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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Arman Tsarukyan is open to fighting Dustin Poirier next, even though they currently both train at American Top Team.

Tsarukyan scored the biggest win of his career to close out 2023, knocking out Beneil Dariush in 64 seconds in the main event of UFC Austin. The lightweight title picture is currently log-jammed, with both Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje waiting for a crack at champion Islam Makhachev, but Tsarukyan hopes that his win over Dariush was so good, he might skip to the front of the line.

“Islam had same situation,” Tsarukyan said on The MMA Hour. “He never beat top-five fighters before he fought for the title. Hopefully, I’ll already be No. 4. That’s why I’m waiting for a call from my manager and he’s going to be like, ‘Arman, you’re fighting for the title.’ This is the best-case scenario for me.”

“[Oliveira] pulled out from the last fight, beat Dariush, and lost to Islam,” Tsarukyan added. “It’s like 99 percent he’s going to lose to Islam. If they want to see that fight, go ahead, but if they want to see new generation, new fighter, they’ve got to put me on that fight. I’m going to show the world who is the best in our division. I’m going to give him the [most] competitive fight of his life.”

Tsarukyan and Makhachev previous fought at UFC Saint Petersburg in 2019 when Tsarukyan made his UFC debut, stepping in on short notice. Makhachev won the fight by unanimous decision, but Tsarukyan impressed given that he was only 22 years old at the time.

Unfortunately for Tsarukyan, the rematch is likely going to have to wait. UFC CEO Dana White has already said Oliveira has the next shot at Makhachev, with the two rumored to be facing each other at the upcoming card in Saudi Arabia in March. That leaves Tsarukyan with few other options, and one of those options is American Top Team teammate Dustin Poirier. But while it wouldn’t be his first choice of opponent, Tsarukyan says if the UFC wanted it, he would take that fight.

“Yes, I would, but to be honest, I don’t want to fight with him,” Tsarukyan said. “He lost last fight. It doesn’t make sense to fight with him. If I beat him, people say, ‘Oh, he just lost last fight. How do you want to fight for the title?’ I need someone who definitely after that fight I’m going to get title fight. It’s like, Gaethje or Oliveira. So if Oliveira thinks he’s No. 1 contender and he’s got a fight, let’s fight and let’s figure out who is No. 1. If he wins, he can go to the title. If I win, I’ll go.

“[Poirier] is a legend. I respect him. He’s tough and he won interim title. Big deal. He beat a lot of good people and he’s very good fighter. Especially to watch his fights is always exciting. I’m just telling, it doesn’t make sense to fight him because if I win, people are going to say he just lost to Gaethje. But if I beat Oliveira or Gaethje I’m like, 99.9 percent to fight for the title.”

As one of the best and biggest gyms in the world, American Top Team has run into this issue several times in recent years. Famously, ATT teammates and sometimes training partners Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley fought each other for the welterweight title at UFC 201, and infamously, the legendary feud between Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington began when the two were training partners at the gym.

Tsarukyan says that if it came down to it, the gym is in fact big enough for the both of them, but says he’d much rather fight current BMF champion Justin Gaethje instead.

“He has to take this fight,” Tsarukyan said. “Who does he want to fight?

“Maybe we can fight for the BMF title? Why not? He can make money, I can make money. He’s a confident guy. He’s got to take this fight and make money, and give me that belt. I want to get two belts.”

Unfortunately for Tsarukyan, that may not come to pass either. Gaethje won the BMF title by knocking out Poirier in their rematch at UFC 291 in July, and has since said he intends to wait for his own shot at the lightweight title. But if the UFC does ultimately decide to force his hand, Tsarukyan has an idea for what should happen.

“I would like to fight at UFC 300, because I think it’s going to be the biggest card the past five years,” Tsarukyan said. “It’s kind of a dream, because when I was young, I just had a couple of fights, and I was watching Gegard Mousasi — because he’s also Armenian — and he was fighting on UFC 200 and the canvas was yellow. I said, ‘Oh my god, so cool.’ I can imagine if I’m going to fight UFC 300, then UFC 400. I’m young. I just became 27 years old. I can fight in 300, 400, and maybe 450.”

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The trash talk is starting to heat up between the featherweight champ and No. 1 contender as they prepare for a showdown in Anaheim this February.

Things are heating up as Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria prepare for their February 17th featherweight title fight at UFC 298.

In a new video shared on his YouTube channel, Volkanovski revealed he was already weeks into a 12 week training camp, and he has former UFC fighter Brad Riddell in the gym to imitate Topuria’s striking style.

“I’ve got Brad Riddell over who’s obviously a great training partner in general but stylistically he’s a very good boxer himself,” Volk said. “I think he can simulate Ilia. I think, to be honest, he can give me a lot more problems than what Ilia will. And that’s not knocking Ilia, that’s just showing how good Brad is. Brad’s had hundreds of kickboxing matches and had a heap of boxing matches, so a strong powerful stocky dude as well.”

“I’m taking this fight serious,” he continued. “I’m taking Ilia serious. He thinks he’s the man, let’s see if he is. I’m ready for the best version that turns up February 17th. Let’s see what we have in store. I’m going to be ready either way. I see he’s confident. He’s a confident cocky young dude. Let’s see if he’s gonna bring it, because I’m gonna. Can’t wait to show him levels.”

“I’ve seen a lot in my game, I think I’m in my prime. Gonna show this young man that there are levels and I am king of this division and he ain’t taking nothing from me. I’m coming for that 0.”

Ilia Topuria wasn’t impressed with Volkanovski’s words.

“If you think someone can imitate me, that means that your last fight has left you with lasting effects!” Topuria wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I will knock you out in the first round. You’re old, it’s time to retire. It is time to move on and make way for the new era of Topuria.”

Topuria is so confident in an upcoming win over Volkanovski that he’s prematurely improved his 14-0 record to 15-0 on his social media bios.

“What did he put on his Instagram?” Volkanovski said. “That he’s a champ, that he’s 15-0, whatever it is. I’m looking forward to seeing him change that to 14-1 and non-champion. Ah man, that’s gonna suck. That’s gonna be embarrassing for him.”

UFC 298 goes down February 17th from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Also on the card: a bantamweight contender’s bout between Merab Dvalishvili and Henry Cejudo, plus a welterweight grudge match between Ian Garry and Geoff Neal.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Paige VanZant signed with the UFC as a teenager, but after nine fights and over six years with the promotion, she knew she was ready to move on.

Back in the pandemic year in 2020, VanZant was booked for a fight at UFC 251, which served as the final bout on her contract. She ultimately lost by submission to Amanda Ribas, but she was still a commodity the UFC wanted to keep on the roster.

After reaching free agency, VanZant received an offer to return to the UFC, and the easy decision would have been to ink the deal to stay in the biggest MMA promotion in the world. Instead, she felt like it was the right time to do something else.

“Me re-signing with the UFC would have been the safe choice, but I just wasn’t happy anymore,” VanZant told MMA Fighting. “It’s not ill will toward the UFC, but I just knew I needed something else. I needed a change. I signed with the UFC when I was 19. I had my first fight when I was 20. I need something different. I need to spark my passion again.

“Looking back, I kind of had my mind made up that I was ready to leave the UFC. So when I became a free agent and they came with their offer to re-sign me, I was already moved on. That part of my life is closed, and I was ready for the next chapter, and I didn’t know what it would be.”

VanZant immediately started fielding offers, but she shocked the world by signing a deal to join the roster at BKFC. At the time, bare-knuckle fighting was only legal in a handful of states, and the sport was still fighting to gain mainstream recognition.

The contract with BKFC wasn’t just about money, though that certainly didn’t hurt. Still, VanZant wanted a different kind of challenge, and bare-knuckle gave her that opportunity.

