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After seeing Leon Edwards come up short against Belal Muhammad, coach Dave Lovell would like to see his fighter bounce back against rising Irish contender Ian Machado Garry.

Edwards’ uninspiring performance against ‘Remember The Name’ at UFC 304 cost him the win and the welterweight world title. Considering how decisively things played out, ‘Rocky’ and his team recognize that an immediate rematch is a pretty tall ask.

Instead, Edwards’ longtime coach believes the ex-champ can get right back into the mix with a win over the division’s No. 7 ranked contender.

“I’d like to see Leon fight Ian Garry,” Lovell said in an interview with Submission Radio. “Obviously we can keep it British based, either Ireland or over here,” Lovell said. “Obviously the little background story we had going back last year is a — he’s looking for a scalp. Now Leon’s not champion, he may think well, he’s a good scalp for him to get to obviously march on to get a championship belt or title shot.

“For Leon, if Leon beats him, that then puts him at the back of the queue and then maybe if they want one more before he fights Belal, if Belal’s still got the belt, well that’ll be the future move, the future plan” (h/t MMA News).

Now could be the perfect time for Leon Edwards and Ian Machado Garry to settle things inside the octagon

Aside from their status as top 10 contenders, Leon Edwards and Ian Machado Garry have a bit of history with one another.

Last year, ‘The Future’ claimed that he was kicked out of Edwards’ gym, Team Renegade in Birmingham, England, and accused Edwards of feeling insecure by having a potential future title challenger training alongside him. However, Team Renegade quickly disputed Garry’s statement, revealing that the Irish up-and-comer was simply not contributing to the culture of their gym.

That was seemingly corroborated by both Sean Brady and Veronica Hardy who revealed in separate interviews that Garry had been booted from multiple gyms over the years due to poor etiquette.

Adding fuel to the fire was Paddy Pimblett who went on to claim that Edwards had once KO’d Garry during a training session.

Garry seemingly confirmed the rumor in a video on Instagram following a trip to the local hospital:

“Anyone watch the Leon Edwards [vs. Kamaru] Usman fight? Anyone know how that went? One of the best head kicks in the UFC—Yeah, I might have felt what that kick felt like…”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ‘The Future’ Ian Machado Garry (@iangarry)

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Dricus Du Plessis plans to beat Israel Adesanya on his feet.

On Saturday, August 17 (Sunday for those in Australia), ‘Stillknocks’ will head to The Land Down Under to defend the middleweight crown against two-time champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 305.

It will be Du Plessis’ first time competing since his title-winning performance against Sean Strickland—the same man who handed ‘The Last Stylebender’ a five-round shellacking nearly a year ago.

With fight night a few short weeks away, Du Plessis’ coach at the CIT Performance Institute, Morne Visser, recently offered some insight into how his fighter plans to approach their long-awaited clash and dispelled any rumors that ‘DDP’ may rely on a wrestle-heavy approach against the New Zealander.

“We’ll fight Izzy wherever it is that Izzy wants to take it,” Visser said during an appearance on EFC Engaged. “We are 100% where we need to be. They think that Dricus is going to shoot and take him down. No way. We want to beat him on the feet.”

Finishing 19 of his 21 career wins, Du Plessis has 10 submissions and nine knockouts to his credit, proving without a shadow of a doubt that no matter where the fight goes, he’s capable of scoring a highlight-reel stoppage.

‘Poatan’ backs Adesanya to defeat Dricus Du Plessis

Of course, that’ll be much easier said than done against the ‘Stylebender’ who’s only been stopped once in his mixed martial arts career, that coming against current light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

But despite their multi-promotional rivalry, ‘Poatan’ is still backing Adesanya to come out on top and reclaim the middleweight strap for a history-making third time in Perth.

“I don’t see Adesanya losing,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “Just because he said that about me, doesn’t mean I’ll say it back. It’s what I think. I don’t think he loses this fight. I hope he wins because he has a beautiful story. I think he has to continue his story. He isn’t a young guy.”

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Dana White can’t get through a single interview without mentioning his friendship with former U.S. president Donald Trump—but he’s not political.

