael Sonnen: Story Of Conor McGregor’s UFC Return Is Being ‘Mistold’

    The road to see Conor McGregor back inside the Octagon has been unlike anything else that the UFC has seen before.

    In recent years where his comeback has been regularly spoken about, there has been blame placed on both McGregor and the UFC’s side.

    Though his professionalism has been called into question during the time since he last fought, “The Notorious” has always been passionate about martial arts and competition despite everything that he has already achieved.

    His 2024 return is seemingly off the table following the recent comments from Dana White that seemed to shut down any chance of the Irishman’s headlining the final numbered event of the year in December.

    Chael Sonnen Says That He Believes Conor McGregor And Thinks He’s Pushing Hard For The Return

    From the outside looking in, it seems that McGregor has tried very hard over the past 12 or so months to book his return after repeatedly stating that he was ready to fight.

    Though the decision to withdraw from the UFC 303 main event against Michael Chandler was his to make, the former UFC champ-champ did seem set on rescheduling the fight for later on in the year.

    Chael Sonnen said that he believes McGregor when it comes to trying to make this fight happen, on a recent episode of Good Guy / Bad Guy on ESPN MMA.

    “The Bad Guy” said that he doesn’t think the impression of what is happening behind the scenes is a true reflection of reality, making the case for why he believes “The Mac” is doing what he can to make this fight a reality.

    “I’m hearing the organization would like him to fight in California in January, I can’t confirm that for you but I would like to say this one thing Daniel, as long winded as I’m being. I think the story of Conor is being a little bit mistold in this way. I believe him. I believe that he wants to fight. I believe that he is going behind the scenes, see he loves to feint power, he loves to let people know it’s all my decision.

    “I believe he has humbled himself to say, ‘I need the organization to sign off on this, I’m willing to go,’ and that’s not quite how the story is being told. The story is being told that Conor is dangling this, I don’t think so and if you remember all the efforts that he went through just to get on the docket on June 29, he’s doing the same things to get on the docket in December. At a minimum, I do believe he is sincere that he still wants to be one of the boys.”

    Read also: Francis Ngannou’s Coach On UFC Deleting His Legacy: ‘It Takes Somebody Of Izzy’s Stature…’

  • Alex Pereira Told Dricus Du Plessis Is The ‘Wrong Guy To Mess With’ After Post-UFC 305 Call-Out

    Alex Pereira Told Dricus Du Plessis Is The ‘Wrong Guy To Mess With’ After Post-UFC 305 Call-Out

    It has taken a long time for Dricus Du Plessis to get the respect that he believes he has always deserved, but his winning streak is becoming undeniable.

    With eight consecutive wins inside the Octagon, he has now beaten three former middleweight champions in his most recent outings.

    Finishing both Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya, along with going the distance against Sean Strickland, has shown how “Stillknocks” is very effective despite his style not being the most technically sound.

    A rematch with Strickland makes a lot of sense for his next title defense given how close their first encounter was but there is also the potential for a huge fight against the champion at the weight class above, in the near future.

    Daniel Cormier & Chael Sonnen Agree That Dricus Du Plessis Poses A Threat To Alex Pereira

    In order for Du Plessis to add yet another former middleweight champion to his record, he would need to face the current light heavyweight titleholder, Alex Pereira.

    At least on paper, many will point to how Du Plessis does tend to fight recklessly at points, which makes a clash with “Poatan” so dangerous for him.

    However, after watching what he was able to do against another elite striker in Adesanya this past weekend at UFC 305, Daniel Cormier spoke on the Good Guy / Bad Guy show on ESPN MMA about his intrigue around that potential match-up:

    “DDP already said Chael, ‘It doesn’t have to be at ’85, I’m not giving you no excuse. I’ll come to 205 and fight you.’ After watching him, I don’t know that he don’t do well against Alex because of his wrestling and his ability to strike.”

    Cormier’s co-host Chael Sonnen agreed with him on this point, stating that we’re still learning what Du Plessis is capable of at this stage.

    “Wrong guy to mess with, I mean in all fairness, whatever Alex is seeing in DDP, Alex should know that’s what we all saw in Alex two years ago. We did not understand how great he is.”

    Read also: Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’

  • Francis Ngannou’s Coach On UFC Deleting His Legacy: ‘It Takes Somebody Of Izzy’s Stature…’

    Francis Ngannou’s Coach On UFC Deleting His Legacy: ‘It Takes Somebody Of Izzy’s Stature…’

    Francis Ngannou is set to really begin the next chapter of his MMA career when he makes his long-awaited PFL debut against Renan Ferreira on October 19.

    Despite parting ways with the UFC in January of 2023, the former UFC heavyweight champion has been competing in boxing before taking some time off after tragically losing his son earlier this year.

    In the meantime, his former home has done a few things that rubbed both Ngannou and his supporters the wrong way by not acknowledging what he achieved in the promotion.

    One particular stat shown in August of last year listed Tafon Nchukwi as the first Cameroonian fighter to ever compete in the UFC, which was quickly corrected by Ngannou on social media.

    Not only had they erased Ngannou on this occasion, they had also jumped past Thierry Sokoudjou who “The Predator” gave props to.

    Eric Nicksick Says He Doesn’t Understand UFC’s Stance On Francis Ngannou

    This lack of acknowledgment for Ngannou was brought up once again by Israel Adesanya during his media day interviews ahead of UFC 305.

    Ngannou’s coach Eric Nicksick spoke about the impact that actions like this from “The Last Stylebender” have during a recent interview with Submission Radio.

    He gave his opinion on Ngannou not being celebrated for his time in the UFC, stating that he can’t understand this way of handling the situation even if it did end on less than stellar terms.

    “It just doesn’t make any sense. I think it’s like if you had this break-up but you still learn something or you still gained something from that relationship and I think it takes somebody of Izzy’s stature and nobility of like he cares so much about Francis that he has a platform and he speaks up about it. Good on Izzy for seeing these injustices and speaking up on it. It’s just silly. It just actually, I think it brings more light and more negative connotation to the situation.

    “Had they just been like, ‘Oh hey man, you know, he was a great champion for us while he was here.’ You don’t have to promote the guy but when you’re doing a stat that said the first Cameroonian fighter in UFC history, like wait a minute, you had a couple guys that were in there. It is what it is man, it’s their promotion, it’s their business what they decide to do. I just would never really understand the purpose or reason why behind it.”

    Read also: Francis Ngannou’s Touching Gesture To Coach Who ‘Doesn’t Have A Family’: ‘It Was Enough To Move This Man To Tears…’

  • MMA Coach Breaks Down Potential Alex Pereira vs. Dricus Du Plessis Fight: ‘Jiří Is Very Similar To Dricus…’

    MMA Coach Breaks Down Potential Alex Pereira vs. Dricus Du Plessis Fight: ‘Jiří Is Very Similar To Dricus…’

    Following the main event of UFC 305, Alex Pereira kickstarted talks of a champion vs champion clash with a post on social media.

    Dricus Du Plessis was able to defend his middleweight title this past weekend by submitting Israel Adesanya in the fourth round.

    Though he would appear to be facing Sean Strickland in a rematch next and Pereira is booked to defend his light heavyweight crown at UFC 307, “Poatan” teased that he could move back down to 185-pounds to try and reclaim the middleweight strap.

    Du Plessis has been underrated for a lot of his UFC career but being able to add Pereira to his record but would be a massive moment for “Stillknocks”.

