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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Conor McGregor was his usual, animated self at the Daniel Dubois vs. Anthony Joshua fight, much to the amusement of his peers.

On an episode of the Believe You Me podcast, hosts and veteran MMA fighters Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith couldn’t help but poke fun at how McGregor carried himself as part of the crowd in attendance for the massive boxing event this past Saturday at Wembley Stadium in London.

Dubois defeated Joshua via a thrilling fifth-round knockout to retain the IBF heavyweight title, much to McGregor’s excitement. Bisping had a laugh watching McGregor put a show on for the cameras.

“Conor, you would have thought that he was a big Daniel Dubois fan because when Joshua was getting those [punches], he was out of his seat,” Bisping said. “Maybe the cigar might have even got lit. Walking in with a big cigar, unlit, between the teeth. How do we feel about that? Because two words spring to mind right now: Douche. Bag.”

Smith agreed the sight of McGregor chomping on an unlit cigar was deserving of ridicule and wondered at what point the former two-division champion became such an easy punchline.

“I don’t know what happens to people or when you change or how much money you have to have to start doing weird, douch-y shit like that,” Smith said. “Like, how rich do you have to be to wear your sunglasses inside 24/7. For what? I wish I was five percent as cool as he thinks he is. Like, how do you get to be so cool? I don’t know, I don’t get it. And I don’t want to just talk shit on Conor, but come on, bro. Come on.”

The good news for McGregor fans is “The Notorious” continues to say all the right things about still wanting to compete, despite having not fought since July 2021. At Saturday’s boxing event, McGregor said he would still like to fight rival Michael Chandler, and according to BKFC boss Dave Feldman, McGreor will fight bare-knuckle when his contract with UFC is completed.

McGregor still has two fights left on his current contract. Bisping and Smith agreed there are still several intriguing possibilities for the 36-year-old, but that waiting for his return has become a drag.

“As soon as I heard he wants to test free agency, I immediately thought, ‘OK, this is going to be the most drawn-out g*ddamn process in the world,” Smith said. “Because the UFC’s going to what they can to make sure that doesn’t happen and he’s going to try to do it and they’re going to go back and forth and it’s going to be this boppity boppity boppity boppity, just like Jon Jones and the UFC, it took three [expletive] years. OK, cool.

“Hit me up in, like, 2029. Let me know when this is happening, because I’d love to talk about if it’s actually going to happen.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Diego Lopes wants UFC gold — or at least a chance to earn that spot against a legend of the sport.

Lopes scored the biggest win of his career earlier this month UFC 306, defeating two-time title challenger Brian Ortega via decision at Sphere in Las Vegas to climb six positions and reach No. 5 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings. However, that doesn’t mean he’s now interested in facing the No. 4-ranked Movsar Evloev, the fighter who handed Lopes his most recent loss.

Lopes was competitive in a short-notice decision loss to Evloev in May 2023, impressing in his UFC debut. He has since won five straight with a trio of finishes and two post-fight bonuses. Evloev has only fought once since that night, defeating Arnold Allen via decision, and offered a rematch to Lopes at UFC 307 on Oct. 5 after Aljamain Sterling withdrew from their bout due to injury.

“The only possibility this fight happens is if the UFC really says, ‘OK, you fight him and win, and you’re next for the belt,’” Lopes said in an interview with MMA Fighting. “That’s the only way this fight happens at the moment, and I want a full camp. It’s very easy for him to call me out knowing I just fought two weeks ago. I’ve been calling him out several times to fight with a full camp, and he never wanted it. The possibility of me accepting this fight now or fight him on short notice is zero.”

The UFC featherweight championship is up for grabs on Oct. 26, when Max Holloway challenges Ilia Topuria in Abu Dhabi, and Lopes reaffirmed that being backup fighter for the UFC 308 main event is his No. 1 plan at the moment.

