CombatSports.org

Renato Moicano wants to be one of the stars of the show when the octagon returns to Rio de Janeiro on May 4 for UFC 301, and he is expecting an “easy” fight that night.

Moicano meets Drew Dober in the co-main event of Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 85 event at the UFC APEX, his first bout since a first-round finish over Brad Riddell at Madison Square Garden in November 2022, and has a name in mind for his next opponent after that: Dan Hooker.

“I like UFC Brazil cards, not to mention they always bring easier opponents too,” Moicano said with a laugh on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast. “UFC always gives us easy fights for the fans to like, so let’s see.”

Moicano has fought four times in Brazil since joining the UFC, defeating Tom Niinimaki, Zubaira Tukhugov, and Damir Hadzovic. His only blemish on home soil came in a co-headlining clash in Fortaleza in 2019, when he lost by second-round stoppage to ex-champion Jose Aldo. “But then I was the easy fight [for Aldo],” he laughed.

“Every time there’s a card in Brazil, they want to see a Brazilian party,” Moicano added. “Aside from a fight between two Brazilians, it’s always a card favorable to Brazilians.”

Asked which “easy” opponents he would like to be paired up with for UFC 301 if he gets past Dober on Saturday, Moicano didn’t think twice.

“An easy ranked [opponent]? Dan Hooker,” Moicano said. “[Or] Bobby Green. Michael Chandler. But there’s no path to fighting Michael Chandler now, he’s fighting [Conor] McGregor. So I don’t know. But I’m not worried, I’m worried about fighting. Drew Dober is a tough opponent. I’ll beat him, and then someone will be ready to get beat at UFC Rio, and I’ll beat him.”

Hooker gave it a try as a featherweight in 2022 but then returned to 155 pounds and won two bouts in a row over Claudio Puelles and Jalin Turner. Moicano, however, isn’t counting on “The Hangman” agreeing to share the cage with him.

“He’s running too much. He’s run so many times,” Moicano said. “When Bobby Green beat Grant Dawson — which he wasn’t supposed to win anyway; not taking away his merits, it was pure luck — Dan Hooker went on Twitter, ‘You and I, Bobby Green. F*ck Moicano.’ He’s running, and he knows it.

“Jalin Turner, not to say that’s an easy fight, but his and Hooker’s body types are good for me. I’m tall, and their ground games are no good. Even though Jalin Turner is good on the feet and Dan Hooker beat him, those are good matchups for me. Let’s see.”

Regardless of who’s standing across the cage, Moicano knows he has to make the most of every second he has under the bright lights of the UFC, because “you can change your whole career with one fight.”

“I’m trying to attack from all fronts and show a bit more of my personality, and I believe it will bear fruits,” Moicano said. “A good speech after a win, an opponent that makes sense, something the UFC can’t deny. I’m chasing money, I’m chasing rankings, I’m chasing a career. A good win and imposing my narrative. Moicano deserves good fights. You have to be the complete package, and I’m planning on executing the plan Saturday, February 3.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Alexander Volkanovski is ready to teach Ilia Topuria a lesson when they meet in the main event of UFC 298 for the featherweight title.

The event takes place Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and will serve as Volkanovski’s first fight since getting brutally knocked out by lightweight champ Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October. “The Great” sees the confidence in the challenger, and while he appreciates that from a promotional standpoint, Volkanovski doesn’t understand where that is all coming from.

“He thinks he’s the best, but he’s going to be shown there are levels to this. As I’ve been saying in interviews, you’ve got to earn your stripes and he hasn’t been there. He thinks he’s the man, he thinks he’s at the top of the division already, and he hasn’t even faced anyone right up there.

“If he ever gets to that point where he’s going to be a champion, or a great champion, he needs for me to do what I plan on doing to him. I’m going to give him a good humbling. Maybe he can bounce back after that, learn a thing or two, and go from there. But he’s going to be shown a good lesson, a good humbling, and I can’t wait to do that.”

Topuria is 14-0, and has been on a fantastic run since joining the UFC — winning all six of his octagon appearances. In his most recent outing, Topuria dominated Josh Emmett in his first promotional headliner at UFC Jacksonville this past June to earn a title shot.

While Volkanovski understands the hype around Topuria, the long reigning featherweight champion feels like it might be a bit overinflated.

“It’s hard to say,” Volkanovski said. “I’m not trying to throw a heap of shade, but for a lot of fighters, we earned our respect by fighting tough opponents. He hasn’t had the opportunity to do that, but he hasn’t shown he’s as good as he says he is.

“But we get to see come fight time. I’m preparing for a man who is as good as he says he is. He thinks he’s the man, I’m prepatring for that, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But I’m going to turn up and I’m going to be waiting, but if you’re not up to that standard, it’s going to be a good humbling experience for him. He needs it, anyway, don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the guy. He’s hyping the fight up, I love it. All I have to do is go out there and teach him a lesson, right?”

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“Too Dangerous”
| BJPenn.com

Conor McGregor was all-in for BKFC 57 last night (Fri., Feb. 2, 2024) from inside Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., as the former UFC double champion helped promote the event with his Forged Irish Stout. It was the first Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) event sponsored by McGregor’s popular alcoholic drink.

McGregor, who is no stranger to BKFC, was all over social media from the opening bell to the last fight. “Notorious” has sat front-and-center for a BKFC event before, but for BKFC 57 he did all of his promotion from the comfort of his own home. McGregor tweeted a few times throughout Friday night trying to boost BKFC 57 as a whole and calling out his Forged Irish Stout sponsorship.

Luckily for BKFC and McGregor, the action delivered from the opening bell. In total, BKFC 57 produced nine knockout finishes in 11 total fights. This includes four first-round stoppages and three knockouts that occurred in one minute or less. The main event of the evening saw Austin Trout defeat Luis Palomino via unanimous decision to claim the BKFC welterweight title.

It was a wild bare knuckle event to say the least and one that quickly captured the attention of one of combat sports’ biggest stars. Check out some of BKFC 57’s highlights and McGregor’s reaction below:

“Watching my inaugural @ForgedStout bare knuckle event tonight in Miami! @ForgedStout @bareknucklefc. Thank you ladies.”

“Incredible action out the gate at the @ForgedStout inaugural Bare Knuckle event in Miami! Wow! Enjoying happily.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Undisputed featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski claims a lightweight return is defintiely something he plots in the immediate future – despite suffering losses in his first two charges for the undisputed gold at 155 pounds last year.

Volkanovski, the current undisputed featherweight champion, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 294 back in October of last year in Abu Dhabi, UAE on short-notice.

Suffering his second attempt to dislodge pound-for-pound number one, Islam Makhachev from his lightweight perch, Volkanovski was stopped with a stunning opening round high-kick and strikes KO loss to the Russian in the pair’s rematch.

And booking a quickfire comeback later this month at UFC 298 in Anaheim, Volkanovski takes on the surging, unbeaten featherweight challenger, Ilia Topuria – attempting to retain his featherweight crown as part of a dominant reign.

Alexander Volkanovski plans lightweight future

However, despite the fact a clear path to a lightweight title siege for a third time seems more than cloudy for New South Wales native, Volkanovski, the incoming headlining starts still has plans for a continued future a division higher.

“Definitely not (finished at lightweight},” Alexander Volkanovski told assembled media during a press event ahead of UFC 298 in Sydney. “Obviously straight after – I’m a realist. I’m not expecting a rematch straight away. Everyone’s going to see that. They’re going to be like, ‘The age thing’ and all that. There’s going tobe some people doubting, ‘Is his time done?’ – which is hyping up this fight, so I’m all good with it.”

“But, everybody’s going to be reminded, and everybody is going to be switching a full 180 (degrees) saying there’s nobody left for me at 145, and they want me to go take that lightweight belt. That’s what I plan on doing. I’m going to go out there, take care of Ilia (Topuria) and we’ll see what’s next, but lightweight definitely in the near future.”

Do you think Alexander Volkanovski can ever land lightweight spoils?

LowKickMMA.com

UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Leon Edwards recognizes that the rise of Conor McGregor was best for business.

McGregor has been out of the UFC picture for the past couple of years as he recovers from a broken leg, but he remains one of the most talked-about fighters in the sport due to his tentative return (the former two-division champion has targeted both UFC 300 on April 13 and a July 29 UFC card as potential comeback dates) and his mainstream media presence. A remake of the film Road House featuring McGregor premieres on March 8.

During an appearance on Up Front With Simon Jordan, Edwards—the UFC’s current welterweight champion who also awaits an official booking—was asked about McGregor’s impact on MMA’s booming popularity and he took the opportunity to praise “The Notorious.”

“For me, I think he’s great for the sport,” Edwards said. “I think he’s definitely brought the sport forward for the casual fans. He’s one of these guys that you either like him or don’t like him, he is who he is, but as far as—what he’s achieved in sport, you can’t take away from him. He did become the first-ever [simultaneous] two-division world champion, but he can talk all the s***, he is actually a good fighter as well behind it.

“For the sport, he definitely helped the sport. He didn’t take nothing away from it, he definitely gave more as far as pushing it for the mainstream.”

Unfortunately for fans of McGregor, the UFC star has given them just as many reasons to jeer as to cheer in recent years. McGregor has regularly made headlines for the wrong reasons, including multiple accusations of sexual assault (most recently, McGregor was cleared of criminal charges over an alleged incident that occurred in Miami), other legal infractions ranging from assault to destroying someone’s cellphone, and the infamous UFC 223 incident of April 2018 that saw him throw a dolly threw a bus window in an attempt to attack rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Edwards flatly stated that he could do without all of those antics, but it doesn’t take away from McGregor’s contributions to the business of MMA.

“I’m not an admirer of his,” Edwards said. “I’m judging from the competitive part of it, the self-promoting part of it. His personal life is—I’m sure there’s other people in boxing or in football doing weird s***, but for me, I couldn’t give two s**** about his personal life. It’s more just about what he’s achieved in the game. The self-promotion part of it, to each their own, that’s what he’s going to do. He’s not my mate, so it is what it is.”

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