    Eric Nicksick Says Alex Pereira’s Counter-Striking Would Be A Big Problem For Dricus Du Plessis

    Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick gave his thoughts on how that potential fight could play out during a recent interview with Submission Radio.

    Nicksick has spent a long time breaking down Du Plessis’ unorthodox movement, timing and technique due to him being Strickland’s head coach.

    He believes that unlike Adesanya and Strickland, Pereira presents a huge problem to the middleweight champion because of his accuracy and power.

    Many have highlighted in the past how Du Plessis does leave himself open to taking damage even if his aggressive style is incredibly effective.

    This is where Nicksick believes that you can’t afford to leave any gaps for “Poatan” to capitalize on, using Pereira’s fights against the incredibly dangerous and unpredictable Jiří Procházka to illustrate his point.

    “So comparison wise, think about what Alex Pereira would do to a guy like Jiří Procházka and Jiří’s very similar to Dricus in the erratic behaviour of the way he throws his punches. I think Jiří is more of a feel fighter where he’s not putting predisposed combinations in his head off of these types of reads, he’s just kind of throwing. Whereas Dricus is throwing these things but he’s also leaving his hands behind in certain positions right, like if he’s hitting that switch cross or switch overhand, it’s like one hand’s in the pocket, the other hand’s in the pocket when he’s throwing that looping overhand.

    “That’s where I think Alex Pereira is elite. I think he sees the holes in the defense so Dricus kind of hits those a couple times and Alex catches that timing, that’s where his counter striking is so great. I think that’s where Dricus will have problems. I don’t think you can have that same type of approach as many times as he did against Izzy as he could against Alex Pereira. It’s like that using the same pickup line at the bar with the same girl over and over and over and finally she’s like, ‘Fine, here, f*** it, here’s my number’. But after a while, you’re like dude, this is not going to work but then all of a sudden it works.”

    Read also: Tom Aspinall Has High Praise For Dricus Du Plessis After UFC 305: ‘One Of The Smartest Fighters In The UFC’ 

  • Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’

    Sean Strickland’s Coach Expands On Strategy For Dricus Du Plessis Rematch: ‘It’s Gonna Be To The Death!’

    The next middleweight title fight would appear to be a rematch of what fight fans saw take place over five rounds in the main event of UFC 297.

    Dricus Du Plessis won a split decision on that night in January to take the belt from Sean Strickland, following a back-and-forth encounter.

    After Strickland was able to bounce back with a win over Paulo Costa and Du Plessis defended the title against Israel Adesanya this past weekend, a rematch is on the cards.

    Given how close it was the first time around, there likely isn’t going to be a big change made by either man that will drastically change the way this one plays out – and that’s how Strickland’s head coach sees it.

    Eric Nicksick Says He Expects A Similar Fight With Small ‘Chess Match’ Adjustments

    In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Eric Nicksick spoke about his expectations for preparing Strickland to face Du Plessis for a second time.

    He spoke about how the key to this fight will be focusing on small adjustments because they wouldn’t need to do much different to have won the first encounter.

    “There are some things and I’ve said them publicly in the past but there are definitely some things that we went away from that would have helped negate that forward pressure and I still firmly believe had we stayed on those things, we would have won that fight and he didn’t do those things, Sean did not do those things. So, we need to get back to some small little changes.

    “There’s some things on the ground that I think we can accomplish as well that I would like to revisit with Sean and yeah. I mean it wasn’t this crazy, crazy, ‘Oh dude, we got our a** kicked’. There was just some small little things but now the fun part is the chess match. What are they going to do to go back and make those adjustments and what are they going to expect us to make our adjustments on, and then there’s that little game of chess now. That’ll be the fun part.”

    Nicksick also believes that this first fight is going to look very similar to the UFC 297 headliner because of the styles and toughness of both men.

    He can’t see a way that it doesn’t end up being a test of both men’s wills when the going gets tough.

    “You would love to say, ‘Oh, we’re gonna go in there and smoke this dude’ but Dricus, he’ll look awful and then he comes back and does his thing so you got to expect a knockdown drag out fight. 2-2 going into round five, hey we’re down to the last five minutes, we’re going to have to dig deep and figure out a way to get this fight, that’s how we have to train, that’s how we have to expect it. It’s going to be to the death.”

    Read also: Tom Aspinall Has High Praise For Dricus Du Plessis After UFC 305: ‘One Of The Smartest Fighters In The UFC’ 

  • Jamahal Hill Claps Back At Magomed Ankalaev Over LHW Title Drama: ‘Bro, You Light Work For Me!’

    Jamahal Hill Claps Back At Magomed Ankalaev Over LHW Title Drama: ‘Bro, You Light Work For Me!’

    A lot of MMA fans were surprised to see that Alex Pereira’s next UFC light heavyweight title defense will be against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307 in October.

    Despite Rountree having an impressive run of finishes with back-to-back wins last year, many expected to see Magomed Ankalaev get the next shot at “Poatan”.

    Instead, Ankalaev will be taking on Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 308 where a win over another top contender will surely see him earn a second shot at the 205-pound title.

    He was unsurprisingly critical of the UFC’s decision to book Pereira against Rountree Jr. but some of his comments struck a nerve with another one of the light heavyweight division’s big names.

    Jamahal Hill Says He’d Be Willing To Fight Magomed Ankalaev At UFC 308

    During a recent YouTube video on his channel, Jamahal Hill gave his reaction to Ankalaev’s comments after the announcement.

    Hill believes that Ankalaev has looked to gain popularity from the fans by coming at him to try and win some of them over.

    The former champion also referenced how the Dagestani fighter hasn’t always been in the UFC’s good books, believing that he has bitten his tongue this time around rather than publicly slamming the promotion for not booking him as the next title challenger.

    “I made a reaction video about the Khalil Rountree and Alex Pereira fight announcement and there was one guy in particular who yeah, I will agree he’s been given the run-around by the business right and I’m assuming now, he’s learned his lesson now to watch his mouth ‘cuz as you know, we talking about Mrs, I ain’t even going to, little ‘Frudamed Gankalaev’, ankle grabber, whatever you want to call him. This dude just can’t stop trying to like clout chase in whatever way he can. bro like, you fought to a draw, you had your chance, you had your chance of winning the title.

    “Now, I am one of the people that agree that he should have been next in the title shot above Khalil Rountree, and I spoke on this. But, for you to say like, say I’m crying because I spoke on an obvious fact of the game that affects everybody in our weight class and things like that, I see what you tried to do bro. You see that the whole fan base, they’re kinda against me, they kind of want to throw s*** on me and s*** like that. You think that you can get some cool points by jumping on that bandwagon and trying to call me out. Stop it bro, stop it bro. I would expect a low IQ move like that from you, you know what I mean. You don’t want to say anything about the fight being announced because you’ve now learned your lesson from the time whenever you lost, talking about you don’t want to fight for the UFC…and now they have now smacked your hand and now you know to watch your mouth and stay in check.

    Hill ended the video by saying that he would be open to stepping in to face Ankalaev if, for whatever reason, Rakić is unable to compete on October 26 in Abu Dhabi.

    “Sweet Dreams” was originally scheduled to make a quick turnaround after losing the title but withdrew from UFC 303 in June due to an injury.

    “They don’t even like you enough to let you fight [for the title] over the #8 dude! So chill out bro, chill out tryna get cool points bro, focus on other s***. You got a fight coming up against Rakić, shout out to Rakić cuz’ he’s very well capable of putting your a** out. But, best believe if my phone ring and they need somebody to come step in and handle you, bro you’re light work for me. You’re light work for me and I can’t wait to show that.”

    Read also: Dricus Du Plessis’ Coach Offers Alternative To Alex Pereira’s Middleweight Tease: ‘I Won’t Give Him The Joy…’

  • Aljamain Sterling Explains Why Kai Kara-France’s Win Over Steve Erceg Was A Bad Stoppage

    Aljamain Sterling Explains Why Kai Kara-France’s Win Over Steve Erceg Was A Bad Stoppage

    Kai Kara-France made a real statement with his performance in the co-main event this past Saturday night in Perth.

    It was a battle of top flyweight contenders at UFC 305 and “Don’t Blink” showed why he still belongs in title contention following consecutive defeats.

    He was able to stop Perth’s own Steve Erceg in the opening round, after dropping him with a huge overhand shot that caught the former title challenger clean.

    Some follow-up strikes led to him earning a performance bonus for his third knockout or TKO win in the UFC’s 125-pound weight class.

    While it was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the night, a former champion did have a point to address after seeing the stoppage.

    Aljamain Sterling Says Steve Erceg Was Still Intelligently Defending Himself At The Time Of UFC 305 Stoppage

    In his post-UFC 305 breakdown on his YouTube channel, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling discussed the stoppage in this fight.

    “Funk Master” has spoken before about his loss to Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, where he believes the referee jumped in too early when he was still intelligently defending himself despite taking some follow-up strikes after being dropped.

    Sterling made the same case for Erceg in this fight after seeing how, in his opinion, “Astro Boy” was still in the fight even though his opponent was putting strikes together to get the finish.

    “Now, the stoppage was a little odd for me. Like yeah he was hurt beforehand but then he’s starting to recover. My only gripe with the stoppage is you see the guy turn and you see him cover and then you see him trying to get up, he gets hit once, like let him eat a couple because it’s not like it’s catching him clean on the chin right? That would be clear, you’re not intelligently defending yourself but if you at least are smart enough to put an arm up, it’s like, ‘Hey, this is better here. It might rattle my head a little bit but it’s better here than just taking clean shots to the dome.’

    “If you can be conscious enough to do that, I think the refs should pay attention to those scenarios. Yes, the whole sequence, I’m not a ref. I’m not a ref but from a fighter’s standpoint, we think about these things and I don’t even think Erceg even like really was protesting or anything but I’m sure he was still in the back of his mind like, ‘I don’t want to be that guy but I’m still kinda annoyed because I could have maybe fought through that and weathered the storm.’ Who knows, we would never know now.”

    Read also: Alex Pereira, Belal Muhammad, Aljamain Sterling & Other MMA Fighters React To Dricus Du Plessis Submitting Israel Adesanya At UFC 305

  • Dricus Du Plessis Kicks Steve Erceg When He’s Down After UFC 305 Loss For Labeling Him A ‘6/10 Fighter’

    Dricus Du Plessis Kicks Steve Erceg When He’s Down After UFC 305 Loss For Labeling Him A ‘6/10 Fighter’

    Dricus Du Plessis has always had his fair share of critics during his UFC run, despite being undefeated inside the Octagon.

    During his climb up the middleweight ladder, many were critical of his ability to fight at a constant pace over three rounds due to him becoming visibly tired in some of his earlier fights.

    Even since there has been an improvement from “Stillknocks” in this area, there is often conversation about his unorthodox, and at times reckless-appearing approach which lacks finesse – but has been incredibly effective for him.

    This was case and point in the main event of UFC 305 this past weekend where he was able to walk down and catch Israel Adesanya with big looping punches to hurt him and find the submission win in the fourth round.

    Unfortunately for those that don’t rate the champion’s technique, he has been keeping receipts.

    Dricus Du Plessis Reminds Steve Erceg Of His Criticism After UFC 305

    After successfully defending the middleweight title for the first time, Du Plessis made sure to circle back to a few people who had doubted him or talked down on his ability during fight week.

    There are clear elements of his game that you wouldn’t necessarily teach a young fighter but the champ knows how to make it work for him.

    One of the criticisms that clearly he took notice of was Steve Erceg labelling him as a 6/10 overall fighter due to some of his more unpredictable tendencies.

    Erceg was stopped in front of his home fans in Perth this past weekend with Kai Kara-France securing a massive first-round win in the co-main event.

    Via his Instagram story, Du Plessis took a moment to remind the former flyweight title challenger of what he had said after they ended up on opposite sides of the win column on August 17.

    MMA fans reacted to the champion getting the last word in via social media.

    “Dude has all the receipts. He’s coming for everyone.”

    “this guy is against the whole world right now”

    “Tbf erceg gave himself a 7, it seems like he just has a really high bar”

    “If everyone doubted me like how they did I’d come back for everyone too”

    Read also: Dricus Du Plessis Embraces Israel Adesanya’s Parents Backstage At UFC 305: ‘You Have An Incredible Son’

  • ‘Dude Didn’t Wanna Get Slammed’ – MMA Fans React To Aggressive Streamer Backing Down Against ‘Rampage’ Jackson

    ‘Dude Didn’t Wanna Get Slammed’ – MMA Fans React To Aggressive Streamer Backing Down Against ‘Rampage’ Jackson

    A video posted on social media showed of a recent confrontation between a streamer named Ac7ionman and the CEO of F3 Energy, Harrison Rogers, that went viral.

    What starts as some kind of dispute over a contract and potential legal case escalates when Ac7ionman repeatedly makes fun of Rogers and claims that he’s going to sue him for putting his hands on him, with video evidence.

    Things immediately take a turn once, of all people, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson exits the bathroom to see what all the fuss is about.

    Ac7ionman then leaves the room double quick whilst Jackson attempts to understand what just happened.

    “Who was that? I’m trying to take the hardest s*** of my life, I hear some m*********** come on, look at me, I’m sweating my a** off.”

    The streamer then returns to the room, continuing to shout and scream about the lawsuit that he’s going to file, only for ‘Rampage’ to walk towards him, usher him back out of the room and close the door on him after getting a few insults of his own in.

    “God damn, dude’s annoying as f***”

    Fans React After ‘Rampage’ Jackson Puts A Swift End To Viral Beef With His Presence

    The combat sports world has had an interesting relationship with streamers and the way that they conduct themselves.

    On this occasion, the fans on social media were happy to see how suddenly, this somewhat awkward and cringe-inducing exchange was ended by the emergence of ‘Rampage’, who was able to escort Ac7ionman out of the way without doing anything.

    “Legalize beating the shit outta live streamers”

    “Dude didn’t wanna get slammed.”

    “Bro was scared for his life”

    https://twitter.com/brodyunfiltered/status/1825331886463356945

    “Rampage baby!! That man left quick AF”

    “Bro RAN once he saw Rampage”

    “Bro had his chest puffed out until Rampage showed up and then he turned into a little b**** LMFAOOO”

    “Not his screams fading in the distance”

    Read also: Dana White Reacts To UFC Fighters Brawling At PFL Event With Jibe At The Rival Promotion

  • Dan Hooker Admits McGregor Callout Intended To ‘Snake’ Michael Chandler: ‘He Waits All That Time & Conor Fights Me Anyway…’

    Dan Hooker Admits McGregor Callout Intended To ‘Snake’ Michael Chandler: ‘He Waits All That Time & Conor Fights Me Anyway…’

    Dan Hooker delivered one of the stand out performances at UFC 305 to ascend up the lightweight division by beating Mateusz Gamrot.

