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Slated to return at UFC 303 at the end of next month, Conor McGregor has been backed to chase “multiple” title belts off the back of his fight with rival, Michael Chandler – if he’s not “absolutely smoked” at the event, according to Hall of Fame star, Michael Bisping.

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight champion under the banner of the promotion, is slated to snap an-almost three-year hiatus from the sport later this summer against the above-mentioned, Chandler.

Fracturing his left tibia and fibula in the opening round of his 2021 trilogy rubber match with former interim titleholder, Dustin Poirier, Dublin striker, McGregor has vowed to find his shots early and often en route to a knockout win over Chandler next month.

And taking center stage at the beginning of next month in his native county, McGregor is set to return to the 3Arena for a massive press conference, facing off with Missouri veteran, Chandler – the same scene of his infamous 2015 presser against then-featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo.

Conor McGregor backed to earn title shot with win at UFC 303

Receiving a stunning offer of a historic third title challenge at Madison Square Garden by incumbent welterweight champion, Leon Edwards should he topple Chandler at the end of next month, McGregor could challenge for gold both up and down divisions with a win at UFC 303, as per Bisping.

“They’re [the UFC] promoting this fight (Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler) big time,” Michael Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “And listen, you never know, maybe this could be the last time we ever see Conor McGregor fight inside the Octagon.”

“I’m not saying that because I’m telling you now, if Conor wins, he’s going to fight for a belt next and there’s multiple belts that he could fight for. 155lbs, 170lbs, and the ‘Baddest Motherf*cker’ title as well. So there’s a lot of opportunity if he looks good, if he wins the fight and he doesn’t get absolutely smoked.”

Do you think Conor McGregor can capture UFC gold again?

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Former undisputed lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov claims a firm plan is in place for his countryman, Islam Makhachev to beat incoming common-foe, Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 this weekend – claiming a second or third round finish should be on the cards.

Nurmagomedov, a former undisputed lightweight champion and Hall of Fame inductee, called time on his unbeaten professional career back in 2020 following a successful title unification win over then-interim champion, Justin Gaethje.

And returning to the camp of Makhachev last week in Newark ahead of the current titleholder’s showdown with former interim best, Poirier in New Jersey in the main event of UFC 302 this weekend, it is currently unclear if the Dagestan native will feature as a cornerman at the Prudential Center.

Khabib Nurmagomedov shares prediction for UFC 302

However, sharing his immediate thoughts on the clash, Nurmagomedov claims Makhachev should have many openings in the second or third round to turn in a finish over Lafayette favorite, Poirier – who admitted he may likely call time on his own run in the sport.

“Many people underestimate Dustin Poirier,” Khabib Nurmagomedov said on his YouTube channel. “I personally fought him, spent three and over 10 minutes with him, and I have a good sense of his strengths and weaknesses. We are working hard on these aspects.”

“Dustin Poirier is very experienced; he’s been in many battles already,” Khabib Nurmagomedov explained. “Yes, he has lost, but he also has many victories in the UFC, more than 22 or 23 wins. Using our slang, he is a seasoned warrior. You can’t take him lightly. We have great respect for Dustin, but on June 1. he is our opponent. We have a clearly developed plan for the fight, and I believe Islam (Makhachev) will follow it. I really hope that Islam will finish him off in the second or third round.” 

Do you agree with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s prediction for UFC 302?

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Jon Jones may be the greatest mixed martial artist the sport has ever seen.

‘Bones’ ruled the light heavyweight division for more than a decade, dispatching legend after legend, including Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira, and Daniel Cormier.

But as impressive as Jones’ run at 205 was, his reign as the undisputed heavyweight champion has been the exact opposite. Returning from a three-year-long layoff, Jones captured the vacated crown with a two-minute submission victory over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285.

He has not defended the belt since.

Jones was originally scheduled to defend the title against consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic last November, but a pectoral injury forced him to bow out. That promoted the promotion to book an interim title fight between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich. Aspinall won the bout via a 69-second KO and expected to unify his title with Jones later this year. However, ‘Bones’ and the UFC had other plans.

Instead, Jones will move forward with his fight against Miocic, completely bypassing a unification clash with Aspinall.

Tom Aspinall Respects Jon Jones despite their heavyweight predicament

Even once that bout is in the book, there’s no guarantee that the winner will want to fight Aspinall, prompting the UK star to move on to an interim title fight with Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. There, Aspinall will become the first fighter in more than a decade to defend an interim belt.