Despite endorsing Trump at the Republican National Convention and regularly hosting ’45’ at events in both New York and New Jersey, White has repeatedly claimed that he is not a political person, nor does he care who anyone ultimately votes for.

Still, that didn’t stop him from going in on current Vice President Kamala Harris who suddenly finds herself at the top of the liberal ticket following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election.

“I don’t judge people by their politics and who they vote for or any of that stuff,” White said in an interview with CNN’s Laura Coates. “Listen, I don’t know Kamala. She seems like she’s a nice person. I have nothing against her whatsoever and, like I said, I’m not political, but do I think that she’s fit for the job? I do not, personally” (h/t BJPenn.com).

No matter what his or anyone’s political ideals are, White recognizes that the subject is a killjoy, and no matter who comes out on top, it’s going to be a long and nasty road to an election night that is sure to leave millions frustrated, one way or another.

“But either way, she’s going to say other nasty stuff about both of them. It goes both ways,” White added. “And as voters, what we need to do is cut through all the BS and you have to look at who do you think is best fit to run the country for the next four years. That is our job as voters. All of this stuff is a bunch of nasty BS.”

Election night in America will coincide with Dana White’s return to MSG in November

The 2024 Presidential Election is scheduled to go down on Tuesday, November 5. Though not officially announced, Dana White and Co. is expected to return to Madison Square Garden just four days later for UFC 309. If Trump once again wins the race to 270, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that he’ll make an appearance at the event to celebrate his victory.

And if he loses, he’ll probably show up anyway and try to kickstart another coup.

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Former two-division UFC champion and mixed martial arts fighter, Conor McGregor has been handed a five-month suspended sentence as well as a two-year disqualification from driving – after pleading guilty to a charge of dangerous driving, as well as a further count of careless driving in Dublin this morning.

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight champion and featherweight gold holder under the banner of the UFC, has been out of competition since 2021, most recently fracturing his left tibia and fibula in an opening round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to former interim champion, Dustin Poirier.

And expected to make his return to fighting last month in the main event of UFC 303 during International Fight Week, McGregor was forced from a welterweight fight against Michael Chandler, after fracturing a toe on his left foot.

Expecting to make a comeback to fighting at the end of the annum, McGregor, 36, has been heavily linked with a return at UFC 310 in December, on the promotion’s final pay-per-view card of the year, in a rescheduled fight against Missouri-born veteran, Chandler.

Conor McGregor disqualified from driving for 2 years

Appearing at Blanchardstown District Court today in his native Dublin, McGregor saw a second count of dangerous driving which he was charged with ultimately withdrawn, however, pleaded guilty to charges of both dangerous driving and careless driving. (H/T Newstalk)

As a result, McGregor was handed a five-month suspended sentence and was disqualified from driving for two years.

Earlier this year, Conor McGregor hit the headlines once more after he claimed he would bid to purchase bitter fighting rival, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s family home in Dagestan, after the former undisputed lightweight champion saw proceedings initiated against him by the FTS (Federal Tax Services) in his native Russia. 

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Dropping his undisputed welterweight championship at UFC 304 over the course of last weekend, Leon Edwards’ head coach, Dave Lovell has revealed his student was dealing with “niggling” injuries including an issue with his back, leading him to struggle with the wrestling offense of Belal Muhammad.

Edwards, who headlined last weekend’s pay-per-view return to Manchester at UFC 304, dropped his undisputed welterweight crown in a one-sided unanimous decision loss to two-time foe, Belal Muhammad – over the course of five rounds.

Seeing his title run come to an abrupt stop following consecutive title defense wins over former champions, Kamaru Usman, and Colby Covington, Edwards confirmed plans to fight once more this year – amid links to a showdown with unbeaten Irish star, Ian Garry next.

Leon Edwards dealt with “niggling” back injury pre-UFC 304

Sharing his thoughts on his student’s performance against Muhammad in the pair’s re-run, the previously mentioned, Lovell revealed Edwards was struggling with a “niggle” in the form of a back injury ahead of UFC 304.

“I’m not making any kind of excuses for him (Leon Edwards), but we had a few niggles in camp,” Dave Lovell told Submission Radio. “His back was niggling him, so he couldn’t wrestle the way he really needed to offensively and defensively because of the niggle that recurred about maybe two, three times. Well, not taking nothing away from Belal’s (Muhammad) performance, you know. He did well, he done well. The best man won on the night, but Leon will be back.”