    It’s been some time since “The Hangman” was in the mix at the top of the 155-pound weight class but that is certainly the case after he pulled off the underdog win over one of the top contenders.

    In his post-fight interview following the Fight of the Night clash, Hooker spoke about the number of exciting options that he now wants to chase down after this win.

    Part of his declaration to the matchmakers sitting cage side included Conor McGregor, which took some by surprise.

    “Look at me now! I want them all brother! I want the BMF, I want Conor McGregor, I want a title eliminator, I want everything brother! I want it all Sean, I want it all Hunter!”

    Dan Hooker Explains “Troll” Motivation Behind Conor McGregor Call Out

    In a post-fight interview with TheMacLife, Hooker explained why he chose to mention McGregor’s name inside the Octagon after getting his hand raised.

    Of course, McGregor is still the biggest fight out there across the entire sport, let alone the lightweight division, which means he often gets called out and has done for nearly a decade.

    Hooker’s call to namedrop “The Notorious” wasn’t necessarily financially motivated, though that is a huge incentive for trying to get this fight.

    He said that this decision was made more because he thinks it would be hilarious to get this fight instead of McGregor being welcomed back to the UFC by Michael Chandler, which fans have waited so long to see at this point.

    Hooker was defeated by Chandler back when “Iron” Mike made his UFC debut in 2021 so taking the biggest fight of his career away from him would be sweet revenge.

    “I didn’t necessarily call him out, I just said like, because I am absolute troll, so it’s like the biggest troll move you could do of all time is to snake that fight off Chandler. Like he waits all that time and then Conor just fights me anyway, like that would be gold. I would feel like the biggest snake troll of all time.”

    Read also: Darren Till Bemoans Negative Reaction To His UFC 305 Advice For Israel Adesanya: ‘You Just Have To Love The Internet’

  • Sean O’Malley Talks UFC 305 Main Event, ‘Coin Flip’ Prediction For Du Plessis’ Next Fight

    Sean O’Malley Talks UFC 305 Main Event, ‘Coin Flip’ Prediction For Du Plessis’ Next Fight

    Dricus Du Plessis retained his middleweight title at UFC 305 by submitting former champion Israel Adesanya in a back-and-forth encounter.

    Though he was able to secure the tap in the fourth round, it was the striking from “Stillknocks” that led to the finish.

    His unorthodox and sometimes reckless approach to moving through ranges whilst looking to land big punches found a home and hurt “The Last Stylebender” which was the beginning of the end.

    On his YouTube channel, bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley gave his immediate reaction to the main event where he highlighted Du Plessis’ blitz assault and gave props to both men.

    “DDP has some funny a** like blitzes that just looks so sloppy and weird but he connects somehow and they’re heavy f****** punches and Izzy did look good. He looked like he was in good shape, defended that good takedown a few times. Like he said, he made a few small little mistakes. I mean I thought he was winning a decision, close fight. DDP showed why he’s the champ.”

    Sean O’Malley Believes Dricus Du Plessis vs Sean Strickland 2 Will Be Another Close Fight

    In the aftermath of this past weekend’s event in Perth, it appears that the next time Du Plessis will be back inside the Octagon will be for his first rematch in the UFC.

    The South African champion won the title by defeating Sean Strickland earlier this year in a split decision, that the American passionately believes he should have gotten.

    O’Malley gave his thoughts on that fight having already seen how difficult it was to separate them at UFC 297.

    “Sean Strickland is fighting the winner, we already knew that. DDP versus Sean Strickland 2, the first fight was very, very, very close, could have gave it to Sean Strickland. He was the champion at the time and I feel like if you’re going to beat the champ in a split decision, it’s got to be more dominant than that so that was a very, very close fight, that’s going to be a fun one to run back.”

    “Suga” went on to say that he believes this particular match-up is won or lost by who performs better on that night due to their styles.

    “I think those guys can fight 10 times, it’s a coin flip every time. I don’t think it’s going to be f****** one guy is going to dominate. Those two styles are just going to be whoever shows up better on that night.”

    Read also: Dana White Reacts To UFC Fighters Brawling At PFL Event With Jibe At The Rival Promotion

  • Dan Hooker Suggests Mateusz Gamrot Isn’t Fighting Him ‘By Choice’ At UFC 305: ‘Really Hard To Market…’

    Dan Hooker Suggests Mateusz Gamrot Isn’t Fighting Him ‘By Choice’ At UFC 305: ‘Really Hard To Market…’

    Dan Hooker has a lot to gain in his first fight of 2024 when he takes on Mateusz Gamrot this weekend at UFC 305.

    “The Hangman” has produced back-to-back wins in the lightweight division over Jalin Turner and Claudio Puelles to earn himself the #11 ranking.

    Gamrot, on the other hand, sits at #5 having beaten the likes of Rafael dos Anjos and Arman Tsarukyan during his time in the UFC.

    Had the division’s champion, Islam Makhachev, been able to make a quicker turnaround to face Tsarukyan, who solidified his status as the number one contender by beating Charles Oliveira at UFC 300, there’s a world in which Gamrot wouldn’t need to take this fight.

    The issue some have put forth, however, is that the Polish fighter potentially lacks that extra factor which would build excitement for him earning a title shot…

    Dan Hooker Says Mateusz Gamrot Has To Fight Him To Make Himself More Viable For A Title Shot

    Hooker believes that his opponent this weekend in Perth didn’t take this fight because he wanted to go to Australia to test himself against “The Hangman.”

    Other contenders may have chosen to wait knowing that once Makhachev does return from injury to fight Tsarukyan, he’s likely to be the next up when you look at the rest of the top five.

    Not only was there a need for Gamrot to stay active by fighting down in the rankings, Hooker believes that “Gamer” is in need of more highlights if he’s going to fight for the title.

    He has some impressive wins on his record, but as the Kiwi fighter pointed out during a recent interview on the FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Gamrot’s recent wins haven’t been dominant displays.

    “Yeah I feel like they made him do it. I feel like he’s not doing it by choice. I feel like if it was a choice, he would sit out like he’s the next contender in line for a title shot. So obviously, Arman is potentially booked for Islam, I hear Islam’s injured and that’s like up in the air at the moment, but Gamrot’s the next guy. In the top five, a lot of the big names are coming off losses if you look down the (rankings), like (Dustin) Poirier, (Justin) Gaethje, Oliveira, are all coming off losses.

    “Gamrot, like a close edging win after like pretty much his last two fights, he got dropped by ‘RDA’ and he got dropped by Jalin Turner and then managed to grab ahold of them and survive and panic and win, you know what I mean? So to say that this guy is the next in line for a title is very hard to market I guess for the UFC. So for in terms of Gamrot, he needs like, a big win over a guy with an exciting fighter with a big name, and so that’s me. But I’m in the game of opportunities.”

  • Michael Chandler Offers Defense For Conor McGregor’s Antics: ‘Every Fighter Takes Their Hiatuses In Different Ways’

    Michael Chandler Offers Defense For Conor McGregor’s Antics: ‘Every Fighter Takes Their Hiatuses In Different Ways’

    Michael Chandler has spent more time speaking about Conor McGregor than any other UFC fighter during the long and drawn out process to get both of them inside the Octagon.

    When “Iron” Mike agreed to take this golden opportunity to welcome “The Notorious” back, he probably didn’t expect to be constantly speaking about whether or not the Irishman will ever face him.

    Though his UFC 303 withdrawal was due to an injury that McGregor made the call to not fight through after being gone for such a long time, his social media usage both before and after June 29 haven’t exactly painted the image of a professional who is working hard to make sure that he’s able to turn back the clock.

    Between his usual social media sprees of criticizing others or being seen having a great time at various events, the Irishman’s behaviour hasn’t altered from the outside looking in.

    Michael Chandler Says Conor McGregor’s Online Antics Aren’t A Major Concern

    During a recent interview with Lucky Block following the recent social media exchanges between the two men, Chandler commented on whether McGregor’s online persona had him questioning whether the fight will ever happen.

    He broke it down into the two main aspects of what you will usually see on McGregor’s platforms, explaining why both aren’t major concerns to him.

    Chandler believes that while his posting on X has and always will be the same brand of scattergun insults followed by deleted posts.

    Alongside that, he doesn’t see a huge issue with McGregor cutting lose and representing his various businesses when he doesn’t have a date secured for his eventual comeback.

    “Conor lives his life the way that he wants to live his life. Conor is promoting two different liquor brands, so that’s tough — he needs to be seen with them. Obviously, if you look at it just from a social media standpoint, people think, ‘Man, he is definitely not dedicated.’ But if you guys expect him to be in a training camp right now as we speak, when there is no fight booked, then it’s unrealistic because every single fighter takes their hiatuses in different ways, whether it be drinking, whether it be going out, whether it be eating food that they want to indulge in, whether it’s staying out late. But yeah, there’s some concerning things that people have looked at and then called into question whether he’s coming back. I completely get that. I have a hunch that he is… I think he needs it for his own mental state.

    “Also, deleted tweets have always been part of his brand. It’s always a part of his brand. He’s like, ‘I’m gonna tweet this. I’m gonna let it sit there for 20 minutes. I’m gonna let the entire world screenshot it, record it, have everybody retweet it and talk about it. And then I’m gonna delete it just because he’s an egomaniac.’”

  • Former UFC Fighter Makes Bold Prediction For How Israel Adesanya’s Career Will End: ‘Bookmark This Clip…’

    Former UFC Fighter Makes Bold Prediction For How Israel Adesanya’s Career Will End: ‘Bookmark This Clip…’

    An ex-UFC heavyweight contender thinks he has a good idea of how the final chapter of Israel Adesanya’s career will play out.

    Dricus Du Plessis believes that after everything that Adesanya has accomplished in his career, he no longer has the same hunger to compete at the highest level. “The Last Stylebender” has a great run in the UFC’s middleweight division, and even if he was to walk away today, he’d be regarded as one of the best to ever do it in his weight class.

    However, having recaptured the 185-pound title once before, the big question is whether the time that he has spent away will produce a rejuvenated Adesanya at UFC 305 this weekend.

    He was incredibly active before taking a year off, and this meant that he was battling through injuries and potentially lost some focus heading into UFC 293 last September,

    His loss to Sean Strickland was a shocking upset but it could have potentially led to what would be a third title reign for Adesanya.

    Brendan Schaub Predicts Israel Adesanya Is Far From Done In MMA Following UFC 305

    During his preview of all the action that is set to take place at UFC 305 this Saturday (Sunday local time) in Perth, Brendan Schaub gave his prediction for Adesanya’s path to retirement.

    Unlike Du Plessis, he doesn’t think that “The Last Stylebender” is ready to walk away right now without becoming a UFC champion once again.

    Schaub believes that Adesanya still has some career-defining fights left in him and went bold on the idea that when all is said and done, he will overtake the great Anderson Silva as being the best fighter to ever grace the middleweight division.

    “This is how Izzy’s career is gonna go. He’s gonna beat Dricus, he’s gonna outclass him on Saturday. He’s gonna beat the s*** out of him, he’s gonna outclass this dude. It’s gonna be the old vintage Izzy. By old I mean, a year ago. He’s gonna beat the s*** out of him because he’s had rest, he’s no longer the hunted, he’s the hunter.

    “He’s gonna beat Dricus, then he’s gonna fight Sean Strickland and he’s gonna be 100 percent focused. He’s gonna beat Sean Strickland. Then, he’s gonna take a break and then you’re gonna get Alex (Pereira) vs. Izzy at 205 (pounds); it’s his last fight ever and his wins over Dricus and Sean Strickland, I think there’s an argument now, makes him the greatest middleweight of all time. That’s how his story ends.”

  • Junior Tafa On Fighting Johnny Walker’s Brother At UFC 305: ‘I’d Like To Fight Both The Walker Brothers…’

    Junior Tafa On Fighting Johnny Walker’s Brother At UFC 305: ‘I’d Like To Fight Both The Walker Brothers…’

    In a rare situation at UFC 305, two fighters that have siblings also on the roster, will come face-to-face in the featured prelim.

    Junior Tafa is looking for his second UFC win after being stopped earlier this year by Marcos Rogério de Lima at UFC 298.

    His older brother Justin is the more experienced of the two men, with a total of nine Octagon appearances under his belt.

    The same dynamic can be found in the household of his opponent with Valter Walker looking to bounce back from a debut defeat in April.

    In comparison, his older brother Johnny Walker is a 14-fight UFC veteran and a staple of the light heavyweight division.

    Despite the difference in weight classes between them, the younger of the Tafa brothers hopes that he can run through a Walker family gauntlet in his coming fights.

    Junior Tafa Says He’d Like To Fight Both Of The ‘Cool Cat’ Walker Brothers

    During his media day interview ahead of his clash with Walker this weekend in Perth, Tafa gave his opinion on his opponent’s brother.

    He said that he would be very keen on the idea of facing both of them during his UFC tenure which would be possible with his aspirations of competing at 205-pounds.

    “Yeah preparation is good, watched a little bit of tape but yeah, I’d like to fight both of the Walker brothers if I could. I want to campaign down to light heavyweight and his brother would like to come after too.”

    Tafa then clarified that he has no personal vendetta against this particular family or the fighters they produce and if anything, wants to fight them because he’s a fan of what they do.

    “I’m a fan of their fighting style, they’re cool cats you know but, be cool to do both of them ay.”

    Read also: VIDEO: Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis, Dan Hooker, & More Complete Open Workouts Ahead Of UFC 305

  • Classy Israel Adesanya Shows Appreciation For Alex Pereira’s Exploits At LHW: ‘I’m So Happy With What He’s Doing Right Now…’

    Classy Israel Adesanya Shows Appreciation For Alex Pereira’s Exploits At LHW: ‘I’m So Happy With What He’s Doing Right Now…’

    In the time that Israel Adesanya has been away from the Octagon following the longest break of his UFC career, his former rival has been firing on all cylinders.

    “The Last Stylebender” is always going to have a special connection with Alex Pereira following the four times that they have competed against one another.

    While Pereira may have beaten him three times with Adesanya getting revenge in their most recent rematch in MMA, he also has a lot of respect for his former foe.

    He is set to return this weekend at UFC 305 to try and reclaim the title that he lost to Sean Strickland after winning the belt back from Pereira.

    Since that huge victory against his Brazilian nemesis, Pereira seems to have only gotten stronger by moving up to light heavyweight, becoming champion and making himself one of the biggest stars in the promotion.

    Israel Adesanya Shows Love To His Former Rival Alex Pereira

    Adesanya doesn’t hold a grudge against Pereira due to their history with one another and the same can be said for “Poatan”.

