Like most in the MMA community, Ben Askren doesn’t understand why Jon Jones’ first title defense will be against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
The matchup was rebooked for the promotion’s return to Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, nearly one year to the date of their initially scheduled booking — which was scratched by Jones suffering an injury. Askren, a past UFC competitor, wants to see the best fighters facing the top of the division, and if it were up to him, it would be Tom Aspinall getting the shot.
“I want to see him fight Tom Aspinall, it doesn’t appear to be happening,” Askren told Daniel Cormier. “It really sucks. It sucks that I have to speak against Stipe because I have nothing against him, I actually speak about Stipe favorably, but he hasn’t fought in forever. I just don’t understand.
“I know he’s had great results, but it’s been four years, or something. Tom Aspinall’s been out on these streets beating everyone up, I would love to see Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones, and honestly, [Francis] Ngannou is somewhere else also, so this is a case where you’re just not getting to see the best guys fighting the best guys and it sucks. Maybe we’re spoiled.”
Miocic hasn’t competed since losing the heavyweight title when he was brutally knocked out by Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021.
Jones will return to the octagon for the first time since winning the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane via first-round submission at UFC 285 in March 2023 — which will be just his second appearance since his win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020.
Aspinall has competed six times since Miocic’s most recent outing, going 5-1 with all finishes, with the lone loss coming via knee injury in his UFC London main event matchup with Curtis Blaydes in July 2022. Aspinall has since won the interim heavyweight title, and defended it successfully against Blaydes with a first-round finish at UFC 304 in July.
Askren continues to wonder why the UFC continues to go back to the Jones vs. Miocic matchup when he feels Aspinall is the far more compelling option.
“Tom Aspinall has proven that he’s this guy, and Jon Jones has been — well he’s been kind of actively fighting — not super active,” Askren said. “But why can’t we see them? We want to see them [fight], they’re both there, put them together.”
Conor McGregor | Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images
Conor McGregor was his usual, animated self at the Daniel Dubois vs. Anthony Joshua fight, much to the amusement of his peers.
On an episode of the Believe You Me podcast, hosts and veteran MMA fighters Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith couldn’t help but poke fun at how McGregor carried himself as part of the crowd in attendance for the massive boxing event this past Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.
Dubois defeated Joshua via a thrilling fifth-round knockout to retain the IBF heavyweight title, much to McGregor’s excitement. Bisping had a laugh watching McGregor put a show on for the cameras.
“Conor, you would have thought that he was a big Daniel Dubois fan because when Joshua was getting those [punches], he was out of his seat,” Bisping said. “Maybe the cigar might have even got lit. Walking in with a big cigar, unlit, between the teeth. How do we feel about that? Because two words spring to mind right now: Douche. Bag.”
Conor McGregor arrives for Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois fight pic.twitter.com/7NcsBTusKH
— Best MMA Moments (@XcellentMMA) September 21, 2024
#JoshuaDubois
Conor McGregor’s reaction to Daniel Dubois knocking down Anthony Joshua is too good #JoshuaDubois #Boxing pic.twitter.com/Ib0MC0R36v
— LIVE LEAK OFFICIAL ®️ (@Daily_News86) September 21, 2024
Smith agreed the sight of McGregor chomping on an unlit cigar was deserving of ridicule and wondered at what point the former two-division champion became such an easy punchline.
“I don’t know what happens to people or when you change or how much money you have to have to start doing weird, douch-y shit like that,” Smith said. “Like, how rich do you have to be to wear your sunglasses inside 24/7. For what? I wish I was five percent as cool as he thinks he is. Like, how do you get to be so cool? I don’t know, I don’t get it. And I don’t want to just talk shit on Conor, but come on, bro. Come on.”
The good news for McGregor fans is “The Notorious” continues to say all the right things about still wanting to compete, despite having not fought since July 2021. At Saturday’s boxing event, McGregor said he would still like to fight rival Michael Chandler, and according to BKFC boss Dave Feldman, McGreor will fight bare-knuckle when his contract with UFC is completed.
McGregor still has two fights left on his current contract. Bisping and Smith agreed there are still several intriguing possibilities for the 36-year-old, but that waiting for his return has become a drag.
