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Chael Sonnen has doubts over Conor McGregor’s injury.

McGregor was set to return to the Octagon at UFC 303 on June 29 against Michael Chandler in a highly-anticipated bout. However, the Irishman was forced to withdraw from the bout due to a broken pinky toe which many fans criticized him for.

The injury didn’t seem that serious to withdraw from a fight and UFC analyst Chael Sonnen has some legitimacy concerns over the injury.

“I’m looking out for his version of a discolored pinky toe that may or may not be broken,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel, via MMANews. “It wouldn’t explain the absence of a press conference, and that’s where you get jammed up. Where was it? Where could you have been that precluded you from coming to a press conference? You don’t have to drive yourself.

“You start running out of options, and so when you go with a discolored pinky toe that may or may not belong to you and may or may not be broken, I’m just wondering, in hindsight, do you look back on that and think it was a little bit of a miss because we’re not owed an explanation?,” Sonnen added.

Even though McGregor shared a photo of the injury, Sonnen still doesn’t think the injury is legit.

Conor McGregor plans to return later this year

Although Conor McGregor had to pull out of his UFC 303 fight against Michael Chandler due to an injury, the Irishman is confident he will return later this year.

“I’m just looking forward to getting back into the Octagon, handling my business with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and seeing what the future holds,” Conor McGregor said (via ABCNews).

Although McGregor says he will return later this year, the fight against Chandler is not booked, and when it will happen is unclear.

But, the Irishman is adamant he will fight again this year which is the first time he fights since breaking his leg in the trilogy match against Dustin Poirier.

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Jon Jones wants that lone loss eliminated from his record following the ABC’s decision to do away with the 12-to-6 elbow rule.

Though the undisputed UFC heavyweight world champion is often touted as beating undefeated, that’s simply not the case. During an especially dominant performance against Matt Hamill in December 2009, ‘Bones’ was controversially disqualified by referee Steve Mazzagatti for using illegal 12-to-6 elbows that left Hamill unable to continue.

Now, Jones is calling for Dana White and Co. to scrub the DQ debacle from his record after the Association of Boxing Commission voted to abolish the ancient elbowing rule on Tuesday.

Previously, it was illegal for a fighter to bring their arm straight up and straight down to land an elbow strike on their opponent. Oftentimes, the blows were at the discretion of the referee, leading to rampant confusion over the rule. Fortunately, the instances of a fight being affected by the 12-to-6 rule have been few and far between with Jones’ DQ loss to Hamill being by far the most egregious.

Learning of the ABC’s ruling, Jones tagged Dana White on Instagram, telling the UFC CEO that they need to “get that loss out of the history books.”

“Undefeated then, undefeated now… Dana White we gotta get that loss out of the history books.”

In addition to the 12-to-6 elbow rule change, the ABCs update what constitutes a ‘grounded fighter’

In addition to the elimination of the 12-to-6 rule, the definition of a grounded opponent has been changed. Previously, a grounded opponent was considered to be a fighter who had one hand on the mat and then any other body part touching the floor — including the other hand.

The updated rule now states that a fighter must have a body part on the canvas other than their hands or feet — knee, elbow, etc — to be considered grounded.

“A fighter shall be considered grounded and may not be legally kneed or kicked to the head when any part of their body other than their hands or feet is in contact with the canvas (ground).”

Though the rule changes were approved this week, they will not go into effect until November 1, 2024.

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Amid links to a title defense return at UFC 307 at the beginning of October, undisputed featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria has hinted that his long-rumored fight with former champion, Max Holloway is close to being finalized.

Topuria, the current undisputed featherweight champion, last featured in the main event of UFC 298 back in February, laying waste to dominant former gold holder and common-opponent, Alexander Volkanovski with a blistering second round knockout win in Anaheim.

Himself landing spoils last time out – albeit symbolic, Hawaiian star, Holloway scored a buzzer-beating fifth round KO win over Justin Gaethje to win the BMF championship in highlight-reel fashion on the main card of UFC 300 back in April.

Ilia Topuria hints at UFC 307 return

And expected to return at UFC 307 at the beginning of October at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah – as part of a flagship double feature for the promotion that month, Topuria has teased a pairing with Holloway is on the cusp of completion.

“It seems that the UFC has forced him to say,” Ilia Topuria posted on his official X account. “El Matador is back. Congratulations to all @ufc fans.”

And subsequently, Holloway would post photos of himself deep into training camp for an expected return, claiming he was waiting to make his comeback in a championship setting.

“Patiently waiting,” Max Holloway posted on his X account. “#BlessedExpress”

Expected to feature a pair of championship fights in their return to Utah, the promotion are working on an undisputed bantamweight title pairing between the incumbent gold holder, Raquel Pennington, and former titleholder, Julianna Pena for that same card at the Delta Center. 

With his knockout win over Volkanovski earlier this year – who thrice beat the above-mentioned, Holloway in featherweight title fights, Topuria improved to 15-0 in professional mixed martial arts. 

Who wins in a featherweight title fight: Ilia Topuria or Max Holloway?

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With business to attend to this weekend in the form of an interim heavyweight title fight, Curtis Blaydes has still claimed it’s likely a “smart decision” for champion, Jon Jones to avoid a bout with him ahead of his UFC 304 return. 

Blaydes, a perennial heavyweight contender, features in a title fight – albeit interim, for the first time in his lengthy promotional tenure this weekend, co-headlining UFC 304.

Taking on former-foe, Tom Aspinall in a trip to enemy territory in Manchester, Blaydes looks to snatch the interim crown in another upset win – after a debilitating knee injury forced a TKO win in favor of the latter back in July 2022 in their London main event fight.

And last time out, Blaydes turned back the surge of Brazilian contender, Jailton Almeida with a stunning series of elbows at the Octagon fence whilst fending off a takedown, handing the Dana White’s Contender Series product his first UFC defeat. 

Curtis Blaydes quips Jon Jones is clever to avoid fight with him

Hoping to position himself to a future fight with fellow veteran, Jones with a huge upset win over Atherton favorite, Aspinall this weekend, Curtis Blaydes has claimed that while the Rochester native has a UFC 309 return of his own lined up for Madison Square Garden in November against Stipe Miocic, it’s likely clever for him to avoid a showdown.

“I wasn’t surprised (that Gane vs. Jones was booked for UFC 285),” Curtis Blaydes told ESPN MMA. “I’ve been with the UFC for eight years now. Like, I get it,” Blaydes said. “Marketing. He’s French, which means he brings in all the fans over there. He has an aesthetically pleasing style. A lot of people don’t like wrestling, so I get that. He does all the fancy karate stance and all that. It’s easy to market his highlights versus the highlights that I have.

“Also, I think they asked Jon and were probably like, ‘Jon, do you wanna go against this guy who doesn’t know how to wrestle? Or this guy, who knows how to wrestle?’ I think he did the business, smart decision,” Blaydes continued. “I am a harder fight for him than Gane; I think a lot of guys are a harder fight for him than Gane.”

Over the course of his Octagon tenure, Illinois native has turned in eye-catching wins over the likes of Mark Hunt, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, Alexander Volkov, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, as well as the above-mentioned Aspinall and Almeida.

Who would you pick to win in a future matchup: Curtis Blaydes or Jon Jones?

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Paddy Pimblett thinks Jon Jones’ insistence on fighting Stipe Miocic is nothing but a big “f*ck you” to his greatest rival.

Stepping back inside the Octagon for the first time since scoring a win over Tony Ferguson in December, ‘The Baddy’ will meet No. 15 ranked lightweight contender King Green when the UFC descends upon Co-op Live in Manchester for its latest pay-per-view offering on July 27.

It will be Pimblett’s first time competing as an underdog under the UFC banner, sitting at +160 on DraftKings, meaning that a $ 100 bet on Pimblett could net you a $ 160 payout, should ‘The Baddy’ defy the odds and earn another big win on MMA’s biggest stage. Maximize your payout and take advantage of some sweet bonus bet offers by heading over to AceOdds.com ahead of the festivities on Saturday night.

Ahead of his sixth promotional appearance, Pimblett spoke with Tim Wheaton in an exclusive interview to discuss all things UFC — including the chaotic state of the heavyweight division and its undisputed champion, Jon Jones. Interview conducted on behalf of AceOdds.

During their conversation, Pimblett praised ‘Bones’ legacy and recalled watching the two-division titleholder’s domination as a 15-year-old boy in Liverpool dreaming of one day walking that same path.

“He’s the greatest of all time. He’s never lost a fight. I’ll never forget, I watched when he beat Matt Hamill, and it got classed as a DQ,” Pimblett said. “I watched that fight live when I was 15. I watched that live and I’ve been watching Jon Jones my whole career.

“He’s had a couple of close fights that people thought he lost, but he’s the greatest of all time. No one comes near his resume.

After dispatching a slew of MMA legends at 205, Jon Jones made the move heavyweight following a three-year-long layoff and quickly submitted the division’s top contender, Ciryl Gane, at UFC 285 in May 2023 to take home the vacant heavyweight title.

Paddy Pimblett believes Jones beating Miocic is just another way for ‘Bones’ to torment Daniel Cormier

Immediately following the fight, Jones set his sights on Stipe Miocic, the only two-time heavyweight champion in UFC history and the man considered by many to be the division’s undisputed GOAT.

With Jones and Miocic touted as the best light heavyweight and heavyweight fighters of all time, a superfight between the two certainly makes sense — particularly for ‘Bones’ who is hellbent on solidifying his legacy as the best to ever do it.

However, Pimblett believes Jones’ desire to fight Miocic is a bit deeper and much more petty than that.

“I know why he wants to fight Stipe, because Stipe beat Cormier, twice and his hatred for Cormier,” Pimblett said. “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. I don’t think he’s scared to fight Tom. I don’t think he is at all. I think to be honest, it’s crazy that Tom’s defending an interim title. Most of the champs would have been stripped, but we’re talking about Jon Jones here, the greatest fighter of all time.

“I don’t think he’s scared to fight anyone. Tom could be his biggest test out there. I think Tom’s going to win at UFC 304 against Blaydes. I’d love Tom to win. Then I’d love Jones to beat Stipe and then to fight each other early next year. That’s the scenario that I think every UFC fan wants.”

Before losing his last two UFC fights against Stipe Miocic in a trio of entertaining heavyweight title scraps, Daniel Cormier came up short on two separate occasions against Jon Jones — though one was later overturned to a no-contest.

The rivalry between Cormier and Jones was one of the most fierce in UFC history with ‘DC’ taking exception to Jones’ brash attitude and continuous run-ins with the law. Even today, the animosity is ever present despite their best efforts to remain cordial in front of the camera.

Could that be Jones’ real reason for wanting to fight Miocic? Probably not, but even ‘Bones’ can’t deny that defeating the man who beat Cormier twice would be a pretty big middle finger to ‘DC.’

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Former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has revealed today that he is currently planning a return to mixed martial arts competition on October 19. – tentatively, in a PFL first outing against Brazilian contender, Renan Ferreira. 

Ngannou, a former undisputed UFC heavyweight titleholder, has yet to compete in professional mixed martial arts since the beginning of 2022, most recently successfully unifying his divisional crown in a unanimous decision win over former interim champion and then-unbeaten challenger, Ciryl Gane.

However, in the time since, Batie native, Ngannou has featured twice in professional boxing taking on both former world heavyweight championship holders, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in losses to both.

Francis Ngannou expecting to make PFL debut in October

And expected to take on the above-mentioned, Ferreira of the back of his stunning first round win over former Bellator MMA champion, Ryan Bader back in February, Ngannou has now confirmed plans are currently in place for him to enter the SmartCage for the first time in October in a potential Saudi Arabia return for PFL.

“I think Renan Ferreira is the guy,” Francis Ngannou said during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. “I’ve been telling people about this guy for almost two years. Very athletic, fast hands, knees – very athletic. I think it’s going to be him.”

“That’s what the PFL is working on,” Francis Ngannou continued. “October, sometime. They’re working on October. It’s not finalized but they were talking about October 19.”

Gearing up for a return to combat sports following the tragic passing of his infant son, Kobe earlier this year, Ngannou has reportedly returned to training five weeks ago, according to PFL president, Ray Sefo. 

In the midst of a six-fight winning spree, prior to his decision win over Gane, Ngannou minted himself as the heavyweight champion in the UFC with a knockout victory over Stipe Miocic, following wins against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, and Curtis Blaydes – all by way of first round stoppage via strikes.

Who wins in a future PFL matchup: Francis Ngannou or Renan Ferreira?

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Dominick Cruz believes Sean O’Malley will have a stylistic advantage against his next bantamweight title challenger, Merab Dvalishvili.

The inevitable clash between ‘Sugar’ and ‘The Machine’ does not have an official date, but all signs point toward the two going toe-to-toe in either September at Sphere in Las Vegas or in The Crossroads of the West when the UFC heads back to Salt Lake City in October.

But no matter where their 135-pound title tilt goes down, ‘The Dominator’ believes O’Malley’s size and standup game will be more valuable than the wrestle-heavy attack of Dvalishbili.

“O’Malley has the advantage,” Cruz said on the Anik & Florian Podcast. “You saw Henry [Cejudo] was able to kind of hurt Dvalishvili a little bit and force the wrestling. So, O’Malley’s going to hit him. We’re all going to get hit. If you’re going in there expecting, ‘I’m not going to get hit once. I’m just going to finish him in a minute…’ You could, yeah, but it’s quite an expectation for yourself, so I expect he’s going to get hit.”

“The question is how is he gonna close the distance? That’s why this is a good fight for O’Malley, is the distance and the stance switches and the footwork. Stylistically, you got a short guy who wants to wrestle and we know for a fact doesn’t want to stand up. It’s not what he wants to do. It’s not where he’s comfortable, so the fight starts standing. That’s where I see it’s a good stylistic matchup for O’Malley” (h/t SI.com).

Will Merab Dvalishvili stand and trade with Sean O’Malley?

Though wrestling is undoubtedly Dvalishvili’s best path to winning a world title, the Georgian boldly claimed that he would stand and trade with O’Malley. Of course, Michael Bisping quickly called bullsh*t on that, but only time will tell if ‘The Machine’ is willing to risk it all to prove a point against one of the most intriguing strikers in the game today.

In 10 career victories under the UFC banner, Dvalishvili only has one finish to his credit — a second-round TKO against Marlon Moraes in 2021.

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Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has unloaded on Jake Paul after he took a jab at Conor McGregor.

Paul scored a knockout win over Mike Perry over the weekend in a dominating performance as he dropped Perry three times. It was a solid performance and after the win, he took a jab at McGregor saying he ducked a fight against him.

After Paul’s comment, Bisping took to social media to blast the brash YouTuber-turned-boxer after his comments about McGregor.

“The ‘little leprechaun’ [very original by the way] is one of the greatest fighters the UFC has ever seen. But he also won the featherweight title. Do your thing. But please for f*** sake stop trying to sound tough. Fight a boxer d****** or at least someone your size bully boy,” Bisping wrote on social media.

Bisping has taken aim at Paul in the past, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he once again criticized ‘The Problem Child’ after his latest comments about McGregor.

Conor McGregor Rips Jake Paul After Win Over Mike Perry

After Jake Paul defeated Mike Perry on Saturday in Tampa Bay, Conor McGregor took to social media to blast the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

McGregor also said Perry was fired from BKFC, as the Irishman has become a part owner of the promotion

“Jake Paul is the biggest pissbag I have ever seen in my life. 40 pound weight difference, juiced out of his head, and still shitting himself in there. Nakisa you should take him to Vegas oh that’s right you could never, the athletic commission testing, real testing, real fighting. Bitch asses. You could never. And then calling out 60year old Mike Tyson fresh off an in flight medical emergency? I swear to god, a fat can of bitch piss. Most valuable pissbag. Hey Mike youre released and you can go and compete in your smelly dirty boxing championship thing, the smell of it, good luck. You’re fired. @bareknucklefc,” McGregor wrote on X.

There is no love lost between Jake Paul and Conor McGregor as Paul has continued to say he will box the Irishman before their careers are up.

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Leon Edwards has much bigger fish to fry.

This Saturday night, July 27, ‘Rocky’ will return to the Octagon in his home country seeking a successful third defense of his welterweight world title. Standing in his way will be streaking division standout and the top-ranked contender at 170, Belal Muhammad.

Recently, Edwards found himself at the center of a callout from former foe and UFC fan favorite Nate Diaz after the TUF alumnus scored a majority decision victory over Jorge Masvidal in Anaheim.

“My main objective is to be the best fighter in the world so I wanna go back and get a UFC title. Leon Edwards, Jake Paul…You’re dead,” Diaz said.

Keeping his eyes on the task at hand, ‘Rocky’ hasn’t had much to say about Diaz’s comment, but Edwards’ coach, Dave Lovell, made it clear that the champ has more important things to worry about. Lovell also suggested that Diaz should have left the fight game a long time ago, citing all the punishment he’s absorbed over his two-decade-long run.

“It’s all a joke. Leon ain’t got time for that Micky Mouse business right now, bruv,” Lovell told Submission Radio. “Nate is making money still and fighting, but me personally I think he needs to leave the game alone. He’s taken a little bit too much punishment now…This guy’s got a life after fighting.”

Nate Diaz and Leon Edwards delivered an instant classic in their lone UFC meeting

Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz met once on MMA’s biggest stage, squaring off in a critically acclaimed clash at UFC 263 in March 2021. While ‘Rocky’ led the dance for the majority of the five-round affair, Diaz tagged Edwards late in the fifth round with a booming right hand that had the UK star stumbling.

Diaz poured it on for the final minute but was able to secure the finish and came up short on the scorecards.

Perhaps we’ll see the two run it back inside the Octagon once Leon Edwards’ days of reigning over the welterweight division are over.

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Dana White’s MMA promotion is set to return to Manchester for the first time in eight years this weekend.

Co-headliners Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall are getting the lion’s share of attention as they prepare to defend their respective belts at UFC 304 on Saturday night. 

However, there’s a stacked undercard full of talented British fighters, including Nathaniel Wood and ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann, that deserves some love too

Join LowKickMMA as we break down five preliminary bouts and the UFC odds before offering you an official prediction on how they will all play out.

Modestas Bukauskas vs Marcin Prachnio

Bukauskas being a -150 favorite doesn’t really sit well with us. 

It’ll be a competitive fight with Prachnio, who is the +125 underdog despite having a much more impressive record, which includes a win over Khalil Rountree Jr. 

The American infamously destroyed Bukauskas’ knee when they fought, but the London-based Lithuanian has done well to get back to full fitness and earn a second shot in the UFC.

Sadly, he’s a bit too hittable to ever mount a title challenge and we are backing him to lose in front of his home crowd when he takes on Prachnio this weekend.

Sam Patterson vs Kiefer Crosbie

Once again, we think the odds are slightly off for this fight. 

Patterson is the favorite, and we are backing him to win but to only get -333 on a 1-1 UFC fighter who was knocked out in his promotion debut is a bit wild. 

However, he is a level above Crosbie and will ultimately prove that to be true.

The +250 underdog won’t go down easy. He’ll be tough, durable and maybe go the distance before slumping to his second consecutive UFC defeat against Patterson.

Mick Parkin vs Łukasz Brzeski

Parkin is one of our surest picks of the entire UFC 304 fight card.

Tom Aspinall’s sparring partner hasn’t set the world alight since joining the UFC, but he’s picked up three wins and done so relatively easily.  

The -200 favorite should really be advancing towards the rankings. For some reason, he’s facing an opponent we’d consider a drop-down in level in his fourth Octagon outing.

With a 1-3 UFC record, Brzeski finds himself in a position where he is being used to launch a potential new star, but anything can happen in heavyweight MMA and that’s why he’s priced at +170.

Molly McCann vs Bruna Brasil

McCann appears to have found her fighting home at strawweight. 

‘Meatball’ put on one of her career-best performances in her divisional debut and one look at her social media tells you she’s been training hard for UFC 304. 

The shredded scouser is -300 to get the job done and we can’t see her clash with Brasil going any other way. That’s not to say that the -240 is a bad MMA fighter. 

McCann is just better, and it will ultimately show when they meet. 

Nathaniel Wood vs Daniel Pineda

Wood is one of the biggest favorites on the card at -500.

We think it’s because he’s much slicker than his opponent, Pineda, who has had an exciting four-fight run in the UFC but hasn’t shown he’s quite on the level of ‘The Prospect’. 

Some may fancy him pulling off an upset at +380. Not us. Wood is capable of making a run at the featherweight ranking and will show that in Manchester. 

You may need to decide if he’ll get it done by finish or decision to get worthwhile odds out of backing him. Maybe it’s best to just add Wood to a parlay like us.

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