“Making the transition to BKFC, I’m really happy I did it still,” VanZant said. “I’m so super happy with the decision.

“Me switching to BKFC hasn’t been successful just for wins, I feel accomplished. I went 10 rounds with some really, really tough people, some really tough chicks doing bare-knuckle boxing. Anybody who steps into bare-knuckle boxing needs to get a round of applause. It’s a whole different animal. It’s violent and brutal, and it feels different.”

Her move to BKFC happened simultaneously alongside VanZant launching her own website before eventually joining OnlyFans. That decision paid off huge; she later revealed she made more money in one day from OnlyFans that she did during her entire UFC career.

Not everyone was on board with the move, however.

“I already had it in the back on my mind like I love my body, I love being sexy, it’s a big part of who I am, should I do this?” VanZant stated. “I had prior managers that were like, ‘No, no, no, you have to stay away, you’ll lose all your sponsors and no one will ever want to work with you.’”

VanZant ended up splitting from her former management team and signing with new representation. This time around, she got a much different response when pitching the idea.

“I signed with First Round Management, Malki Kawa, and I brought it up to him, and he said ‘If you’re comfortable with it, hell yes! It’s on you, but if you’re OK with it, you’re going to kill it,’” VanZant said. “He just saw a business mindset that not a lot of other people were able to see.

“I launched it right before my first BKFC fight. I’m in the car on the way from the press conference back to my hotel, and I logged in, and it had only been live for an hour and I was seeing the subscribers going up, and I think I had 52,000 subscribers at one point. I was showing my husband, and I was like, ‘Oh my word!’ That moment driving back [to the hotel], I was of course extremely excited to fight, but I was like our lives just changed forever. I was like, ‘This is OK, this is going to work out. All the risks are worth it. If I never work with another sponsor again, we’re going to be fine.’”

Since launching her OnlyFans page, VanZant has enjoyed the kind of financial freedom that fighting never afforded her. There are absolutely no regrets about the decision she made three years ago, because now, she only has to depend on herself to make money.

“I don’t have sponsors – I don’t have to,” VanZant said. “I’m working on building my own company, promoting myself and not just building up other people. I don’t wake up and have to push an agenda for somebody, or sell something for a company or help them grow. I’m just building me and myself, and sharing things that I’m passionate about, and sharing things that are absolutely true. No one’s paying me to say anything that I say. It all comes straight from the source.”

As far as fighting goes, VanZant previously stated that she absolutely plans to return to BKFC for at least one more fight, but there’s no timeline when that might happen.

Bare-knuckle remains her focus, but despite the UFC in her rearview mirror, VanZant is considering taking another MMA fight in the future. But she’s only interested in working with one promotion.

“I get to do commentary work with the PFL — working with the PFL, the way they treat their athletes, it’s absolutely incredible, and it just opened up my mind and my options so much to where I get to do pretty much anything I want to,” VanZant said.

“If I were to do MMA again, it would definitely be with the PFL. I love the way they treat everybody. Their organization is incredible. I’ve been loving doing commentary work for them and doing behind the scenes, just because I do like being on camera, so I’ve been having fun with that. But I do believe as of right now, just in my mind, if I were going to do MMA it would be with PFL.”

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A parrot keeper is blaming Irish megastar Conor McGregor for the death of his prized £1,300 parakeet.

David Dunne, a 37-year-old living in Drimnagh, Dublin has a collection of at least 30 exotic birds, some of them on the endangered species list. In an interview with The Sun, Dunne revealed that the “peace and tranquility” of his prized birds has been shattered after McGregor’s property company broke ground nearby, creating a noisy environment that has affected the avians’ way of life.

Dunne also revealed that his lutino conure parakeet suffered a heart attack after test drilling at the site close to his home began.

“It really stressed all my birds out,” Dunne said. “Some of them started plucking their feathers out due to stress. So I had to do something.”

Dunne says that he contacted the company and was advised that they would compensate him for the loss of his bird, but thus far, they have done nothing of the sort.