“As soon as I heard he wants to test free agency, I immediately thought, ‘OK, this is going to be the most drawn-out g*ddamn process in the world,” Smith said. “Because the UFC’s going to what they can to make sure that doesn’t happen and he’s going to try to do it and they’re going to go back and forth and it’s going to be this boppity boppity boppity boppity, just like Jon Jones and the UFC, it took three [expletive] years. OK, cool.
“Hit me up in, like, 2029. Let me know when this is happening, because I’d love to talk about if it’s actually going to happen.”
Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Diego Lopes wants UFC gold — or at least a chance to earn that spot against a legend of the sport.
Lopes scored the biggest win of his career earlier this month UFC 306, defeating two-time title challenger Brian Ortega via decision at Sphere in Las Vegas to climb six positions and reach No. 5 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. However, that doesn’t mean he’s now interested in facing the No. 4-ranked Movsar Evloev, the fighter who handed Lopes his most recent loss.
Lopes was competitive in a short-notice decision loss to Evloev in May 2023, impressing in his UFC debut. He has since won five straight with a trio of finishes and two post-fight bonuses. Evloev has only fought once since that night, defeating Arnold Allen via decision, and offered a rematch to Lopes at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 after Aljamain Sterling withdrew from their bout due to injury.
“The only possibility this fight happens is if the UFC really says, ‘OK, you fight him and win, and you’re next for the belt,’” Lopes said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “That’s the only way this fight happens at the moment, and I want a full camp. It’s very easy for him to call me out knowing I just fought two weeks ago. I’ve been calling him out several times to fight with a full camp, and he never wanted it. The possibility of me accepting this fight now or fight him on short notice is zero.”
The UFC featherweight championship is up for grabs on Oct. 26, when Max Holloway challenges Ilia Topuria in Abu Dhabi, and Lopes reaffirmed that being backup fighter for the UFC 308 main event is his No. 1 plan at the moment.
“If that doesn’t happen, we’d like the possibility of fighting [Alexander] Volkanovski in December,” Lopes said. “He doesn’t like to wait, and neither do I, so that could be a good fight. A lot can happen, but I think the two most viable options for us right now are being the backup fighter in Abu Dhabi, or fighting Volkanovski in December. The UFC is aware that I’m available for [UFC 308], so it depends on what they want to do.”
Volkanovski reigned as UFC featherweight king from 2019 to 2024, defeating the likes of Holloway, Ortega, Jose Aldo and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, but has now lost three of his past four. Two of those losses came against 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev, and he was knocked out by Topuria in his most recent fight.
Lopes said he’s “available and willing” to face Volkanovski in the headliner to the Dec. 14 Fight Night card in Tampa, Fla., or to battle in a five-round co-headliner at UFC 310 a week prior in Las Vegas.
“The Volk fight would be very interesting because he’s shown he can adapt well to everybody’s style, especially when his opponent is taller, until he fought Topuria,” Lopes said. “But I think I can also adapt well to guys that are shorter than me, so it would be a very interesting fight.”
Renato Moicano has long targeted a future fight against Paddy Pimblett, not only because it’s a very marketable matchup, but also one he’s very confident he’d win.
But did his position change at all after watching Pimblett tear through King Green after demolishing the veteran lightweight inside the first round when they met back at UFC 304 in July?
“I am very impressed,” Moicano said about Pimblett when speaking to MMA Fighting. “I think after the Bobby Green fight, I think Paddy Pimblett is a tougher matchup than Dan Hooker.
“Back in the day, I would be crazy to say that but right now we saw what Dan Hooker did [with] Mateusz Gamrot. He got caught many, many times in the first round. It was a close fight. I don’t think he did win, but you see the way Paddy Pimblett finished Bobby Green, and Bobby Green is not an easy guy to submit. The way he did so, props to Paddy Pimblett.”
Moicano openly admits that he thought Pimblett was more hype than reality, but the way he beat Green definitely got the Brazilian’s attention.
“I was one of the doubters,” Moicano said. “But he did great, he did a great job against Bobby Green. He deserves some respect. Not much but some respect.”
At UFC Paris, Moicano headlines a UFC event for the second time in his career with hopes to build on his three-fight win streak when he faces Benoit Saint Denis in the main event.
On paper, Moicano is actually taking a step backwards accepting a fight against Saint Denis, who is behind him in the UFC’s official rankings, but none of that matters much to him.
It’s similar to his interest in the fight against Pimblett because Moicano understands the number next to somebody’s name doesn’t automatically give that person more attention or credibility with fans. Instead, Moicano prefers fights that operate under the brightest spotlight and right now at lightweight, Pimblett might just be one of the biggest matchups available for anybody not named Conor McGregor.
“Rankings doesn’t matter,” Moicano said. “It doesn’t really matter. Because if rankings did matter, I would not fight Benoit Saint Denis. Because there is no point that I’m fighting backwards. The only point that I’m fighting Benoit Saint Denis is because he’s a tough opponent and that fight’s going to give me a lot of exposure.
“In this sport, as in outside the sport, you need exposure. You need people to want to watch you. You need people to want to see what is going on. I like this guy, I’m going to follow him on social media, I’m going to buy his stuff, I’m going to support him. That’s what moves, not only the sport but every marketplace. Of course, Paddy Pimblett is a fight I think that would be awesome. I think that would be great. That would be nice.”
Moicano knows that name value carries more weight than rankings when it comes to the UFC, which is why he never gets lost in those numbers when he gets a fight offer.
“We see some guys in the top 15 that people don’t even know them,” Moicano said. “It doesn’t f*cking matter. People don’t know rankings. People know personalities. They know people that they can relate to. This guy is real, he’s talking stuff that I like. Some people are funny. People are different. Some people like to follow different people so I don’t care too much about the rankings.
“Because UFC doesn’t make decisions based on rankings. They make decisions based on popularity and how much money they can make off a fight. We’ve seen that over and over.”
As much as he doesn’t want to single out anybody in particular, Moicano used a veteran lightweight as an example of somebody who has a number next to their name but doesn’t really move needle when it comes to drumming up interest in a fight.
“I don’t want to talk too much shit because I don’t have nothing against the guy,” Moicano said. “I think he’s a great human being. I think he’s a good fighter but he’s not in his prime anymore — Beneil Dariush, he’s still ranked and if I could choose to fight Beneil Dariush or fight Benoit Saint Denis or even Paddy Pimblett, or sometimes even Bobby Green — I would choose somebody else at the moment.
“Because it’s all about the moment that you are right now, how people are perceiving you, perceiving your career and some guys are maybe up in the rankings, they are in a good position for the rankings, but as far as popularity, they are not.”
So based solely on rankings, Moicano wouldn’t move up as much beating Pimblett but he couldn’t care less about those numbers.
Pimblett has transformed himself into one of the most talked-about fighters on the entire UFC roster and that’s what gets Moicano’s attention.
“100 percent, I would be willing to fight Paddy Pimblett,” Moicano said. “I think Paddy Pimblett will be a great fight. But let’s see Sept. 28, and then I will talk some shit.”
Bailey Schoenfelder and Danylo Voievodkin | Zuffa LLC
MMA Fighting has DWCS results for all the action from season eight, week six of UFC’s Contender Series on Tuesday night at UFC APEX in Las Vegas.
In the main event, undefeated heavyweights Bailey Schoenfelder (5-0) and Danylo Voievodkin (6-0) face off. Schoenfelder has competed for Bellator and LFA, and recently won a CFFC title with a second-round knockout of Greg Velasco. All of his wins have come by way of knockout or submission.
Voievodkin has also won all of his fights inside the distance, with none of his opponents making it out of the first round. Five of the Ukrainian heavyweight’s victories have occurred in under a minute, four of those in less than 30 seconds.
In the penultimate bout of the evening, recent LFA competitor Daniel Frunza (8-2) fights Vadym Kutsyi (16-1) in a welterweight bout.
Thus far 24 contracts have been awarded this season, with only one week seeing all five winners earn a shot in the UFC.
Sean O’Malley went from having “zero excuses” for his UFC 306 title loss to Merab Dvalishvili, to now telling the MMA world he believes he should’ve gotten the victory at Sphere. How has O’Malley been handling himself following the loss, and are you surprised by the flip-flop reaction?
On a special Q&A edition of On To the Next One, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee discuss the fallout from O’Malley’s loss, and the narrative that Dvalishvili is “ducking” Umar Nurmagomedov — and why that’s just ridiculous. Additionally, questions include Dana White being ready to enter the boxing space, the UFC’s next TV and broadcast deal, the A.J. McKee vs. Paul Hughes bout for the PFL PPV, who Movsar Evloev may end up fighting at UFC 307, Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, Mike Perry’s new boxing promotion, and much more.
Watch the latest edition of On To the Next One in the video above. Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
Firas Zahabi, the head coach of UFC legend Georges St-Pierre, was impressed with Merab Dvalishvili’s wrestling at UFC 306, but if the new bantamweight champ wants to become a big star, he has to change his style.
Dvalishvili earned a unanimous decision against Sean O’Malley in the main event of the UFC’s most recent pay-per-view card earlier this month. Zahabi is familiar with Dvalishvili as a person and as a fighter, but he’d like to see “The Machine” pick up a few wins that don’t involve the judges.
“On the ground, guys, I’ll tell you something, Merab never finishes,” Zahabi said on the Tristar Gym YouTube channel. “Look, I love Merab… I love his personality. I love the craziness, I love the fact that in the beginning of Round 1, Merab is yelling at O’Malley’s corner. … He’s a very charming, lovable character. Dana White called him a moron, he’s like, ‘Ahhh, that guy’s a moron.’ … The only one thing you can predict about Merab is that he’s going to shoot that takedown. His cardio is un-matchable.
“The good thing about Merab, his cardio is amazing. His personality is amazing. The bad thing about Merab, he doesn’t finish — he doesn’t even get close to a finish.”
Throughout St-Pierre’s impressive championship run, he also went to his fair share of decisions. While that gets you victories, it may not get the fan base behind you.
Zahabi was along for the ride with “Rush,” all the way until St-Pierre stopped Michael Bisping at UFC 217 in November 2017 to capture the middleweight title in his final fight. Zahabi’s hope is that Dvalishvili can start adding stoppages to his résumé, and believes if he doesn’t, the fans will turn on him — and quickly.
“His finishing record is abysmal, I’ve got to be honest,” Zahabi said. “I’m telling you guys, I love the guy, he’s a world champion. I think he’s awesome. However, his finishing rate — imagine you can take down almost everybody you’ve ever fought, and you literally only have one submission. That doesn’t make any sense. … You’re literally taking everybody down, how come you never finish?
“He needs to have in-depth, super-deep courses on how to finish — submission, ground-and-pound — he has to change his style. And he can do it. He’s a very talented, intelligent guy. He needs to do it, because if he doesn’t do it, the fans will get sick of him. … They’ll get sick of him running around the ring and just taking people down. They’re going to get sick of that. He has to entertain the crowd, he has to show finishing ability. If he doesn’t, it could be disastrous to his career.”
Mike Tyson and Dana White at a UFC event on May 24, 2013 | Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Mike Tyson has been in the boxing game a long time, and he’s happy to see Dana White jump in.
Ahead of his Nov. 15 fight with Jake Paul, Tyson appeared on the It Is What It Is podcast, where discussed a number of topics, including the White’s potential foray into the squared circle. White recently expressed renewed interest in his oft-discussed Zuffa Boxing promotion, and Tyson believes that the UFC CEO’s promotional style will translate perfectly to this new endeavor.
“That’s going to be the best thing to happen to boxing, just like UFC,” Tyson said. “If you’re in UFC, and if anybody’s booing the fight, you’re not going to see that guy. His next fight is going to be in South Dakota somewhere. Only good fights. If you don’t have a good fight, you ain’t never going to see that guy again.
“Not like boxing, ‘This guy’s going to fight next month again? We don’t want to see that.’ … if any fights stink, you’re not back in the UFC no more, you’re never going to see those guys again.”
Tyson specifically mentioned Shakur Stevenson as an example of a star boxer that continues to receive a lukewarm reception from the fans. Stevenson recently defended his WBC lightweight title with a lopsided decision win over Artem Harutyunyan in a bout that was lambasted by fans and media for a lack of action.
The 58-year-old Tyson expects to draw plenty of eyeballs for his return to the ring in November when he takes on Paul, though that matchup has also drawn its fair share of criticism. Tyson is 31 years older than Paul, who rose to fame as a YouTuber and social media influencer, and is competing professionally for the first time since 2005. He most recently squared off with fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout in November 2020 on a card that coincidentally featured Paul fighting basketball star Nate Robinson on the undercard.
Asked for his thoughts on Paul as a boxer, Tyson was brief.
“I don’t know,” Tyson said. “He’s improved since the first time he fought. I started him off, I started Jake off. I let him fight on my undercard four years ago, no one knew who the hell he was. So I started him and, most likely, it looks like I’m going to finish him.”
Much of the criticism surrounding Tyson vs. Paul are concerns over Tyson’s health. The two were actually supposed to fight this past July, but a pre-fight medical scare ahead of that date led to the bout being postponed.
Tyson didn’t speak directly about his own health situation, but he was asked to comment on whether he felt frequently concussed NFL quarterback Tua Tagovailoa should continue playing football and his answer may have reflected his thoughts on his own career and that of other combat sports lifers.
“Let me explain this to you, there’s some athletes you have to protect them from themselves, because they would rather die than quit,” Tyson said. “So that answers the question.”
Diego Lopes and Aljamain Sterling | Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Aljamain Sterling wants Diego Lopes next.
Sterling was supposed to face Movsar Evloev in a pivotal featherweight matchup at UFC 307 on Oct. 5. However, earlier this month, Sterling suffered an injury in training that forced him out of the fight. According to Sterling, he suffered a low-grade tear in his elbow that won’t require surgery, leading him to hope for a December return, but in the meantime, he’s rehabbing and trying to stay ready for Evloev.
“Just a lot of PT right now, trying to get healthy, and training around the injury,” Sterling told The Schmo. “I’ve got to stay in shape in case Movsar does decide to take the fight for December. I don’t want to be starting camp with no cardio whatsoever. I want to make sure I’m building and keeping that momentum so that if we’re ready to go for December, whether it’s him or somebody else, I’ll be in shape and ready to get in there.”
But Evloev may not be an option anymore. In light of Sterling’s injury, both Evloev and the UFC are searching for a replacement opponent for UFC 307, though nothing has been made official at this time. Should Sterling get replaced, he already has his sights set on another possible opponent.
“Maybe Diego Lopes?” Sterling said. “Maybe that will be a battle for the [No.] 3 [ranking]. I think Diego rising to stardom, his rise in the sport in the UFC has been huge and nothing short of inspiring, to be honest. I’m happy for the guy…
“If we’re talking the next best fight, if Movsar declines, I just don’t know who else would he fight? But if you give me the option, I always wanted Brian Ortega so I could get the closest spot to the top, and now that next closest guy is Diego Lopes. That’s all it is. It has nothing to do with what this guy did, it’s the name value, what it gets me, risk vs. reward. If I’m going to risk it for the biscuit, that’s the guy I’d risk it for.”
Lopes recently picked up the biggest win of his career, taking a unanimous decision over Ortega at UFC 306 earlier this month. The win elevated Lopes to No. 5 at featherweight in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, and the 2023 Rookie of the Year already dismissed Evloev’s call for a rematch as he instead targets either a title fight or title eliminator.
Sterling most recently competed at UFC 300 where he won a unanimous decision over Calvin Kattar in his featherweight debut. The former UFC bantamweight champion is 24-4 overall in his MMA career.
Sean O’Malley continues to troll Merab Dvalishvili.
At UFC 306, Dvalishvili earned a unanimous decision win over O’Malley, claiming the bantamweight title. In the immediate aftermath, O’Malley said he had “no excuses” however, “Suga” quickly changed his tune, later arguing that he should have won three rounds of the fight and arguing he was still the bantamweight champion. In response, Dvalishvili fired back at O’Malley with a video mocking the former champion as his “son.”
And now O’Malley has responded.
On Monday, O’Malley dropped another video on his social media, mocking Dvalishvili and their fight, saying he was working on things he learned in his last fight, before holding a heavy bag and lightly kneeing it, then feigning getting hurt to the body and head afterward.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Suga Sean O’Malley (@sugasean)
“What’s up guys. I’ve got surgery on Oct. 3, [but that] doesn’t mean I’m not going to continue to improve and take away things I learned from my last fight and start implementing now.”
O’Malley is scheduled for surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip on Oct. 3, suffered before UFC 306, and hopes to return to action next summer. Meanwhile, Dvalishvili is likely to face Umar Nurmagomedov in the first defense of his bantamweight title.
File under: Mmafighting.com | Leave a comment »