“Well, believe it not, we had a powwow about it, and I was very dubious because there niggles was going on for about maybe, five or so weeks on and off,” Lovell explained. “He had to go to a chiropractor, regular massages. But again, after one session it was back to Square 1.”

What do you think is next for Leon Edwards after UFC 304?

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Three-time UFC title challenger Alexander Gustafsson believes Tom Aspinall has all the tools he needs to defeat Jon Jones.

Aspinall sent fight fans into a frenzy on Saturday night, scoring a 60-second knockout of Curtis Blaydes in the UFC 304 co-main event to retain his interim heavyweight championship.

Next up for Aspinall should be a clash with undisputed heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones, assuming ‘Bones’ gets past the division’s consensus GOAT, Stipe Miocic, in a bout rumored to go down this November inside Madison Square Garden.

During a recent interview sponsored by Top Offshore Casinos, two-time Jones foe Alexander Gustafsson believes that Aspinall may very well be “too much” for Jones to handle, should the two finally cross paths inside the Octagon.

‘‘Aspinall is on fire right now and he is a very, very good heavyweight,” Gustafsson said. “I don’t see anyone beating Aspinall right now. I understand why Tom wants to fight Jon, it’s because Jon is the GOAT, he is the biggest UFC star right now. If Tom was to beat Jon it would be bigger than winning any UFC belt. The biggest achievement in the UFC right now is to beat Jon Jones. I understand why Aspinall is chasing the fight. I think he is ready for Jon. He’s on fire right now. If he fights Jon Jones it should be now.

“Yes, I think Tom will be too much for Jon. He has all the weapons to beat Jon. Jon hasn’t been that active, but he’s still the GOAT. You can never count this guy out, he’s so freaking good at what he does. He’s handled every opponent and everybody knows how good he is, but Aspinall right now, I see him as very dangerous for Jon right now. He’s dangerous on his feet, he’s fast, he has great footwork and he’s a smart fighter. He has the tools to do good against Jon and even beat him. If they will fight, now is the time for Aspinall. He could go down as one of the best heavyweights ever.’’

Can Tom Aspinall Do What Alexander Gustafsson could not?

If there’s anyone who knows a thing or two about beating Jon Jones, it’s Gustafsson. Challenging ‘Bones’ for the light heavyweight title at UFC 165, ‘The Mauler’ handed Jones his toughest test up to that point during their iconic five-round scrap. In the eyes of many, Gustafsson did enough to dethrone Jones and leave Toronto with the 205-pound crown wrapped around his waist.

Unfortunately, the judges didn’t see it that way.

Jones was awarded the victory via unanimous decision causing widespread outrage. They would run it back five years later, but this time, ‘Bones’ would leave no question unanswered, finishing the Swedish fan favorite in the third round. Jones would go on to defend his title three more times against Anthony Smith, Thiago Santos, and Dominick Reyes before vacating the belt in favor of a move to heavyweight.

Jones’ first meeting with Gustafsson was voted the 2013 Fight of the Year and was inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2021.

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Jon Jones, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, looks to be the underdog in a potential match against Tom Aspinall. The UK-born Aspinall has been tearing through the UFC’s heavyweight division, looking so dangerous that he would be the betting favorite against all-time great ‘Bones’ Jones.

Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall

According to a sportsbook, Aspinall is a slight favorite at -150 to defeat Jones at +130. The UK-born Aspinall hold the interim heavyweight title in the UFC while ‘Bones‘ Jones, of the USA, holds the undisputed championship. These two are not yet booked against one another. While Aspinall is the clear top contender to claim Jones’ crown, the American athlete wants to defeat the former champion Stipe Miocic.

According to the UFC star Padd Pimblett, Jones is so heavily interested in the Stipe Miocic fight because he wants a leg up against his rival Daniel Cormier. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Low Kick MMA, Pimblett explained: “He wants to have that win over Stipe who’s beaten Cormier twice, just so it’s another f*ck you to Cormier. That’s how his brain works.”

Tom Aspinall Record

Tom Aspinall has quite an incredible record in MMA. In the UFC, he has eight wins all by way of knockout or submission. None of these victories went past the three-minute mark. Aspinall has a lone loss to Curtis Blaydes, due to a knee injury, which he later avenged at UFC 304. All 15 of Aspinall’s wins in MMA have come by way of KO/TKO or submission, the English athlete has never had to meet a judges scorecard.

With such an impressive run in the UFC, having won and defended his interim title, Aspinall wants a shot at the division king on Jones. He even pitched a heavyweight tournament idea featuring Jones, himself, Stipe Miocic, and the light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

“So, they’re saying Jon Jones and Stipe are going to fight at MSG in November, why don’t we do a tournament: Jon vs. Stipe and me vs. Alex,” Pereira said. “Do a four-man tournament, two fights in one night, and let’s find out who the real Heavyweight champion is.

“We got the greatest Heavyweight of all time, we got the greatest MMA fighter of all time, we got the Light Heavyweight champion, and me who is just a poxy Interim champion. Let’s do that…wouldn’t that be a cool little thing, two fights in one night. I got the lowest average fight time in the UFC, and it’s even lower after tonight; my chances in that tournament are pretty good” (h/t Bloody Elbow).

Jon Jones Next Fight

Jon Jones next fight is not yet officially scheduled. Since defeating France’s Ciryl Gane in early 2023, ‘Bones’ has been inactive. At UFC 295 the 37-year-old was booked against Stipe Miocic on November 11, 2023, but Jones pulled out of the match due to an injury.

The status of all-time great has certainly been earned throughout the career of Jon Jones. Since becoming the youngest champion in UFC in 2011, he has defeated former or future UFC champions Glover Teixeira, Daniel Cormier, Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Maurício ‘Shogun’ Rua, and Lyoto Machida, in addition to other contenders who would never hold UFC gold. Simply, ‘Bones’ has an incredible resume in MMA.

Fans are hoping to see Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall face off in a title unification bout sometime in 2024. Many MMA followers are not interested in the Miocic fight. The American athlete Miocic was a great UFC heavyweight champion but has been winless since 2020. ‘The Baddy’ Paddy Pimblett said, That’s the scenario that I think every UFC fan wants.”

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All the fights for Riyadh Season Noche UFC: Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili in Las Vegas on Saturday 14th September 2024. With betting odds, start time, date, fight card, and information on how to watch.

• Event: Riyadh Season Noche UFC: Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili
• Date: Sat, Sep. 14, 2024
• Location: The Sphere, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
• Broadcast: Prelims 6 p.m. ET in the U.S., Main Card 10 p.m. ET in the U.S.
• Broadcast in the UK: Prelims will begin at 11 p.m. BST, Main Card at 3 a.m. BST

Riyadh Season Noche UFC: Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili Full fight card

Main Card

• Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili: Bantamweight Title Fight
• Alexa Grasso vs. Valentina Shevchenko: Women’s Flyweight Title Fight
• Brian Ortega vs. Diego Lopes: Featherweight
• Daniel Zellhuber vs. Esteban Ribovics: Lightweight
• Ronaldo Rodriguez vs. Ode’ Osbourne: Flyweight

Prelims

• Irene Aldana vs. Norma Dumont: Women’s Bantamweight
• Manuel Torres vs. Ignacio Bahamondes: Lightweight
• Édgar Cháirez vs. Kevin Borjas: Flyweight
• Yazmin Jauregui vs. Ketlen Souza: Women’s Strawweight
• Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Aoriqileng: Bantamweight

*Fight card, bout order, and number of fights are subject to change

Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili Tale of the Tape

Start date and time

Riyadh Season Noche UFC: Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili takes place on Saturday, September 14th, at The Sphere, Las Vegas. The main card will start at 10 p.m. ET with the the Prelims starting at 6 p.m. ET. In the UK, the main event starts at 3 a.m. GMT with the Prelims starting at 11 p.m. GMT.

Betting Odds

• Sean O’Malley: -105 underdog 
• Merab Dvalishvili: -125 favorite

Tickets

If you are lucky enough to be near Las Vegas, Nevada, or plan to attend Riyadh Season Noche: UFC Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishviliat The Sphere, tickets are on sale from Wednesday 31st July, and will be available here.