“I rang and told McGregor’s company about it,” Dunn added. “They came around and saw the bird dead and said, ‘Sorry, sorry about that, we’ll do something, we’ll do something.’ I rang about it again and they said they would replace the bird. They said they would compensate for the loss of the bird and they didn’t. When push came to shove, they basically didn’t do anything.”

Dunne says he made an agreement with the company, noting that they would help move the birds to a location away from the site in Drimnagh. However, he was left “angry” when the company later turned around and only offered him the cost of a van rental.

“I had to take all my aviaries down and move all the birds out all on my own, he said. “I have big exotic birds. Some of those birds are on the protected species list and all. I feel like they just disregarded me and my birds. We went to so many meetings and they said they would look after the birds. But as soon as they broke the concrete, they didn’t care.

He added, “Relocating the birds is costing me money that I shouldn’t need to spend. I have to do a full day’s work as a driver, come home, get the food for the parrots, drive to Wicklow and feed the parrots. It is taking time away from me and my family as well.”

The building site in Drimnagh has permissions for a nine-story, 188 build-to-rent apartment scheme that McGregor has purchased. Preliminary work is now underway on the site which has left residents frustrated. A number of them have already lodged objections to a multimillion-euro plan by Conor McGregor’s firm to build an eight-story, ­113-unit apartment block adjacent to the site.

LowKickMMA.com

Conor McGregor’s long-awaited return is edging closer and could get underway during International Fight Week on June 29.

All eyes will be glued to that date as fans have been desperate to see the Irishman back in the octagon. While he expects it to be a tough outing, his rumored opponent Michael Chandler believes he will get his hands raised without the help of the judges.

During a recent interview, Chandler delved into the Conor McGregor fight for the first time since the date and possible weight class was announced. Though there are still some hurdles to overcome, ‘Iron’ is glad the fight is beginning to move ahead.

“It looks like we’re finally going to be getting this fight moving forward,” Chandler said about his reported McGregor bout. “A fight is never confirmed until we’re actually inside of that octagon and that bell rings, right?”

“Now it looks like we’ve got ourselves a date, we’ve got ourselves an opponent and seemingly a weight class a little bit above what we thought it was going to be.”

“As of right now, June 29 is what I’m preparing for… That is the date I’m preparing for, that is what we’re looking forward to.”

Michael Chandler later spoke on the quoted weight class the pair would be fighting at. While it’s not something he’s used to, the fan-favorite would love to share the octagon with McGregor at 185 lbs.

“I would definitely fight him at 185 lbs. If you look at how the whole thing played out, I like to say Conor wouldn’t want it to be at 155 because he wants everybody to believe he’s bigger than he actually is.”

“It’s tough for him to say 170 because, if you remember, I was the guy who called him out at 170. So, therefore, I’m not the guy who does what I’m told, I’m the guy who got what I wanted.”

“He’s a natural 145-pounder who started making his name fighting cherry-picked 135-pounders. And I’ve carried this mass for the last 15 years and fought at lightweight with it, whereas he has gained weight… I think it benefits me. So wherever they want to do it, I’ll do it.”

Related: Conor McGregor announces Michael Chandler clash on June 29, Chandler responds

Capping off the interview, Chandler predicted a finish of McGregor but understands that his potential opponent’s confidence could make it a difficult matchup.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be too quick. I think Conor, as he always does, is going to come in very confident… Never underestimate a man who has an unwavering belief in himself.”

“Conor McGregor is a dangerous opponent, no matter what. For the rest of his life, he will be a dangerous man. So, I think Conor’s going to hit me with some shots, I’m not going to go down.”

“He’s going to then start to feel the waters rising and then we finish him in the second round. Maybe third round. But I think I’m too much for him, I wear him down, make him second-guess himself similar to some of the other fights that we have seen, and then I finish him in the second round.”

Watch Michael Chandler speak about his reported Conor McGregor clash below.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts