CombatSports.org

Leon Edwards’ head coach, Dave Lovell has claimed he would like to see his student fight former title challenger, Gilbert Burns fight the defending champion next – instead of an earmarked rematch against top-contender, Belal Muhammad, claiming the Brazilian brings more to the table than the latter.

Edwards, who headlined UFC 296 over the course of last weekend, turned in a dominant unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45) victory over former interim champion, Colby Covington in the pair’s tense grudge match in Las Vegas.

And in the immediate aftermath, Edwards, who fought the above-mentioned, Muhammad to a second round ‘No Contest’ back in 2021 after an inadvertent eye poke, dismissed a fight with the Illinois native next – despite the fact the surging contender has been billed as the next title challenger. 

“Nah, there are definitely other options,” Leon Edwards said after UFC 296. “I don’t feel like Belal (Muhammad) should be next. I’ve done it before. I’ve won like 10 fights and didn’t get a title shot. So, what makes him different or more privileged.”

“So, Colby’s (Covington) already skipped the line already, let’s see who’s next,” Leon Edwards explained. “But like I said, this is the ‘Rocky’ era, it’s my era now and I’ll keep reigning, whoever’s next. It doesn’t matter, they’re all similar styles anyways. All boxers and wrestlers, it’s what I’ve built my career on. So, whoever comes next, it’s whatever, you know.” 

Leon Edwards pegged to potentially fight Gilbert Burns next

And according to Edwards’ trainer, Renegade BJJ & MMA staple, Lovell has claimed his student would be better suited to fight Burns next in his return to the Octagon – who most recently suffered a decision shutout loss to Muhammad at UFC 288 back in May.

“If I had a choice who would be next, I would prefer (Gilbert) Burns over Belal (Muhamamd), because I think Burns brings more to the table than Belal,” Dave Lovell told MMA Fighting. “Because Leon’s beaten him [Muhammad] – well, I shouldn’t say that, he had the no-constest against Belal. It looked like, you can’t judge it by the first round totally, but it looked like Leon obviously had the first round locked down with Belal and he was going in for the kill [up tunil] the second until the eye poke occurred.”

“But yeah, if I had a choice, overall, I would like Burns, but we’ll take whoever they [the UFC] throw at us,” Lovell finished. 

Booked to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 299 in March of next year, Burns has been slated to fight Australian contender, Jack Della Maddalena in a return to his residence in Miami, Florida. 

Who wins in a future fight: Leon Edwards or Gilbert Burns?

LowKickMMA.com

UFC

Leon Edwards’ head coach Dave Lovell isn’t sure who will be next to challenge for the UFC welterweight strap, but he’s throwing a name aside from Belal Muhammad into the mix.

“Well, let’s put it real — Belal’s earned his place, hasn’t he?” Lovell said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “Even though he still hasn’t done what Leon did. He didn’t go through the tribulations Leon did. But you know what? He’s earned himself his contendership. To be honest, if I really had a choice, but I don’t think it will happen, I would like Leon to fight [Gilbert] Burns. But Burns had two bites at the cherry. I think maybe they’d want Burns maybe to have a couple more [wins] before [a title shot] if he was going to be a contender.

“But if I had a choice who would be next, I would prefer Burns over Belal, because I think Burns brings more to the table than Belal. Because Leon’s beaten [Muhammad] — well, I shouldn’t say that, he had the no-contest against Belal. It looked like, you can’t judge it by the first round totally, but it looked like Leon obviously had the first round locked down with Belal and he was going in for the kill the second until the eye poke occurred. But yeah, if I had I choice, overall, I would like Burns, but we’ll take whoever they throw at us.”

Edwards, 32, notched the second defense of his UFC welterweight title this past Saturday with a one-sided decision over Colby Covington at UFC 296. The Birmingham native has been an unbeatable force at 170 pounds, riding an undefeated streak in the UFC that stretches back to 2016 and includes victories over Kamaru Usman (x2), Vicente Luque, Nate Diaz, Donald Cerrone, Gunnar Nelson, and Rafael dos Anjos. Edwards previously fought Muhammad in 2021, however the bout was stopped just 18 seconds into the second round after Muhammad suffered an inadvertent eye poke and was unable to continue.

Muhammad, 35, as well, has been on a tear. The Chicago native is unbeaten over his past 10 octagon appearances and has rattled off five consecutive victories over contenders since his no-contest with Edwards, defeating the likes of Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Luque, Sean Brady, and most recently Burns.

Burns, 37, is just 3-3 over his past six bouts and lost a one-sided decision to Muhammad in his latest appearance, however he’s still Lovell’s top pick for Edwards’ next challenger.

UFC CEO Dana White declined to formally confirm that the next welterweight title shot belongs to Muhammad at Saturday night’s UFC 296 post-fight press conference.

“We don’t know [who’s next], do we? Because Dana didn’t announce that it would be Belal, so we’re just as bewildered as you. If it’s Belal, so be it,” Lovell said. “We’ve had a feel of him already, we know what he’s about. He has improved, but if it’s Belal, it’s Belal. But you never know with these people. Shavkat [Rakhmonov], he had the foot injury so I don’t think he’d be ready for April. And even that, Belal will be ready to go. But will Leon and Belal really be a big pay-per-view? You’ve got to look at it from the business point of view, from the UFC’s point of view.”

Lovell referenced April after revealing Monday on The MMA Hour that the UFC has already contacted Edwards’ team about a possible return bout on April 13 at UFC 300.

UFC 300 is expected to be one of the promotion’s biggest events of 2024, and while he has yet to discuss the possibility with Edwards, that timeline sounds perfect to Lovell.

“There’s word on that, but we’ll just see what the boss [Edwards] says and if he’s down for it,” Lovell said. “I think, personally, he just may want it, because now he’s just come out of camp, he’ll want to sort of jump back in [April]. He can have little one break over the Christmas and obviously back to the grindstone if he wants this piece of this pie in April. So he won’t have much to do in the sense of, all we need to know [is] what the opponent will be so we can set the game plan for that particular opponent. But as for cardio, fitness-wise, he ain’t coming from scratch to go into camp. He’ll be well ready to go into camp.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Conor McGregor is and will likely always be one of the biggest names in the sport of mixed martial arts. The Irishman was catapulted into the limelight after a successful start to life in the UFC and has since gone on to start several businesses, compete in boxing against Floyd Mayweather, and become a multi-millionaire in the process.

‘The Notorious’ now has his sights set on a return to the octagon and rumors have been floating around suggesting he may finally make his comeback in the first half of 2024. While the legend has intentions of becoming a UFC champion once again, Kamaru Usman believes that may not be possible.

During an appearance on the PBD Podcast, Usman spoke about how Conor McGregor’s style inside the octagon resonated with fans and aided in his rise to superstardom.

“To really see that ascension that Conor got, you got to fight in a particular way. Mixed martial arts is still growing. It’s still, the world doesn’t exactly understand the intricate details of what we’re doing.”

“You take a guy down and you’re working for submissions. The world doesn’t necessarily understand that. The world still understands two men standing [and] slugging it out. They understand that. You have a problem, this is how we do it.”

“Conor was that guy to where Conor didn’t necessarily want to be grappling and doing all that. He knew how to grapple but he didn’t necessarily want to be there. He wanted to throw fisticuffs and get you out of there.”

Kamaru Usman continued, insisting that while McGregor is still capable of competing against the best guys in the world, the hunger and drive that initially earned him success is likely no longer there.

Related: Michael Chandler vs. Conor McGregor ideally targeted for UFC 300

“I do think he makes a comeback, he wins some, he might win fights here and there, you know. But I just don’t see him becoming a champion again because it’s a different mindset to be there. It’s very, very tough to plug into that.”

“What it boils down to is the commitment that it takes. When you’re on the way up, there’s only one direction you’re looking.” Usman said while discussing McGregor’s chances at becoming UFC champion again. “If your goal is ‘I want to make a million dollars’ and that’s all you’re focused on and in order for me to get there, I need that belt, I need that belt, I need that belt, I need that belt.

“That’s all you think about, that’s all you focus about. So subconsciously it just becomes your whole, that’s what you’re fixated on… You could have bumps in the road, things that kind of, you know, slow you down but you’re looking one way. The whole time, you’re plugged in.”

“But when you get there, now different things that you didn’t expect, responsibilities are there because all on the ride up, all you have is time to train… Now, having to plug back in, that’s the conflict because now you know what it took to get there. You know the level of commitment that was.”