“If that doesn’t happen, we’d like the possibility of fighting [Alexander] Volkanovski in December,” Lopes said. “He doesn’t like to wait, and neither do I, so that could be a good fight. A lot can happen, but I think the two most viable options for us right now are being the backup fighter in Abu Dhabi, or fighting Volkanovski in December. The UFC is aware that I’m available for [UFC 308], so it depends on what they want to do.”

Volkanovski reigned as UFC featherweight king from 2019 to 2024, defeating the likes of Holloway, Ortega, Jose Aldo and “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, but has now lost three of his past four. Two of those losses came against 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev, and he was knocked out by Topuria in his most recent fight.

Lopes said he’s “available and willing” to face Volkanovski in the headliner to the Dec. 14 Fight Night card in Tampa, Fla., or to battle in a five-round co-headliner at UFC 310 a week prior in Las Vegas.

“The Volk fight would be very interesting because he’s shown he can adapt well to everybody’s style, especially when his opponent is taller, until he fought Topuria,” Lopes said. “But I think I can also adapt well to guys that are shorter than me, so it would be a very interesting fight.”

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Interviews
| BJPenn.com

Tyson is confident he’ll be the one to finally derail Jake Paul’s fighting career. But Jake has made that career beating old fighters like Mike.

The Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul circus is starting to come to life as its November fight date is rapidly approaching.

Last time, the fight was booked and fell through before any of that could happen, with Tyson citing an ulcer for the delay from July 20 to Nov. 15, 2024. This time it seems like “Iron Mike” is making it across the finish line … if training doesn’t cripple him.

What condition he’s in when he steps into the ring on Friday night is a real question — one bookies have answered by making Paul as much as a -330 betting favorite to underdog Tyson.

During a recent appearance by Tyson on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel was stunned at the odds.

“I’m thinking of betting a lot of money on you,” he told Tyson.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Tyson responded before adding, “I had no idea you were a gambling man.”

“I am every once in a while,” Kimmel replied. “You know, I’m from Las Vegas, so especially on a boxing match, I will sometimes bet. I feel like I’m already invested in it, but I’m just thinking I can’t believe [Paul] is favored to win this fight.”

“Well, I’m 60 years old. He’s 27. So, I don’t know,” Tyson said.

“Yeah, you’re older than he is,” Kimmel replied. “But, you are Mike Tyson, and he isn’t!”

That’s the promotional crux of this fight, and at this point us mixed martial arts (MMA) fans have seen it played out too many times with the young guy winning to be particularly shocked at Tyson’s odds. Odds are: Paul beats Tyson. And while the odds are designed to draw cash in on both sides, they also represent a certain reality when it comes to a fighter’s chances.

Tyson can win, but he’s definitely not favored to do it. Nevertheless, Tyson certainly believes in his skills, planning to put an end to Paul’s fighting career.

“I started Jake Paul off,” he told Kimmel. “On my fight with Roy Jones, I allowed him to fight on the card, and I decided I started him. And I’m gonna finish him.”

This fight with Paul is a proper professional fight, in contrast to Tyson’s exhibition match with Jones Jr. back in 2020. The former Heavyweight champion made it clear that this fight with Paul wouldn’t be a respectful spar to a fake draw.

“It wasn’t a draw, but I was happy with the draw. I like [Roy Jones Jr.] a lot,” Tyson explained. “I like [Jake Paul], but in this particular fight, he has to go.”

“You’re going to beat this kid, Jake Paul?” Kimmel asked.

“Very badly,” Tyson promised.

“Paul vs. Tyson” goes down Fri., Nov. 15, 2024, from inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Those further away can watch the fight with a Netflix subscription.

To checkout the latest “Tyson vs. Paul” fight card and rumors click here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Renato Moicano has long targeted a future fight against Paddy Pimblett, not only because it’s a very marketable matchup, but also one he’s very confident he’d win.

But did his position change at all after watching Pimblett tear through King Green after demolishing the veteran lightweight inside the first round when they met back at UFC 304 in July?

“I am very impressed,” Moicano said about Pimblett when speaking to MMA Fighting. “I think after the Bobby Green fight, I think Paddy Pimblett is a tougher matchup than Dan Hooker.

“Back in the day, I would be crazy to say that but right now we saw what Dan Hooker did [with] Mateusz Gamrot. He got caught many, many times in the first round. It was a close fight. I don’t think he did win, but you see the way Paddy Pimblett finished Bobby Green, and Bobby Green is not an easy guy to submit. The way he did so, props to Paddy Pimblett.”

Moicano openly admits that he thought Pimblett was more hype than reality, but the way he beat Green definitely got the Brazilian’s attention.

“I was one of the doubters,” Moicano said. “But he did great, he did a great job against Bobby Green. He deserves some respect. Not much but some respect.”

At UFC Paris, Moicano headlines a UFC event for the second time in his career with hopes to build on his three-fight win streak when he faces Benoit Saint Denis in the main event.

On paper, Moicano is actually taking a step backwards accepting a fight against Saint Denis, who is behind him in the UFC’s official rankings, but none of that matters much to him.

It’s similar to his interest in the fight against Pimblett because Moicano understands the number next to somebody’s name doesn’t automatically give that person more attention or credibility with fans. Instead, Moicano prefers fights that operate under the brightest spotlight and right now at lightweight, Pimblett might just be one of the biggest matchups available for anybody not named Conor McGregor.

“Rankings doesn’t matter,” Moicano said. “It doesn’t really matter. Because if rankings did matter, I would not fight Benoit Saint Denis. Because there is no point that I’m fighting backwards. The only point that I’m fighting Benoit Saint Denis is because he’s a tough opponent and that fight’s going to give me a lot of exposure.

“In this sport, as in outside the sport, you need exposure. You need people to want to watch you. You need people to want to see what is going on. I like this guy, I’m going to follow him on social media, I’m going to buy his stuff, I’m going to support him. That’s what moves, not only the sport but every marketplace. Of course, Paddy Pimblett is a fight I think that would be awesome. I think that would be great. That would be nice.”

Moicano knows that name value carries more weight than rankings when it comes to the UFC, which is why he never gets lost in those numbers when he gets a fight offer.

“We see some guys in the top 15 that people don’t even know them,” Moicano said. “It doesn’t f*cking matter. People don’t know rankings. People know personalities. They know people that they can relate to. This guy is real, he’s talking stuff that I like. Some people are funny. People are different. Some people like to follow different people so I don’t care too much about the rankings.

“Because UFC doesn’t make decisions based on rankings. They make decisions based on popularity and how much money they can make off a fight. We’ve seen that over and over.”

As much as he doesn’t want to single out anybody in particular, Moicano used a veteran lightweight as an example of somebody who has a number next to their name but doesn’t really move needle when it comes to drumming up interest in a fight.

“I don’t want to talk too much shit because I don’t have nothing against the guy,” Moicano said. “I think he’s a great human being. I think he’s a good fighter but he’s not in his prime anymore — Beneil Dariush, he’s still ranked and if I could choose to fight Beneil Dariush or fight Benoit Saint Denis or even Paddy Pimblett, or sometimes even Bobby Green — I would choose somebody else at the moment.

“Because it’s all about the moment that you are right now, how people are perceiving you, perceiving your career and some guys are maybe up in the rankings, they are in a good position for the rankings, but as far as popularity, they are not.”

So based solely on rankings, Moicano wouldn’t move up as much beating Pimblett but he couldn’t care less about those numbers.

Pimblett has transformed himself into one of the most talked-about fighters on the entire UFC roster and that’s what gets Moicano’s attention.

“100 percent, I would be willing to fight Paddy Pimblett,” Moicano said. “I think Paddy Pimblett will be a great fight. But let’s see Sept. 28, and then I will talk some shit.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts