Kevin Lee’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA debut is officially set.
The promotion officially announced on Tuesday that the one-time UFC interim lightweight title challenger will face Saul Almeida at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 8 on Nov. 15 at Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi.
Lee, who makes his MMA return on Friday night for Lights Out Championship, is staying busy as he takes the gloves off for the first time. After parting ways with the UFC following 18 promotional bouts, along with a one-fight stop at Eagle FC, Lee returned to the octagon and was stopped by Rinat Fakhretdinov in under a minute at UFC Vegas 76 in July 2023. “Motown Phenom” went 11-8 over two stints in the UFC.
Almeida is a Bellator and WSOF veteran, and has 34 pro MMA bouts on his record. The Massachusetts native seeks his first MMA victory since a third-round TKO win in October 2018 for New England regional promotion AMMO Fight League.
Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 8 is headlined by an inaugural bantamweight title fight between past UFC opponents Randy Costa and Brandon Davis.
Jake Paul continues to trot out the skits ahead of his fight with Mike Tyson, and his brother Logan Paul didn’t miss a beat busting his chops for it.
In an video advertising his Betr partnership, Jake donned an obvious fat suit and pretended to bench press “500 pounds.”
See the clip below.
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In the video, Jake loudly proclaims himself “the strongest heavyweight in existence,” a nod to the upcoming fight against Tyson, one of the most feared heavyweights in boxing history. Brother Logan was less than impressed, joking about Jake’s phony physique in a comment, “When you due bro?”
Jake—also signed to the PFL—meets Tyson in the boxing ring at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 15. The contest streams live on Netflix. When Tyson steps into the ring, it will be his first professionally sanctioned bout since June 2005. In 2020, he met fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout, headlining a card that featured Jake knocking out Nate Robinson on the undercard.
As for Logan, he is currently a featured in-ring performer with WWE.
Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images
Conor McGregor is filthy rich.
That’s probably why “Notorious” no longer fights, despite frequent claims to the contrary, undoubtedly designed to shift blame and keep the fantasy afloat. But that hasn’t stopped McGregor from acting like he’s still the top dog in UFC, behavior that doesn’t sit well with UFC fighters of past and present, including former middleweight champion Michael Bisping and current 205-pound contender Anthony Smith.
“Conor, you would have thought that he was a big Daniel Dubois fan because when [Anthony] Joshua was getting those [punches], he was out of his seat,” Bisping said on his Believe You Me podcast (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “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.”
McGregor was ringside for last weekend’s Joshua vs. Dubois pay-per-view (PPV) in Riyadh.
“I don’t know what happens to people or when you change or how much money you have to have to start doing weird, douchey sh*t like that,” Smith added. “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.”
Here’s a clip of McGregor’s cigar-chomping arrival:
Conor McGregor arrives for Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois fight pic.twitter.com/7NcsBTusKH
— Best MMA Moments (@XcellentMMA) September 21, 2024
McGregor left his sunglasses on for most of the evening.
“As soon as I heard he wants to test free agency, I immediately thought, ‘Okay, this is going to be the most drawn-out g*ddamn process in the world,” Smith said. “Because the UFC’s going to do 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. Okay, 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.”
Sadly, not even McGregor is certain of his fighting future, according to these comments.
Like most in the MMA community, Ben Askren doesn’t understand why Jon Jones’ first title defense will be against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.
The matchup was rebooked for the promotion’s return to Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, nearly one year to the date of their initially scheduled booking — which was scratched by Jones suffering an injury. Askren, a past UFC competitor, wants to see the best fighters facing the top of the division, and if it were up to him, it would be Tom Aspinall getting the shot.
“I want to see him fight Tom Aspinall, it doesn’t appear to be happening,” Askren told Daniel Cormier. “It really sucks. It sucks that I have to speak against Stipe because I have nothing against him, I actually speak about Stipe favorably, but he hasn’t fought in forever. I just don’t understand.
“I know he’s had great results, but it’s been four years, or something. Tom Aspinall’s been out on these streets beating everyone up, I would love to see Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones, and honestly, [Francis] Ngannou is somewhere else also, so this is a case where you’re just not getting to see the best guys fighting the best guys and it sucks. Maybe we’re spoiled.”
Miocic hasn’t competed since losing the heavyweight title when he was brutally knocked out by Ngannou at UFC 260 in March 2021.
Jones will return to the octagon for the first time since winning the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane via first-round submission at UFC 285 in March 2023 — which will be just his second appearance since his win over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020.
Aspinall has competed six times since Miocic’s most recent outing, going 5-1 with all finishes, with the lone loss coming via knee injury in his UFC London main event matchup with Curtis Blaydes in July 2022. Aspinall has since won the interim heavyweight title, and defended it successfully against Blaydes with a first-round finish at UFC 304 in July.
Askren continues to wonder why the UFC continues to go back to the Jones vs. Miocic matchup when he feels Aspinall is the far more compelling option.
“Tom Aspinall has proven that he’s this guy, and Jon Jones has been — well he’s been kind of actively fighting — not super active,” Askren said. “But why can’t we see them? We want to see them [fight], they’re both there, put them together.”
Conor McGregor | Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images
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.”
Conor McGregor arrives for Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois fight pic.twitter.com/7NcsBTusKH
— Best MMA Moments (@XcellentMMA) September 21, 2024
#JoshuaDubois
Conor McGregor’s reaction to Daniel Dubois knocking down Anthony Joshua is too good #JoshuaDubois #Boxing pic.twitter.com/Ib0MC0R36v
— LIVE LEAK OFFICIAL ®️ (@Daily_News86) September 21, 2024
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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