Ali Abdelaziz, the manager of reigning UFC lightweight world champion Islam Makhachev, believes Justin Gaethje is the next man in line for a shot at the 155-pound crown.

Originally, Makhachev was scheduled to defend his title against former titleholder Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 in October. Unfortunately, ‘Do Bronx’ suffered a cut whilst training, forcing him out of the highly anticipated rematch. In his place, Alexander Volkanovski stepped in on 11 days’ notice and ended up suffering a brutal first-round knockout. Many fight fans assumed that the UFC would simply reschedule Makhachev vs. Oliveira 2 for 2024, but that no longer appears to be the case.

Last week, Dana White announced that Oliveira would return at UFC 300 on April 13 for a clash with rising contender Arman Tsarukyan. The winner will presumably move on to face the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ later this year.

In the meantime, Abdelaziz believes that Gaethje should be the man challenging Makhachev for lightweight gold.

“I think it’s obvious, man Justin Gaethje… He’s on a two fight winning streak, phenomenal fighter,” Abdelaziz told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in a recent interview. “One of the greatest entertainment fighters we [have] ever seen. He have the BMF title now. But you know him and Islam, it’s a history, you know. He fought Khabib, now he’s fighting Khabib’s protege and he earned it, you know, he earned it.”

After earning impressive back-to-back wins against Rafael Fiziev and Dustin Poirier, ‘The Highlight’ is considered by many to be the rightful No. 1 contender.

“Justin Gaethje is a guy [who has] never been given what he wants,” Abdelaziz added. “He earned it with sweat and blood and tear inside the cage. Islam is very interested to fight in him. But Islam you know he did this quote in the PI, he have to hold on to it, he said, ‘Doesn’t matter who when and how I’ll fight anybody they give me.”

When Will We See Islam Makhachev Back in the octagon?

As for when we could see Islam Makhachev back inside the Octagon, that’s a whole other issue. He hoped to defend his title ahead of Ramadan which runs from March 10 through April 9. With UFC 299 emanating from Miami, Florida on March 9, the timing appeared to line up perfectly.

However, the promotion has already announced that Sean O’Malley would defend his bantamweight title that night against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in the evening’s headliner.

The deal with Islam was to fight on March 9,” Abdelaziz said. “Of course, the UFC has a headliner already with Sean O’Malley. They said he’s the main event. They said we could fight in February, but it was too close his fight. The one he just fought [against Alexander Volkanovski]. It is what it is. He’s just going to wait for Ramadan or maybe the UFC will call tomorrow. O’Malley’s out, we need Islam, and then he can fight March 9. Islam is always training. Always in shape. He’s a professional.”

With Ramadan ending days before UFC 300 goes down in Las Vegas, Makhachev may very well sit on the sidelines until a winner emerges between Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan, meaning Gaethje may not get his shot until late 2024 or even early 2025.

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Former UFC heavyweight champion turned ranked professional boxer Francis Ngannou was always popular in his home country of Cameroon, but his popularity has grown considerably since going the distance with lineal heavyweight world boxing champion Tyson Fury.  

During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Ngannou recounted a story about having to run from a mob of fans while recently visiting Cameroon.  

“Completely different than before (people recognizing him in public).  This fight, I can tell, it changed everything,” Ngannou said.  “In Cameroon I used to go out some time and I would have a crowd.  Last time I went I had to run because I almost get mobbed.  Like, I jumped behind the bicycle and was just like run, run, run because I couldn’t handle any more.  You just understand that it’s a different level.

“Yeah, it’s different level.  A lot of people show compassion a lot, show support, because so far everybody believes that I won that fight and they feel like this is injustice and they stand by your side for that.”    

Not only has his popularity rose, but Ngannou was respected enough as a boxer and a boxing draw to ink him to fight former two-time lineal heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in March.  The fight will take place in Saudi Arabia just like his boxing match against Fury.  

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Francis Ngannou left the UFC and has made it work better than anybody in recent memory, and with another massive boxing match ahead of him against Anthony Joshua in March, many want to know if Ngannou will still have any interest in returning to MMA competition. If you’re the PFL, are you worried Ngannou may not have that interest?

On an all-new edition of Heck of a Morning, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses Ngannou’s MMA future following his appearance on The MMA Hour, and why things could get real interesting if he beats Joshua. Additionally, listener topics include the Dustin Poirier vs. Benoit Saint-Denis and Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan fight announcements, Sean O’Malley’s star power, what could be next for Justin Gaethje, Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall’s back-and-forth on social media, and much more.

You can listen live to Heck of a Morning Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10 a.m. ET on the MMA Fighting Twitter Spaces.

If you miss it live, audio-only versions of the podcast can be found below, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

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Conor McGregor may have announced his plan to return to fight Michael Chandler in June, but Matt Brown still isn’t convinced it’s actually happening.

Following months of delays and rumors about his next bout, McGregor made a surprise announcement on social media on New Year’s Eve about finally booking the matchup against Chandler, which will come 15 months after they squared off against one another as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter 31. McGregor sounded confident in his declaration and Chandler already accepted the date, but the UFC has yet to actually announce anything as official, much less kick off promotion for the Irish superstar’s long awaited return.

“It ain’t confirmed until it’s signed,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I’m still not convinced it’s going to happen. That’s why I asked if it was confirmed.

“Is Conor going to fight again? I know he announced that. He loves being in the spotlight. He likes everybody talking about him. He likes that we’re talking about him right now. That’s what he lives for now. I don’t believe it still. Until I see it, I’m not going to believe it.”

In the past, McGregor was considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport, especially after he became the first person in history to hold two UFC titles simultaneously. That accomplishment happened back in 2016 when McGregor dispatched Eddie Alvarez to become UFC lightweight champion after already claiming the featherweight title with a stunning 13-second knockout over Jose Aldo.

Since beating Alvarez more than seven years ago, McGregor has gone 1-3 in just four UFC appearances, losing bouts to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. His last outing ended in disaster after McGregor snapped his leg in gruesome fashion in a rubber match against Poirier, an injury which has kept him sidelined for nearly three years.

Despite not fighting, McGregor still managed to amass a huge fortune thanks to selling off his signature whiskey, which reportedly fetched a price around $ 600 million.

It’s all those factors combined that have Brown not only questioning if McGregor will actually return to fight, but flat out doubting that he’ll ever be a relevant, top-ranked contender again.

“He doesn’t need to fight,” Brown said. “What purpose does it serve him? He’s not getting back to a title. He’s not going to do anything significant ever again. He’s got $ 500 million in the bank. What’s a few million for fighting somebody like Chandler? What’s that going to do for him? That would be like if I gave you $ 10. You’d be like, ‘Alright, what do you want me to do with this?’ It’s not even going to change your day, nonetheless your life.

“He doesn’t have any motivation whatsoever to do this other than being in the spotlight. But when he simply makes announcements and talks and comes in and out of the [testing] pool and does all this, everybody’s talking anyway.”

Brown believes that, deep down, McGregor knows he can’t hang with the best fighters in the world anymore, whether he’s back at lightweight or bulked up to welterweight.

Picking a fight with Chandler gives him a better chance at winning thanks to the aggressive style the former Bellator lightweight champion employs, as McGregor is best known as a devastating counter striker, but Brown says that’s still anything but a guaranteed victory.

“He knows that, too,” Brown said. “He’s not a dummy. Him picking Chandler was a smart move on his part. For one, because that is a fight that would get fans excited. That’s a fight we’d all like to see actually. It makes sense. All the pieces add up, where that fight actually makes sense. Chandler also engages with him and Chandler also hasn’t taken another fight in how long now? He’s taken the bait to the fullest.”

If McGregor really does make his return, Brown doubts the strategy pays off in the long run — at least when it comes to drawing matchups with the best fighters in the world.

The 42-year-old veteran can only see a long list of fighters who could build a name off beating McGregor, which the Irish superstar certainly doesn’t want.

“This sport moves quick,” Brown said. “These guys are f****** killers. Like a Drew Dober — I’m not picking Conor to beat Drew Dober. You could go down pretty far before you start saying, ‘OK, this is a surefire match for Conor here.’”

Listen to new episodes of The Fighter vs. The Writer every Tuesday with audio only versions of the podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio

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Interviews
| BJPenn.com

Adesanya is just a few months into his hiatus from fighting, but the former champ is already sounding excited about competing again.

There’s no clear timeline for when we might see Israel Adesanya back in the cage, but according to “The Last Stylebender,” the urge to fight is growing once again.

Adesanya lost his middleweight title to Sean Strickland after a listless performance in Sydney, Australia. Instead of calling for an immediate rematch, Izzy decided it was time to take a break and recharge his batteries. He’d fought five times in 19 months, which is a lot for any UFC fighter let alone a champion.

The time off has already done wonders for “The Last Stylebender,” who sounded excited for his eventual comeback in an interview with boxing legend Teddy Atlas.

“Even in the gym before, we were training and … I can’t help it, I started shadowboxing,” Adesanya said. “I’m looking in the mirror and I caught myself, cuz I don’t realize I’m in it. Then I start looking in my eyes and I can see my jaw clench, and I’m like ‘F—, I missed the beast!’ Even just talking to you now, I’m almost perspiring. Not just the heat condition in here, but I’m getting excited about the fight.”

“I said I was taking a break, right? When I said that, people were responding to me as if I was — it’s like, I’m not dying. I’m still here, I’m not retiring. I’m here. I’m just taking a little break. Cuz look: four fights in the last fourteen months as champion. Active. And also, I have some things I need to fix, so I’m like let me just take a break. Me and [Alexander Volkanovski], we’re the two most active champions in UFC history.”

“As I was looking in the mirror, it’s crazy, that’s why I love the mirror,” he continued. “It’s a magical portal, man. I could see, ‘I missed the beast!’ and I kept on saying that. F—. I know it’s there. But I’m like no, we got to just chill, put it in the stable for now. Just work, and I’ll help my teammates when I get back home and whatnot.”

“It’ll get to the point when I come back,” he concluded. “I can’t wait to unleash it again. But in the meantime? Patience … It reassured me, I was like ‘Oh yeah, you’re far from done.’ Just looking in my eyes, I can see that killer.”

The middleweight landscape may be very different by the time Adesanya returns. Current champ Sean Strickland faces Dricus Du Plessis on January 19th at UFC 297. Khamzat Chimaev is waiting hungrily in the wings. And many of Izzy’s past opponents are hoping to jockey back into title contention while their nemesis is away. Here’s hoping he unleashes the beast back on the 185 pound division sometime in 2024.

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Israel Adesanya wanted to pull the trigger in his last fight.

The journey to UFC 293 in September felt eerily similar to the looming UFC 300 this coming April. Sure, there’s a bigger time gap between now and the “super show,” but the MMA world was waiting longer than expected, wondering, “What the hell are they going to do with UFC 293’s main event?”

It always had to be Adesanya with the event announced for Sydney, Australia with the then-middleweight champion’s return guaranteed … without an opponent, and before Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis fought at UFC 290 in July. Du Plessis won, was injured, and in came Sean Strickland almost seemingly out of the blue. “Tarzan” came up big in what was his first UFC title fight, though, and performed a defensive masterclass on Adesanya to win a unanimous decision and claim the 185-pound throne. In hindsight, “The Last Stylebender” wishes he upped his aggression at the behest of his longtime coach Eugene Bareman.

“I never lost hope,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “I went back to the corner, round three or round four, whatever it was, I was like, ‘Right, we go this round, we must go this round.’ Even like, when I asked Eugene in the fifth round, I said ‘Should I just go?’ and he’s like, ‘No, let’s be tactical.’ I wanted to kind of be like, ‘F*** it, let’s go.’ Like, if I die, I die, like, go out on your shield. Kill or be killed.

”He was like, ‘Let’s be tactical.’ It got to the point where I realized this fight’s getting away from me. It got to a point where I felt like, ‘Damn. It’s too far gone.’ Like when someone’s in a race in the 100 meters, he was too far ahead and I just couldn’t catch up. I was trying my best to try and finish him in the early rounds. Regardless, I never lost hope, that’s the thing.”

Despite Adesanya’s sense of urgency, he only won the second round on all three judges’ scorecards against Strickland. Aside from that, however, it was the Strickland show as the American won all other rounds.

Strickland’s first title defense as the champion is nearly upon us with his matchup against Di Plessis set to take place at UFC 297 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada next Saturday. Adesanya, on the other hand, remains patient about his return after he was dealt losses in two of his last three fights (24-3 overall), two of which came opposite his longtime rival Alex Pereira.

“I’m taking my time,” Adesanya said. “I have patience. Patience and the long run. Look at the Pereira fight. I never looked for — okay, after the second [kickboxing] fight in Brazil, he knocked me out. I was like, ‘Cool. That’s that.’ Then he chased me to UFC. It’s part of the story. Get to Madison Square Garden, beats me in almost the exact same fashion. I’m like, ‘Damn. The last round again.’ And I wanted the rematch because I knew in my heart I could beat him.

“So, when I got to that point in Miami [for UFC 287], I just knew this is it. I have to beat this guy. And again, that took seven years, I think, to get to that point. Patience.”

TOP STORIES

Drama. Ian Machado Garry responds to Sean Strickland, details UFC PI run-in

Boxing. Francis Ngannou on fighting Anthony Joshua: ‘I’ve heard that he doesn’t have a chin. I’m going to find out’

History. Demetrious Johnson responds to rumors Joe Rogan helped facilitate trade from UFC to ONE Championship

Prediction. Eddie Hearn expects Anthony Joshua to pick Francis Ngannou apart ‘and knock him out’

Immortal. Matt Brown teases potential return at UFC 300: ‘I’m there to fight and try to smash a f****** elbow through somebody’s forehead’

Odds. Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira open as surprising underdogs in new UFC fights

VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

Top Finishes: Slams.

Free fight.

Aoki > Folayang.

Fear.

The War Room: Ankalaev vs. Walker 2.

LISTEN UP

Reaction. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck, Alexander K. Lee, and Jed Meshew discuss Dana White’s announcements of Dustin Poirier’s return, new UFC 300 clash.

MORNING MUSIC

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Mr. Gibson.

Finally.

He must be stopped.

Icebound.

Rebook?

Confirmed.

Update.

This is all getting annoying.

Punk…

Relationships are tough.

Sigh.

Just fight him then.

Super, indeed.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Toshiomi Kazama (10-4) vs. Charalampos Grigoriou (8-3); UFC Vegas 87, March 16

Christian Rodriguez (10-1) vs. Isaac Dulgarian (6-0); UFC Vegas 87, March 16

Dominick Reyes (12-4) vs. Carlos Ulberg (10-1); UFC Atlantic City, March 30

FINAL THOUGHTS

I don’t think it would have been the worst idea from Adesanya, especially at the end of the fight. Not sure it would have made a difference, but I’ll always advocate for going for broke when you’re clearly down on the cards.

Thanks for reading!

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.

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