    Both men have been very complimentary of one another now that their feud has been settled, at least, for the time being.

    In a fight week interview with Daniel Cormier, Adesanya took the time to give props to the man that has caused him more problems inside the cage or ring than anyone else.

    “I watched the Pereira fight again last night, it was on YouTube, and I was just like scrolling past and I watched it and there was certain sequences I was just like, I was making him move back. I was really pushing him back and for me, I’m so happy with what he’s doing right now, I’m like bro…”

    After Cormier responded by asking, “Can you believe how good this dude is?”, to which Adesanya made it very clear that he knows better than almost anyone just how good Pereira is.

    “I know! I fought him four times! I f****** know! Bro, every time I fought him, I knew I could get him till he got me and then now, here we are.”

    Read also: VIDEO: Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis, Dan Hooker, & More Complete Open Workouts Ahead Of UFC 305

  • Henry Cejudo Reveals Criticism Led To Verbal Altercation With Khamzat Chimaev: ‘Something Like This Could Really Hurt Khamzat…’

    Henry Cejudo Reveals Criticism Led To Verbal Altercation With Khamzat Chimaev: ‘Something Like This Could Really Hurt Khamzat…’

    Being an analyst of the fight game means that you don’t always get to be positive about every fighter and that can come with some complications.

    Via their podcast together, Pound 4 Pound, former UFC champions Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman break down the biggest fights in combat sports.

    They both try to be honest and that means hurting some feelings along the way if people end up hearing their criticisms.

    Whilst some fighters may take a private dislike to others for the things they hear them say during pre or post-fight comments, there are others that have no problem making the analyst aware of this.

    Cejudo returned from the Paris Olympics on the most recent episode where he told a story about being confronted by one of the most intimidating men on the UFC roster.

    Henry Cejudo Describes Paris Confrontation With Khamzat Chimaev

    After giving Usman several guesses at who had wanted to fight him in Paris by telling “The Nigerian Nightmare” that it was a wrestler that he has shared the Octagon with, Cejudo eventually revealed that it was Khamzat Chimaev who had a problem with him.

    Cejudo said that whilst he never found out from the middleweight contender himself, he expects that Chimaev’s issue with him stems from comments he has made in the past about his ability as a fighter.

    “Oh f***, I don’t know dude. I think these dudes take s*** so personable dude, I don’t know. I think obviously me cheering for you, me cheering for ‘Borrachinha’, me kind of telling the truth a little bit because I think as an analyst, people get a little, you have to tell the truth and I think that’s my biggest, I think that’s what, yeah I am comical and whatnot but typically when I do say certain things, it’s because I mean it.”

    Cejudo then went on to explain what actually happened between them, which essentially boiled down to Chimaev scolding him from far away whilst being surrounded by an entourage.

    “So that’s why I think but I was here, he was at the ticket line, I was outside trying to get my damn tickets because everything was sold out and I don’t even think he could get in either and then he sees me and he says like, ‘Henry Cejudo, you’re a rat piece of s***’. I kind of had a feeling this dude kind of had a, because he’s blocking from a lot of social media stuff. So then I’m just like, ‘Why? Why am I a piece of s***?’ And he said I’m just a piece of s***, like this is probably like 50-feet away like from each other.”

    “Triple C” rounded out his thoughts on the matter by stating that Chimaev’s response to criticism could be an issue for him in his career progression based on the somewhat difficult position that he has found himself in as of late.

    “I’m a troll 100% but to the level of trolling that I do, I’m a level of extreme even more so as a competitor. Something like this could really hurt Khamzat in the sense of him being truly emotional because how many fights has he pulled out of and how many fans and trolls you think are trolling him and how upset could you get? And the last thing you want to do is actually fight emotional.”

    Read also: Dricus Du Plessis Reacts To Former Opponent Darren Till’s Advice For Israel Adesanya: ‘I Did Hit Him Hard…’

  • ‘Hawk Tuah Girl’ Hailey Welch Trains MMA At Renzo Gracie LA Ahead Of Potential Combat Sports Venture: ‘Jon Jones, Where You At Motherf**ker?’

    ‘Hawk Tuah Girl’ Hailey Welch Trains MMA At Renzo Gracie LA Ahead Of Potential Combat Sports Venture: ‘Jon Jones, Where You At Motherf**ker?’

    Hailey Welch has become one of the most talked about people on the planet in recent months following her viral street interview.

    Better known as “Hawk Tuah Girl”, her profile has drastically climbed following her now iconic line and in a bizarre turn of events, has somehow taken a combat sports route.

    Welch has spoken about potentially competing in what could go on to be the best example of someone with a large following deciding to turn that popularity into promoting a fight of some kind.

    Given her profile, it’s not surprising that there would be plenty of fighters who would be willing to put their hands up for the match-up.

    She was recently called out by influencer and OnlyFans star Astrid Wett, who has crossed over into the world of celebrity boxing.

    A recent video posted by Welch points towards an MMA fight being in her future, even if it is clear from the start that it shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

    Hailey Welch Drills Muay Thai Fundamentals Amidst Combat Sports Debut Talk

    A recent video posted by Welch on X shows her training out of the Renzo Gracie L.A. gym, as the coach helps to teach her and a friend some basic Muay Thai techniques.

    After practicing a few combinations with some knees and elbows thrown in for good measure, they put their newfound skills to good use by teaming up to beat down their sparring partner.

    The video even ends with Welch calling out arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all the time, the current UFC heavyweight champion, Jon Jones.

    “I feel like I’m a brand new woman now. Jon Jones, where you at m***********?”

    https://twitter.com/HalieyWelchX/status/1823750425604239398

    Though it doesn’t seem clear whether she is entirely serious about stepping inside a cage or ring at some point soon, it doesn’t appear that this is necessarily a cash grab attempt based on her popularity.

    As several of the replies on social media echo, Welch is having just having fun.

    “Haliey is literally just living her best life now.”

    Read also: VIDEO: Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis, Dan Hooker, & More Complete Open Workouts Ahead Of UFC 305

  • Michael Chiesa Recalls ‘That Version’ Of Tony Ferguson: ‘I Will Go Out On A Limb & Say I Think He Could Have Beat Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘

    Michael Chiesa Recalls ‘That Version’ Of Tony Ferguson: ‘I Will Go Out On A Limb & Say I Think He Could Have Beat Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘

    At one point in time, Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Tony Ferguson was right at the top of every MMA fan’s bucket list for fights they wanted to see.

    Despite the two men undergoing multiple training camps and fights weeks in preparation for one another, it never did materialize during their careers.

    With Nurmagomedov retiring in 2020, history has been much kinder to him as he walked away from the sport with his undefeated record intact.

    Ferguson at his peak was able to match the lightweight winning streak of “The Eagle” but he now finds himself holding the UFC record for the most consecutive losses.

    That being said, it can’t be forgotten just how desirable this fight was when both men were beating everyone else at 155 pounds.

    Michael Chiesa Says 2016 Tony Ferguson Could Have Beaten Khabib Nurmagomedov

    In a recent interview with BJPenn.com, Michael Chiesa spoke about how he prepared to face Ferguson at the recent UFC Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi.

    He revealed how rather than watching his opponent’s latest outings, he went back to watching the very best of the former interim lightweight champion in order to make sure that he was training to fight Ferguson at full force.

    Chiesa would go on to win the fight via a submission but watching footage on his opponent only made him appreciate the winning run that he went on between 2013-2019, even more.

    He said that in one of the biggest “what ifs” in MMA history, he believes that the 2016 version of “El Cucuy” in particular had a strong chance of handing Nurmagomedov his first and only loss if they had met inside the Octagon 8 years ago.

    “I will admit like going back and watching some of his recent fights, I wouldn’t say gave me a false sense of security but I was definitely like this isn’t the film to watch, I’m going to go back and watch the film that I was watching to prepare for him in 2016. I watched that Rafael Dos Anjos fight a lot because I feel like that version of Tony Ferguson that we saw in the Octagon against Rafael Dos Anjos, I feel like he could have beat anybody in the world. I mean, I will go out on a limb and say I think that he could have beaten Khabib Nurmagomedov if that was the version of him. I think that was his peak. The peak was RDA and even though he still won fights from there, I still think it started to go down a little bit.”

    Read also: Belal Muhammad On Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Ability 4 Years On From Retirement: ‘Could Come Back & Be A Champion In Any Division’

  • ‘This Is Just A Bet Between Dana & Conor To See How Long Mikey Will Wait’ – Fans React To News That McGregor Will Not Fight In 2024

    ‘This Is Just A Bet Between Dana & Conor To See How Long Mikey Will Wait’ – Fans React To News That McGregor Will Not Fight In 2024

    With every passing week, it looks like the goal posts are being adjusted for when fans can expect to see Conor McGregor return to the Octagon.

    He made the decision to withdraw from his planned comeback fight against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June to a broken toe that he wished to recover from.

    Unfortunately, rescheduling a fight like that isn’t as easy as seeing when both men are ready to go, and that appears to have caused some complications.

    McGregor appears to be targeting December which is yet to have any fights announced but Dana White’s recent comments clarified where the UFC is at with this right now.

    During his post-fight press conference following the return of the Contender Series, he gave this update on his communications with “The Notorious”.

    “We talked yeah, we didn’t meet up but we talked and yeah, he wants to fight so we’ll figure it out.”

    When asked how soon that may be, White clarified that McGregor will not be fighting in 2024.

    “Not this year, he won’t fight this year.”

    McGregor responded to these comments via social media with his own post that once again pushed for the fight to take place in December, stating that he has already planned out his preparations for this time frame.

    MMA Fans React To Conor McGregor’s 2024 Return Being Ruled Out

    This update was obviously disappointing for a lot of fans on social media who appear to be coming to the realization that we might never see McGregor step back inside the Octagon after this long and drawn out process.

    It wasn’t ideal to have him withdraw from UFC 303 but the Irishman seemed to be committed to taking some time to heal, before diving right back into his training, postponing the fight rather than cancelling it altogether.

    Even Chandler, who has been put through the ringer in the past few months, seems to be ready to move on at this stage.

    Fans gave their take on the latest McGregor update from the UFC boss via social media.

    “How does he go from a toe injury to not fighting this year… Ridiculous”

    “It’s over, he’s never fighting again.”

    “Idk why y’all still allowing yourselves to be strung along. McGregor and Dana are playing games. If Conor was serious this would’ve already happened. If he’s not done yet, he’s definitely close to the end. Don’t know what he’s trying to prove but this is getting sad.”

    “Unreal. This has become comical at this point. I’d love to know what the excuse is this time.”

    “I wouldn’t be surprised if this is just a bet between Dana and Conor to see how long Mikey will wait.”

    “Michael Chandler putting the red panties away. Maybe next year.”

    “it’s been “not this year” for the passed three years. hang it up already.”

    Read also: Dana White Reaffirms Stance On Muhammad Mokaev’s UFC Exit: ‘A Guy That Did Everything Wrong…’

  • Darren Till On Israel Adesanya Being In The Top 10 MMA GOAT List: MMA Fans Are Quick To Go ‘You’re S**t!’

    Darren Till On Israel Adesanya Being In The Top 10 MMA GOAT List: MMA Fans Are Quick To Go ‘You’re S**t!’

    Israel Adesanya has got a huge task waiting for him on August 17 in Perth, Australia.

    After losing his UFC middleweight title in a shock upset against Sean Strickland at UFC 293, he made the decision to take some long overdue time away.

    In fact, his one-year break is the longest he has taken since signing to the UFC, where he has been one of the most active major names on the roster.

    Coming back to face Dricus Du Plessis is a tall order but in doing so, he can make history by becoming a three-time champion at 185 pounds.

    It was already incredibly impressive when he got revenge over Alex Pereira in their rematch to win back the title for the second time but to do it again, could put him into all-time great conversations.

    Darren Till Agrees That UFC 305 Is Huge For Israel Adesanya’s Legacy

    During a recent interview with Title Sports Network, former UFC middleweight contender Darren Till gave his thoughts on what a win at UFC 305 could do for Adesanya’s legacy.

    Having already looked to pass on some advice to “The Last Stylebender” based on what he learned in his fight with Du Plessis two years ago, the scouse fighter has always been open about being a fan of Adesanya.

    He agreed with the sentiment that reclaiming the middleweight throne will at least put Adesanya into ‘top 10’ conversations regarding legacy.

    Till did also add that this in itself is a problem with the MMA fanbase, where opinions can change drastically from fight to fight due to recency bias.

    “Yeah, I think if Adesanya beats Du Plessis, he’s in that conversation [of top 10 GOATs in MMA] cuz he’s beat everyone. So yeah, I think people, this is the problem again we were talking about the MMA fans, they’re so quick to just go, ‘Oh you’re s***!’ It’s just quite annoying like Adesanya is a f****** phenom and I’m one of them guys that talk a lot of s*** but when it comes down to reality, you have to give like respect to some of these, yeah the props, 100%.”

    Read also: Daniel Cormier Wasn’t Interested In Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya Before ‘Uncomfortable’ Bad Blood

  • ‘Ain’t Gonna Help The Glass Chin But Sure’ – MMA Fans React As Johnny Walker Ditches Conor McGregor’s Gym To Train With Khabib Nurmagomedov

    ‘Ain’t Gonna Help The Glass Chin But Sure’ – MMA Fans React As Johnny Walker Ditches Conor McGregor’s Gym To Train With Khabib Nurmagomedov

    Having spent time earlier in his career training in both Scotland and England, Johnny Walker eventually found his way to SBG Dublin in Ireland.

    Joining the gym in 2020 after facing some adversity following his rapid climb up the light heavyweight rankings, the Brazilian has spent the majority of his UFC tenure with this team.

    Here Walker would develop a great relationship with head coach John Kavanagh, who is most well known for being the main man in the corner of Conor McGregor.

    However, following another patch of difficult results, it looks like the knockout artist is now looking to take himself out of his comfort zone once again.

    Recent photos that were posted by “iamthebay” on Instagram show a training session at the American Kickboxing Academy, or AKA, in California.

    Here, Walker can be seen getting some work in with the likes of Khabib and Usman Nurmagomedov, as well as the UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.

    MMA Fans React To Johnny Walker Training Alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov After Years At SBG

    Walker has always been a fighter that generates talking points both in and out of the cage and this has now extended to his training.

    Though it’s far from uncommon to see fighters move between top gyms during their careers, you won’t see many that switch from McGregor’s home base to that of his arch rival’s.

    In Walker’s case, working with some of the top grapplers in the sport could help to round out his skill set, making this invaluable training for him.

    MMA fans reacted on social media to the images of Walker and Nurmagomedov sharing a mat together.

    “If Johnny comes into his next fight with a chin I’m heading to dagestan”

    “Ain’t gonna help the Glass chin but sure”

    “Good idea to change his fighting style”

    “Johnny Walker will become Dessert Eagle”

    “If he leaves John Kavanagh for Khabib and AKA, he can maybe turn his career around”

    “I know Conor is big mad seeing this. Walker was training at SBG, which is Conor’s gym now hes training at AKA, which is Khabib’s gym…”

    “The best move, as proven with all the fighters that go train with them”

    https://twitter.com/RuflonMMA/status/1823679784762609708

    “Khabib swap your chin with him he needs it more than you”

    Read also: Belal Muhammad On Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Ability 4 Years On From Retirement: ‘Could Come Back & Be A Champion In Any Division’

  • UFC 305 Fighter Predicts Knockout Loss In Islam Makhachev’s Future Due To Weight Cut: ‘I’ve Shared A Training Room With Him…’ (Exclusive)

    UFC 305 Fighter Predicts Knockout Loss In Islam Makhachev’s Future Due To Weight Cut: ‘I’ve Shared A Training Room With Him…’ (Exclusive)

    UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has made it very clear that competing at a higher weight class is in his future plans.

    The pound-for-pound #1 wants to add a second belt to his collection after giving Alexander Volkanovski the opportunity to do the same on two occasions.

    There may be an issue with this intention for the time being after his friend Belal Muhammad became the welterweight champion, but you can be sure that it’ll still be on his bucket list.

    Having had a behind the scenes look at one of Makhachev’s earlier UFC fight weeks, Ricky Glenn is surprised that it hasn’t happened already.

    Makhachev’s coach and long-time teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov cut a lot of weight in order to make 155-pounds and it caused issues at points in his career.

    Whilst the current champion hasn’t had too many concerns in recent years, Glenn recently recalled his experiences of watching what he would put himself through to make the 155 pound limit.

    Ricky Glenn Recalls Watching Islam Makhachev Train Like A ‘Zombie’ During Tough Weight Cut

    Glenn is set to return this weekend at UFC 305 where he will compete at welterweight for the first time in his UFC career against Song Kenan.

    When giving his thoughts on Makhachev’s current title reign, Glenn recalled how he previously shared a training room with him during fight week for the Iowa native’s UFC debut back in 2016.

    He said that he wouldn’t be surprised to see someone stop the current champion in the future if he remains at lightweight, with what he puts his body through to make the weight.

    In fact, this fight week that Glenn was reflecting on saw Makhachev bounce back from his one and only career defeat, when he was knocked out by Adriano Martins at UFC 192.

    “He’s just on a whole other level and he cuts a lot of weight. I’m surprised he hasn’t moved up because man, I’ve shared a training room with him. I think it was, it might have been my debut fight, he fought Chris [Wade] but days before weigh-ins and just zaps. Could barely move and they’re just throwing punches like this fast, it’s just super slow, like a zombie.

    “But, he makes the weight somehow and can recover but I’d be worried eventually if he can’t recover good enough, someone’s going to TKO or knock him out I think with cutting that much weight. It’s impressive how much he cuts and fills back up.”

    Read also: Brendan Allen Highlights What ‘Insanely Lucky’ Dricus Du Plessis’ UFC 305 Defense Against Israel Adesanya Will Come Down To (Exclusive)

  • Muhammad Mokaev Shockingly Accuses UFC Flyweight Contender Of Pulling A Gun On Him: ‘He Was Still Shouting At Us, Saying It’s Better If We Leave…’

    Muhammad Mokaev Shockingly Accuses UFC Flyweight Contender Of Pulling A Gun On Him: ‘He Was Still Shouting At Us, Saying It’s Better If We Leave…’

    Muhammad Mokaev’s UFC departure came as a shock to many based on the fact that he was continuing to win inside the Octagon and clearly has a lot of potential.

    However, things behind the scenes appear to have been troublesome for some time and this was the defining factor in the promotion’s decision to not re-sign him, after he fought out his contract at UFC 304.

    Dana White was recently asked to once again comment on whether Mokaev still has a future with the MMA leader in his post-fight press conference following the return of the Contender Series.

    He stated that “The Punisher” only has himself to blame for being in this situation after he upset key members of the UFC team with his actions.

    Though some of the off-camera issues have come to light in the public eye, there are likely other aspects of Mokaev’s run in the promotion that remain untold.

    Muhammad Mokaev Details More Controversy With Fellow Flyweight Contenders

    During a recent interview with Adam Zubayraev, Mokaev spoke about a previously unknown altercation that took place between him and another top flyweight.

    The build to his fight with Manel Kape was very controversial, with the undefeated contender admitting after their fight to sucker punching his opponent on fight week.

    Mokaev has also had a difficult, to say the least, relationship with the #3-ranked contender, Amir Albazi.

    During the interview, he told a story about one confrontation between them, accusing Albazi of pulling a gun out on him and his friend before issuing them a warning and leaving the scene.

    “We drove away, Albazi was standing around the corner… He acted unusual. He ran out of the car and got into a fighting stance. At that time, he had a neck operation. I thought that if I beat him now, he will go to the police. He is like that. I got into fighting stance too and he pointed a gun on me. I had my friend with me. My friend tried to flinch him, Albazi didn’t do anything. We drove away, he was still shouting at us saying it’s better if we leave.”

    Read also: Belal Muhammad On Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Ability 4 Years On From Retirement: ‘Could Come Back & Be A Champion In Any Division’

  • Steve Erceg Ahead Of UFC 305: ‘I Wanted To Avoid Kai Kara-France If I Could’

    Steve Erceg Ahead Of UFC 305: ‘I Wanted To Avoid Kai Kara-France If I Could’

    When the UFC was announced to be returning to Australia on August 17, two top flyweights were sure to be in action at UFC 305.

    The #4-ranked Kai Kara-France has had the opportunity to fight close to home several times during his UFC career but not since February of 2020.

    #7-ranked Steve Erceg, on the other hand, has travelled with the Octagon to Canada, the United States and Brazil but this will be his first time fighting under the UFC banner with home fans backing him.

    Unfortunately for those fans, there may be a bit of a divide caused by this Australia versus New Zealand clash that Erceg would have rather skipped over if that had been an option.

    Steve Erceg Says His Respect For Kai Kara-France Makes Fighting Someone Else More Desirable

    In a recent interview on Just Scrap Radio for BJPenn.com, Erceg revealed how this match-up wasn’t desirable for him at first.

    There was no way he was going to miss out on the opportunity to fight in his hometown of Perth and given that his last fight was for the title, it was always going to be a highly-ranked opponent.

    With both he and Kara-France pushing for this card, pairing them together makes a lot of sense. But the two men have been aware of one another for a long time during their climbs up the regional scenes.

    Erceg spoke about how his opponent has always been someone he admired so fighting another name at the top of the rankings would have been his chosen route.

    “I mean I’m excited I’m getting to fight a good guy. I would have preferred it to be someone not from this region just cuz yeah, somebody I’ve looked up to for a while. I was an amateur when he was a pro in like the top of the Australian-New Zealand MMA scene so I wanted to avoid him if I could but he got offered and I’m not going to turn people down. He’s in the same boat that I am, we’re both looking for the same thing so if it has to be, it will be and we’ll find out who the better guy is.”

    Read also: Brendan Allen Highlights What ‘Insanely Lucky’ Dricus Du Plessis’ UFC 305 Defense Against Israel Adesanya Will Come Down To (Exclusive)