Magomed Ankalaev finished Johnny Walker in the first UFC main event of 2024 and sent a message to light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in the process. While Pereira’s coach Glover Teixeira seemed to express interest in the potential championship matchup, will that be the next fight for Ankalaev, who is on a 12-fight unbeaten streak?

MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alexander K. Lee discuss what could be next for Ankalaev from a matchmaking perspective following Saturday’s UFC Vegas 84 event at the APEX. Additionally, future matchups are discussed for Jim Miller following his third-round submission win over Gabriel Benitez in the co-main event, Mario Bautista after his impressive decision win over Ricky Simon, Bruno Ferreira following his vicious opening round knockout of Phil Hawes, along with fellow main card winner Waldo Cortes-Acosta, and more.

Audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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Wow!
| BJPenn.com

Ferguson is taking some time to heal up his battered body after the latest in a series of losses which has many questioning whether his fighting career should continue.

Tony Ferguson has gone under the knife to do a little maintenance on his aging body.

The 39 year old former UFC interim lightweight champion was last seen in the cage losing a one-sided decision to Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296. That defeat had many fans calling for his retirement, but “El Cucuy” has declared his intention to soldier on and regain his place at the top of the 155 pound division.

A step towards that? Taking care of his body. In a new social media post, Ferguson shared a video slideshow of his elbow surgery to remove bone fragments from his left arm. Doctors pulled out three big chunks and one smaller spur.

“Arthros CopyThat -CSO- UpGrade Thanks Dr. ️Mora — Champ,” Ferguson wrote on X (formerly Twitter), peppering his post with a dozen emojis. “Be’GonBone Fragments Morning 3 Hour Sesh’ In The Boox! Wolverine Recovery TwoWeeks.”

According to various medical guides across the internet, elbow arthroscopy for removal of loose bodies takes 1-2 weeks to heal, 2-3 weeks before training can resume, and 6-8 weeks for full recovery. Not that Ferguson has a UFC bout he needs to rush back to. His next fight will likely be with UFC CEO Dana White, who has said that he’d like to see Tony retire after losing seven fights in a row.

“El Cucuy” has vowed to keep fighting despite the setbacks, but it may have to be somewhere other than the UFC. If he must continue, a stint in Karate Combat doesn’t sound terrible to us. What are your thoughts on the future of Ferguson, Maniacs? Let us know in the comments below!

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UFC instagram posted this submitted by /u/Yoel__Romero [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler is seemingly set and will take place at a higher weight than anyone expected.

It’s a nice change of pace when you think about it. Instead of weight-cutting, perennial lightweight staples McGregor and Chandler will weight boost for their anticipated clash. The healthier, the better. In theory, anyway.

McGregor recently announced the fight to go down in the 185-pound middleweight division on June 29, which he also claimed to be International Fight Week 2024. The MMA world is still awaiting confirmation on the details of everything from the promotion, but Chandler has since supported the bout’s status. Receiving criticism for the weight specifically, “Iron” strongly counters any sentiments that the division change will make the fight “worse” — whether in his favor or in general.

“I don’t believe that size is an advantage,” Chandler said on his YouTube channel. “I would stay the same exact weight I am right now and I would just eat a little bit more and have the same camp so I can still get just as shredded as I looked like at 155, fighting at 185.

“He is not stronger than me. So, I don’t need to gain weight, I don’t need to gain any more strength, I don’t need to do any more than what I’m already doing. The dude is not stronger than me.”

The biggest story surrounding the matchup, and more so McGregor’s delayed return, has been his absence from the USADA testing pool and muscle gain during that time. As of the final day of 2023, USADA is no longer working with the UFC, however, and McGregor is worry-free despite submitting some samples in the final months of the partnership. UFC hasn’t completely abandoned drug testing though, as DFSI now oversees the fighters in that regard.

Speculation within the community, of course, ran rampant about McGregor’s potential workout routines during these past two and half years since he suffered a first-round TKO loss — and gruesome leg break — in his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Meanwhile, Chandler has also been inactive for over one year now, waiting patiently for McGregor’s return.

Although McGregor’s physical changes are the potential X-factor in the matchup, Chandler makes the comparison to UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones when he started his process of moving up from light heavyweight in 2020. “Bones” got heavily into weightlifting and shared his progress on social media during that time. In the case of McGregor, Chandler challenges anyone to find some similar proof of his strength improvements equivalent to his size increase.

“Have we seen pictures of him looking big? Absolutely,” Chandler said. “Did we see a couple pictures leaked from the Roadhouse [movie] and he looked huge with the big beard and all that kind of stuff? Of course. Is he bigger than he used to be? Absolutely.

“Now, he’s a natural 155-pounder. I’m a 155-pounder. We would just be fighting at 185. He’s not stronger than me. I would like anybody in the comments or anybody to tag me in videos of him lifting heavy weights. Go out there and show me a video of Conor McGregor lifting heavy, heavy weights. I actually looked before I got on this video, you can’t find any videos of this man lifting heavy, heavy weights.”

Strength hasn’t been difficult to display for either McGregor or Chandler throughout their careers, specifically in the form of knockouts. All four of Chandler’s victories that date back to a December 2018 unanimous decision over Brent Primus have come via strikes, bleeding over from his time in Bellator to the UFC. 2-3 inside the Octagon (23-8 overall, 11 KOs), Chandler, 37, has been a kill-or-be-killed fighter except for his unanimous decision loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 268 in November 2021. He last fought when at UFC 281 in November 2022 and lost via third-round rear-naked choke to Dustin Poirier.

McGregor, 35, historically rose to fame with his witty verbal skills, but backed it up with knockouts, having only won via decision twice out of his 10 UFC victories (10-4 in UFC, 22-6 overall). The stats, plus the weight, still aren’t enough to concern the former three-time Bellator lightweight champion Chandler.

“He’s not stronger than me, I hit harder than he does, I’m not worried about size in this fight, because he and I are relatively within three to five pounds of each other,” Chandler said. “So, if you think I’m going up to 210 to cut down to 185, it ain’t gonna happen. I’m gonna be the same guy, foot on the gas, trying to end the fight at every single moment, and ultimately end his reign as the Conor McGregor that we — a lot of people have lost faith in, but there’s still a lot of believers that want to see his comeback. I will go ahead and sour the night on June 29.”

TOP STORIES

Insults. ‘F*** that punk’: Unsealed docs reveal Dana White’s reaction to Jon Jones money demands

Dispute. Chael Sonnen explains how Jon Jones could end Tom Aspinall narrative for good: ‘This irritates him’

Booking. Jim Miller favors Matt Brown for UFC 300, wants Bruce Buffer to announce him as Jim ‘F******’ Miller

Targets. Ian Machado Garry details hit list, vows to mute Colby Covington, give Sean Strickland amnesia

Contention. Magomed Ankalaev sends message to Alex Pereira, makes case for title shot over Jamahal Hill

Rough. Bellator veteran Ryan Curtis suffers devastating spine injury, has no movement in legs and left arm

Boxing. Eddie Hearn: Anthony Joshua ‘didn’t really need a lot of convincing’ to pivot to Francis Ngannou

Respect. Sean Brady praises former opponent Belal Muhammad, pushes for him to get next title shot: ‘He deserves it’

Return. Paul Felder undecided on UFC comeback, but Jim Miller callout has him ‘leaning towards wanting to do it’

$ $ $ . UFC Vegas 84 bonuses: Jim Miller cashes 15th career performance bonus, moves into fourth all-time

VIDEO STEW

UFC Vegas 84 Post Show.

UFC 297 Countdown.

Road to UFC 297: Dricus Du Plessis.

ONE Highlights from this past weekend.

Almighty fight week.

Throwback debuts.

Justice for Kanako.

CCC Training Camp.

A glamorous Spaniard.

Karate KOs.

Hunting with Bo.

MORNING MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Tandem.

Goosing.

Summer?

Sick.

Crumpled.

300?

Sharing is caring.

Ouch.

Prep.

Sumo.

Gaming.

Stamp at sea.

True.

Middleweight.

Respect.

Life.

Charged.

Back in action.

Birthday boy.

Support.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Cedric Doumbe (5-0) vs. Baissangour Chamsoudinov (8-0); PFLParis, March 6

Amanda Ribas (12-4) vs. Rose Namajunas (11-6); UFC Vegas 88, March 23

Sean Brady (16-1) vs. Vicente Luque (22-9-1); UFC Atlantic City, March 30

SD Dumas (9-1) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (35-8-2); UFC Atlantic City, March 30

Ignacio Bahamondes (14-5) vs. Christos Giagos (20-11); UFC Vegas 89, April 6

Melissa Dixon (6-0) vs. Nora Cornolle (7-1); UFC Vegas 89, April 6

Seung Woo Choi (11-6) vs. Morgan Charrière (19-9-1); UFC Vegas 89, April 6

FINAL THOUGHTS

UFC should have Conor and Chandler do one of those sport-off competitions where they just do a random sport against each other every week until they fight. Let’s just get as silly with this thing as possible.

Thanks for reading!

POLL POSITION

Last Week’s Results:

Friday: 70% of 371 total votes answered “No” when asked, “Will Ilia Topuria vs. Sean O’Malley ever happen?”