Riyadh Season Noche UFC: Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili Preview

PPV price and Live streams

Riyadh Season Noche UFC: Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili is Live on ESPN+ PPV and the PPV is not available right now. When available you will be able to purchase the PPV here. In The UK, Noche UFC is available on TNT Sports as well as the early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

What is Next after Riyadh Season Noche UFC: Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili?

The next UFC event that follows Noche UFC: Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili is UFC Fight Night: Paris on the 28th of September 2024.

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Dana White still plans on bringing the UFC to both Spain and Africa.

Following Saturday’s lackluster card in Manchester, the outspoken CEO offered an update on his tentative plans to promote events in both Spain and Africa. White revealed that while he’s still working out details for an event in Africa, they’ve hit a bit of a snag when trying to book a venue in Ilia Topuria’s home country.

“The problem with Topuria and Spain is Spain’s venues are so backed up since COVID,” White told TNT Sports.”They have so many events going on. It’s hard to get a venue there. But when we can, we will definitely do that” (h/t Sportskeeda).

Immediately following Topuria’s second-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, Dana White expressed interest in running an event at the 80,000-seat Santiago Bernabéu, home of Spain’s Real Madrid football team.

Dana White details plans to run shows in Africa

Dana White isn’t stopping there. He also plans to take the UFC to South Africa, home of current middleweight world champion Dricus Du Plessis. White also made it clear that he plans on bringing the promotion to the rest of Africa as well.

“I wanna go to Africa. We’re still working on an Africa fight; not just South Africa, but Africa,” White added. “You know, ’cause everybody will make the argument, ‘If you go to South Africa, that’s not really Africa.’ That’s Africa to me. But we’ll still look to go to other parts of Africa. It’s important to me.”

Du Plessis will put his 185-pound title on the line for the first time on Saturday, August 17 when the promotion heads back to Perth, Australia for UFC 305. In the main event of the evening, ‘Stillknocks’ will try to fend off former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya who will be looking to make history as the division’s first-ever three-division champion.

DDP’ took the title home following a closely-contested split decision win over Sean Strickland at UFC 296 in January. Their clash in The Land Down Under will be Adesanya’s first fight since coming up short against Strickland nearly a year ago.

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Before the belt was even wrapped around Belal Muhammad’s waist, Shavkat Rakhmonov was shooting his shot on social media.

The UFC’s return to Manchester on Saturday night saw the rise of a new welterweight world champion as ‘Remember The Name’ delivered a mostly dominant performance against Leon Edwards in the UFC 304 headliner.

Almost immediately following his unanimous decision victory over ‘Rocky,’ the division’s No. 3 ranked contender called for the first crack at Muhammad’s new hardware.

“Congratulations on your well-deserved victory, @bullyb170! I hope you keep your word and defend your title against me when you’re ready, champ,” Rakhmonov wrote on X.

Nomad’ is a perfect 18-0 in his mixed martial arts career, his last six wins coming inside the Octagon. Perhaps even more impressive is that Rakhmonov boasts a 100% finish rate, choking out Neil Magny, Geoff Neal, and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson in his last three outings.

Belal Muhammad welcomes Shavkat Rakhmonov’s challenge

Never one to back down from a challenge, Belal Muhammad gladly accepted Rakhmonov’s challenge as a first step toward establishing himself as the greatest welterweight of all time.

“Yeah, of course,” Muhammad said on fighting Rakhmonov at the UFC 304 post-fight press conference. “I’ve literally never turned down a fight. I’ve never backed down from anybody. I had so many people turn down fights against me so, now I’m at the top. I’m the man and for me, now it’s cementing my legacy as the best welterweight to ever do it.

“I’m not going to sit there and call out these random guys. Who’s next in line, who’s best in line. I’m going to show you who I am, what I can do. They thought Leon could walk through me, now I’m going to walk through all these other guys” (h/t BJPenn.com).

Bully B’ extended his unbeaten streak to 10 while simultaneously snapping Leon Edwards‘ undefeated run that began all the way back in May 2016.

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