Check out Kamaru Usman discuss Conor McGregor’s championship ambitions and more in the interview below.

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Dan Hooker is back in action earlier than expected.

Currently on the shelf recovering from arm surgery, Hooker is staying busy by making the occasional radio appearance, one of which was highlighted by “The Hangman” demonstrating how dangerous his submission skills can be.

During an appearance on The Morning Rumble, the UFC lightweight contender was asked to execute a triangle choke on Mitch Farr, one of the show’s producers. The results were what you would expect.

Watch the video below.

In the clip, Hooker twice forces a tap out of Farr before really cinching it in on the third attempt. Despite Farr tapping out once more, it appeared that he was briefly rendered unconscious by the maneuver.

A disoriented Farr was all smiles after and when asked to comment on the physical exchange, he simply replied, “I’m good.”

Hooker saw his 2023 campaign cut short after a re-aggravated arm injury forced him out of a Dec. 2 fight with Bobby Green. The 35-fight veteran has won his last two fights, including a thrilling split decision win over Jalin Turner at UFC 290. He is targeting a May return to competition.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

What?!
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Champ Sh*t Only, b*tches.

Do you think Tony Ferguson should retire from MMA?

If you answered “yes” — like UFC CEO Dana White did — then you should probably check your drawers because you might be missing something important. That’s according to a recent social media post from “El Cucuy,” who insists he won’t be quitting the game after losing his seventh straight at UFC 296 last weekend in Las Vegas.

Straight from the Boogeyman’s mouth:

I assume he meant “eunuch” and not EUNIC, since no one from the European Union National Institutes for Culture was in attendance at the UFC 296 pay-per-view (PPV) event last weekend in Las Vegas (that we know of).

Either way, it may be time to rethink this Top 10 list.

Ferguson (25-10), who turns 40 in just a few weeks, was defeated by unranked lightweight Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296, a performance that did nothing to counter recent claims that “El Cucuy” was broken down and ready for the scrap heap.

Whether or not UFC keeps him on the 155-pound roster remains to be seen.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

Tony Ferguson still wants to fight.

“El Cucuy” suffered a seventh straight loss at UFC 296 this past Saturday, dropping a unanimous decision to Paddy Pimblett in a bout that saw Ferguson show few flashes of his former greatness. He is now tied with B.J. Penn for the longest losing streak in UFC history.

On Wednesday, Ferguson posted on social media that despite his recent slump, he does not have plans to retire.

The caption is a re-posting of a message Ferguson posted in an Instagram Story, with the notable addition of a hashtag reading #NotRetiringCasuals. Ferguson, 39, has frequently bristled against the suggestion that he hang up the gloves when the topic is brought up in interviews or on social media.

Pimblett praised Ferguson after their fight, calling the 35-fight veteran a legend and agreeing that if Ferguson wants to continue to fight he should do so. UFC CEO Dana White had a more negative response to Ferguson’s latest loss, telling reporters that “I would love to see him retire.”

In his prime, Ferguson was one of the most dangerous fighters in the lightweight division, rattling off 12 consecutive victories at one point. He claimed an interim title with a submission of Kevin Lee at UFC 216. However, the past few years have not been kind to Ferguson and he has not won a fight since June 2019.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

It’s been a big week for the UFC’s beloved Octagon girls.

Hours before the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of the year, Brittney Palmer announced that she would be making her final trip around the cage at UFC 296. UFC CEO Dana White also revealed that Arianny Celeste, perhaps the most well-known Octagon girl in the history of the organization, had also laid down her shorts, closing the books on a 17-year run.

We now have another big announcement as Brazil’s first Octagon girl, Camila Oliviera, revealed that she is expecting her first child with partner Luis Ricardo Franco.

“And everything we dreamed of came true, in my womb, we have proof of our love,” Oliveira posted on Instagram. “We will be parents! Thank you, my God, for allowing me to experience this alongside my great love.”

The Brazilian model first made her promotional debut at UFC Sao Paulo all the way back in January 2013 when she was just 21 years old. She currently hosts the Conexão UFC show on UFC Fight Pass Brazil.

Jhenny Andrade, another Octagon girl who returned to the promotion in October 2021 after giving birth to her first child, congratulated her co-worker online.

“Congratulations,” she wrote. “Enjoy every second of this magical and special moment in your life.”

LowKickMMA.com