Thursday: 86% of 436 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Will Justin Gaethje be Islam Makhachev’s next opponent?”

Wednesday: 81% of 471 total votes answered “No” when asked, “Will Michael ‘Venom’ Page ever challenge for UFC gold?”

Tuesday: 51% of 370 total votes answered “Magomed Ankalaev and Manel Kape” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Kape’s rematch with Matheus Nicolau was canceled after Kape missed weight by 3.5 pounds. Ankalaev defeated Johnny Walker via second-round TKO (punches) at 2:42 in UFC Vegas 84’s main event.

Monday: 59% of 348 total votes answered “Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan” when asked, “Which big upcoming lightweight contender bout are you looking forward to more?”

Today’s exit poll:

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Legendary strongman Eddie Hall learned what it feels like to take a kick to the face ahead of his mixed martial arts debut.

Hall, who is best known for his world-record-setting 1,100 lb deadlift in 2016 and for winning the 2017 World’s Strongest Man competition, is gearing up for an MMA bout with Mitchell Hooper, a Canadian strongman, and kinesiologist who secured first place at the 2023 World’s Strongest Man competition in Myrtle Beach.

The bout is expected to go down at Lusail Stadium in Qatar on February 17, 2024, under the Finishers Championship banner. Hall and Hooper’s bout will consist of three two-minute rounds.

“Get ready for the fight event you’ve been waiting for. Launching 2024,” their official Instagram reads. “Top MMA fighters settling the score on unfinished business. 12 match eliminator. $ 300 million USD prize money. Celebrities. Royalty.”

While training for his first foray in four-ounce gloves, Hall was spotted eating a nasty high kick that sent him crashing the canvas. The clip, which you can see below, comes courtesy of Oscar Willis of TheMACLife.

Eddie Hall Goes Toe-To-Toe with ‘The Mountain’

While his February clash with Hooper will be his first MMA fight, Eddie Hall has already stepped into the boxing ring.

In March 2022, ‘The Beast’ met Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, best known by Game of Thrones fans as ‘The Mountain,’ in a titan weight boxing match in Dubai. Hall had some early success, knocking Björnsson to the canvas in the opening round, but ultimately came up short on the scorecards after Björnsson brutalized him in rounds three and six.

Will you be tuning in to see Eddie Hall’s MMA debut?

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Warning
| BJPenn.com

Dewey Cooper believes Ngannou beats Joshua on March 8th and then goes on to fight Fury again in October for all the heavyweight belts.

Francis Ngannou shocked the boxing world when he took Tyson Fury to the brink of defeat in October 2023, losing a controversial split decision to the WBO boxing champion. One of the key players in Ngannou’s success was his striking coach Dewey Cooper, who is now stepping out of the shadows to hype up Ngannou’s next foray into boxing against Anthony Joshua on March 8th.

“The fight gods, the gods of boxing, the gods of entertainment came together to make this happen,” Cooper told ESPN when asked how Joshua vs. Ngannou came to be. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. On the undercard of Joshua vs. Wallen was Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker. Deontay Wilder is supposed to win his fight, Joshua is supposed to win his fight. And that was the fight we were supposed to see.”

“But Deontay didn’t hold up his end of the deal,” he continued. “An opening got in there. Joshua looked spectacular in his fight, he looked really clean, polished, strong, and sharp. And now he has no one to fight. Well, guess what: there’s someone that’ll fight him. There’s an MMA champion that’ll fight him.”

No one is looking past Joshua, but Cooper is envisioning a future where Francis Ngannou wins on March 8th and then kicks off Riyadh Season 2024 with a rematch against Tyson Fury for all the heavyweight belts.

“It’s gonna happen. It’s definitely gonna happen,” Cooper said. “He’s gonna defeat Anthony Joshua and then in October, if the gods of war and boxing come through and Tyson Fury defeats Oleksandr Usyk, it’ll be be Francis and Tyson in a rematch for all the undisputed titles in boxing.”

“A man in his third fight fighting to be undisputed heavyweight champion and winning that in three fights with a record of 2-1 being the undisputed heavyweight champion. With all the belts. It’s gonna happen and that’s insane. It’s never gonna be done again, it’s like someone wrote a fantasy book and this is so far-fetched from being a reality. But it’s very close and it could happen in 2024.”

We all know what tends to happen with best-laid plans in boxing. But perhaps all the sweet science needs is a bit of MMA to sort things out. Ngannou continues to be the next best option for all the top heavyweights, who all happen to underestimate him. Could this ultimate underdog end the year as boxing’s undisputed heavyweight champion? The fact that it’s possible is just wild.

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