In the time since his title victory and subsequent snub, Aspinall has been critical of Jones and the UFC’s handling of the heavyweight division. Recently, the Salford, England native suggested that Jon Jones is irrelevant to anything he’s doing at the top of the division — with all due respect, of course.

“I honestly think Jon Jones is a legend,” Aspinall said in an interview with TheMACLife. “I respect what he’s done in the Octagon, but right now he’s quite irrelevant to what I’m doing.This is said with a lot of respect; I have nothing against Jon regardless of what he says. It’s all bollocks.“

There are plenty of fight fans who side with Aspinall, believing he should be promoted to undisputed status since Jones is unwilling to face the interim champion, instead opting to fight the 41-year-old Miocic who hasn’t won since his August 2020 trilogy bout with Cormier.

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Conor McGregor will earn himself a title fight with a win over Michael Chandler.

That comes according to UFC Hall of Famer who delivered the hot take during a recent episode of his EPSN show Good Guy/Bad Guy alongside co-host Chael Sonnen. However, if McGregor comes up short during International Fight Week, ‘DC’ hopes to see him saddled with Tony Ferguson.

“If he gets through Michael Chandler, I say give him a title fight,” Cormier said. “Put him in there with [Dustin] Poirier or [Islam] Makhachev on Mexican Independence Day or some time soon thereafter. If he loses, put him in there with Tony Ferguson.

“Tony Ferguson deserves to have that big platform the last time to see if he can go and do what he said he was going to do to Conor all of those times and so long ago.”

McGregor will step inside the Octagon for the first time in nearly three years on Saturday, June 29 when he headlines UFC 303 against the former Bellator MMA champion.

With their bout taking place at 170 pounds, it’s hard to imagine ‘Mystic Mac’ securing a lightweight title opportunity even with the most impressive of wins, but it certainly sounds like welterweight king Leon Edwards is down for a scrap with the former two-division champ, so there’s that.

Are we headed toward conor mcGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 4?

As far as the lightweight division goes, fans will see Islam Makhachev put the 155-pound strap on the line at UFC 302 when he meets three-time Conor McGregor opponent Dustin Poirier inside the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Poirier is walking into his third shot at UFC gold with a do-or-die attitude, suggesting that it’s either win or go home against the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ in The Garden State.

Who knows, maybe the stars will align and we’ll see both McGregor and Poirier walk away winners, setting the stage for a fourth meeting between the two MMA icons — even if Poirier insists that ship has sailed.

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Jiří Procházka’s training methods are highly unusual, but you can’t argue with their results.

Following his impressive second-round comeback KO against Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 300, the former light heavyweight champion is already preparing for his next outing inside the Octagon. Taking to social media, ‘BJP’ revealed that he would undergo three days of complete isolation with no food or electricity of any kind — including light.

“3 days. No Light. No Food. Pure Focus. Pure Training. Preparation can start NOW,” Procházka wrote on X.

It’s nothing out of the ordinary for Procházka who has typically engaged in non-traditional training methods like using trees as heavy bags, traveling trails, and getting lost in the freezing mountains of Las Vegas for an incredible 18 hours.

Jiří Procházka primed for rematch with alex pereira

No official announcement has been made regarding Jiří Procházka’s next fight, but all signs point to it being a rematch with current 205-pound king Alex Pereira.

Poatan’ scored a second-round knockout against Procházka at UFC 295 in November, claiming the vacant light heavyweight title. Since then, Pereira has bagged his first defense, dispatching another former champion — Jamahal Hill — in a matter of minutes at the promotion’s landmark event in April.

Pereira was expected to put his title on the line against Magomed Ankalaev, but with the Russian challenger wanting to push things off until the fall, Pereira is opting to stay busy, lobbying for a rematch with Procházka instead.

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Dricus Du Plessis has his sights set on champ-champ status. But before ‘Stillknocks’ can focus on picking up a second undisputed belt, he’s got some work to do in the middleweight division.

In January, DDP scored a split-decision victory over Sean Strickland to claim the 185-pound crown, setting the stage for a long-awaited showdown with former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya. When and where that takes place is yet to be determined, but Du Plessis is nonetheless excited for the opportunity to test his skills against one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen, solidifying his own legacy in the process.

“Beating a guy like Robert Whittaker, becoming a world champion, and then beating one of the greats like Israel Adesanya? How are you not motivated by that? I’ve seen Adesanya as my even when I wasn’t in the UFC,” Du Plessis said on The Sias du Plessis Show.

“I’ve seen him as the guy that I need to beat to become the best. He set the bar. I mean, long before I was in the UFC, he was the champion, and he set the bar of what you need to be to be a champion” (h/t MMA Mania).

Dricus Du Plessis plotting path to light heavyweight title

Should DDP get the job done against Israel Adesanya, he’ll turn his attention toward the winner of the UFC Saudi Arabia headliner between Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.

Having already earned a win over ‘The Reaper’ at UFC 290, Du Plessis understandably sees more value in a potential fight with ‘Borz.’

Not only would it help his bid to become the greatest middleweight of all time — it would bring him one step closer to adding another title to his collection.

“If Khamzat beats Whittaker, beating Khamzat? That earns you a spot at light heavyweight,” he said. “If you look at the the greats, the boogeyman, everybody seems to be scared of Khamzat. I would love that fight.”

“But like I said, I have no problem defending my belt a few times before that. For now, my focus is 100% on the middleweight division and my next fight, which in all likelihood would be Israel Adesanya. And that’s where all my focus is. None of the other plans can come together without this.”

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Gegard Mousasi is a free man.

One day after the former Bellator middleweight champion slammed the PFL, calling it “the worst organization” and threatening them with legal action, the promotion’s head of fighter operations, Mike Kogan, confirmed that Mousasi has been released from his contract.

“Bellator has released Gegard Mousasi from his agreement,” Kogan wrote. “We wish him all the best fighting in his next chapter.”

While Mousasi has not yet commented on the situation, his manager, Nima Safapour of Moments Management, referred to the release as “alleged” and called out the promotion for not standing by their “fighter first” mantra.

“We will not comment on the merits of the alleged release at this time for obvious reasons,” Safapour said in a written statement provided to MMA Junkie. “However, we believe there is a greater lesson here that our community should pay close attention to. For an organization that repeatedly claims to be ‘fighter first,’ we now truly see how PFL treats their fighters, especially their legends.”

Gegard Mousasi’s Threats of Legal action draw a response from pFL founder Donn Davis

Gegard Mousasi has not competed since a unanimous decision loss to Fabian Edwards in May 2023. 11 months prior, he surrendered his Bellator belt to Johnny Eblen. Following the PFL’s acquisition of the promotion late last year, Mousasi has vented his frustration over being shelved, accusing the PFL of refusing to honor his contract by asking him to take a pay cut.

“They said that the amount [of money I get paid], we don’t want to cut you, it’s so much, that it’s better for you, I don’t know, look somewhere else or do something else,” Mousasi said Wednesday on The MMA Hour.

“At this moment, I’m like, listen, if someone doesn’t want me, I’m like, ‘F*ck it. Let’s go.’ But my team around me is like, ‘F*ck it, we’ll sue them.’ If it was up to me, I would just go, but I don’t know. We’ll see. The team around me is not that happy. So I think there is going to be legal action against them.“

During a recent appearance on the Weighing In podcast with ‘Big’ John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, PFL founder Donn Davis disputed Mousasi’s claim, suggesting that while they plan to honor every Bellator contract, they can’t guarantee every fighter will get exactly what they’re asking for.

“Occasionally we’ll have a fighter grumble,” Davis said. “It’s one of 205 (fighters we acquired from Bellator). You expect five to 10 percent issues on any deal. You can’t be perfect. You can be 90 to 95 percent. We’ve had a handful of people say, ‘Oh, I wish it went this way, I wish it went that way.’ I’m delighted. I’m very, very proud of how we treated our fighters.

“How we treat our employees. Most of all, the product. We just completed our second (Bellator show) in Paris, which was awesome. We didn’t sit on this for six months. We didn’t take a year off. We didn’t lay off 100 fighters. All the stuff that always happens in all acquisitions. So I just could not be more proud.

“I’ll say two things: One, what I’m super proud of is the market, and anyone you talk to – fighters, business partners, media, mangers – we’re direct, fair and reasonable. 100 percent. That’s my 35 years in business. That’s the culture we’ve built here. So I will say, without commenting out of respect on individual negotiations and specifics situations – we’re direct, fair and reasonable with everybody that we deal with.

“Will everybody’s contract be honored? Of course. Do some people have different ideas of what works and what doesn’t work? Sure. But we’re fair and reasonable with everybody. Will all 205 fighters (from Bellator) have everything fall the way they want? No.”

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Conor McGregor would love to see Justin Gaethje trade in his four-ounce gloves for a pair of hand wraps.

In April, the Irish megastar shocked everyone when he revealed that he was now a part owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, one of the fastest-growing brands in all of combat sports. Bringing his name to the bustling world of bare knuckle boxing, there’s no telling what could happen or who could show up inside the squared circle.

During a recent interview with TheMACLife ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 303 on June 29, the former two-division champion suggested that the BKFC could give new life to MMA fighters looking for a change of pace.

Conor McGregor would rather see fighters go to BKFC than another MMA promotion

During the conversation, ‘Mystic Mac’ suggested that a move from the cage to the ring for former BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje would be a very exciting sight to see.

“We’ve seen former UFC champions or UFC veterans move to other mixed martial arts promotions,” McGregor said. “We’ve seen them fight MMA all their career and now they still fight MMA. It doesn’t pop for me. Now let’s take Justin Gaethje, who is a UFC veteran, former BMF holder, interim belt holder — take him, let’s put him in bare knuckle. That’s exciting. That’s really, really exciting.

“Now let’s take him and put him in another MMA organization, not so [exciting].”

From the start, the BKFC has bolstered its name on the back of current and former MMA stars including Luke Rockhold, Chad Mendes, Eddie Alvarez, Thiago Alves, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, and, of course, its biggest name of all, ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry.

It looks as though another former UFC champion could be toeing the line before long.

Hall of Famer ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler was recently spotted alongside BKFC founder and president David Feldman, leading to immediate speculation that the ex-welterweight champion could be knuckling up against the likes of Mike Perry before long.

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UFC superstar Israel Adesanya has been immortalized with a magnificent mural in his home country.

Owen Dippie, an internationally recognized artist from New Zealand recently unveiled his latest work which features the former two-time middleweight world champion in stunning detail.

“I saw his work of this beautiful Maori lady with a tāmoko,” Adesanya told 1News in New Zealand. “I never knew who he was at the time and I’ve seen his work all across Auckland and he does a lot of work worldwide. To be immortalized on the wall in the city that I’ve stood on by one of the greatest to do it, and right by the Sky Tower, it’s fitting, it’s poetic, it’s awesome.”

The mural can be seen on Victoria Street West in Auckland.

“He had to chip away the paint for days, then paint the walls with like four coats of white, and then look at this mug for how many weeks?” Adesanya added. “It’s a lot of work but it’s much appreciated.”

Owen Dippie Draws Inspiration From Israel Adesanya and everything he does

Breaking onto the scene in 2006, Owen Dippie’s impeccable artwork can be seen around the world in cities like Brooklyn, NY, and Los Angeles.

He is also involved with mental health and suicide awareness outreach, and breast cancer research fundraising

“His dedication to whatever it is, whether it’s fighting, art, music, you want to do something and you take it to that level,” Dippie said when asked why he chose to make Adesanya the subject of his latest masterpiece.

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Paddy Pimblett has taken shots at Bobby Green ahead of their fight at UFC 304 in Manchester, England.

After Green beat Jim Miller at UFC 300, he called out Pimblett, and the fight was made for UFC 304 on July 27. It’s a step up in competition for the Brit but he has confidence he will beat Green as he doesn’t the American has a chin anymore.

“He’s a proper tool, lad,” Paddy Pimblett told The Mac Life,. “He’s a proper weapon. The funniest one is he says he mentioned me. I didn’t mention you. You mentioned me first. So then I mentioned you, ya little sausage. Everyone talks about me so it’s all the same. He’s just a proper tool, lad. I think he’s a proper s—t human being. He’s just a proper wanker, lad. He’s saying that I mentioned him first, lad. He’s just lying. Why would I mention you? Why would I mention Bobby Green, lad?”

“He’s got very good striking,” Paddy Pimblett said. “He’s got good hands, but his chin’s gone after what happened with Jalin Turner. Jim Miller’s no knockout artist and he wobbled him once or twice in that fight on UFC 300. I think that is off Jalin Turner absolutely obliterating Bobby Green’s skull into the canvas.

“His striking’s very good, his takedown defense is very good and that’s what he’s gonna try and do. He’s gonna try and use his takedown defense to keep it on the feet ‘cause he thinks he’ll outstrike me. As I say, his chin’s gone so strike with me, we’ll see what happens. I can see me knocking him out. I can see me submitting him,” Pimblett concluded.

Although Pimblett thinks Green’s chin is gone, the American has only been knocked out five times in his career, but his last three losses have all come by TKO/KO.

Paddy Pimblett an underdog to Bobby Green at UFC 304

Even though Pimblett doesn’t think Green has a chin anymore, the Brit is the betting underdog at UFC 304.

Pimblett opened as a +210 underdog, while Green was a -250 favorite. At the opening odds, oddsmakers implied Pimblett has a 32.3% chance of winning the fight at UFC 304.

If Pimblett can KO Green at UFC 304 it would be a statement-making win for him, and it would put him in the rankings.

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