CombatSports.org

As far as former UFC star, Chael Sonnen is concerned, former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor may be serious regarding his impending return to action, however, is falsely portraying that he pulling the strings when he returns — rather than promotional brass.

McGregor, a former undisputed featherweight champion and lightweight gold holder, was slated to headline UFC 303 in a three-year-plus hiatus snapping return to the Octagon back in June, taking on Michael Chandler in a return to the welterweight limit for the Dublin striker.

Out of action since UFC 264, Conor McGregor most recently took on common-foe, Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas, Nevada — fracturing his left tibia and fibula in an opening round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss as the duo shared the Octagon in a trilogy rubber match.

And forced from a welterweight fight with Chandler earlier this summer due to injury, McGregor fractured a toe on the same foot as his prior leg injury — ruling him out from a comeback.

Chael Sonnen claims Conor McGregor may not fight this year

Targeting a potential December return to action in the main event of UFC 310, McGregor may not get his way according to Sonnen, who says a potential return in January at a pay-per-view event in California may be on the cards as well.

“I’m hearing the organization would like him (Conor McGregor) to fight in California in January, I can’t confirm that for you but I would like to say this one thing Daniel (Cormier), as long-winded as I’m being,” Chael Sonnen said on Good Guy/Bad Guy. “I believe him. I believe that he wants to fight. I believe that he is going behind the scenes, see he loves to feint power — he loves to let people know it’s all my decision.”

“I believe he has humbled himself to say, ‘I need the organization to sign off on this, I’m willing to go,’” Chael Sonnen explained. “And that’s not quite how the story is being told. The story being told that Conor is dangling this, I don’t think so and if you remember all the efforts that he went through just to get on the docket on June 29., he’s doing the same things to get on the docket in December. At a minimum, I do believe he is sincere that he still wants to be on the boys.”

LowKickMMA.com

The UFC’s light heavyweight division has been unpredictable as of late after two big matchups were put together that left some questions.

Magomed Ankalaev has been pushing to face champion Alex Pereira for a long time now, but in order to get his second shot at the title, he will need to get past Aleksandar Rakić at UFC 308.

Meanwhile, Khalil Rountree will leapfrog both him and the majority of the top 10 to face “Poatan” at UFC 307 in an exciting clash of styles that plenty have suggested is premature.

Many will be expecting Ankalaev to come through yet another light heavyweight contender and continue to call for his shot, but Chael Sonnen believes some may be getting carried away…

Sonnen Warns Fans Not To Underestimate Rakić’s Chances Against Ankalaev

During a recent YouTube video, Sonnen spoke about what appears to be a number one contenders’ clash at 205 pounds that is set for October 26.

Not only were fans surprised to see Ankalaev not securing his date with the champion, many were puzzled by the decision to book him against Rakić. Whilst he is a top five contender in the division, he’s coming off of a loss in another title eliminator when he was stopped by Jiří Procházka at UFC 300.

Sonnen stated that although this could be the final hurdle for Ankalaev to overcome, it can’t be overlooked how big of an opportunity this is for his opponent.

“Ankalaev, clearly the number one contender, at least according to you guys. And you know what? I do have a little bit of a problem with that. I’s not a huge problem but I do have just a little one,” Sonnen said. “Which is Rakić is that damn good. You got to understand, Rakić did not get a world title fight — well neither did Ankalaev, but Rakić did find himself in the next best thing.

“He’s in a number one contenders’ match. That is quite literally the next best thing that you could get to a title fight and he found himself there coming off of a loss. As a matter of fact, he found himself there coming off of a stoppage loss. As a matter of fact, finding himself in this spot actually moves him in front of the guy that he suffered the loss to in Procházka,” Sonnen continued. “I’m only telling you this because that’s how good Rakić is and a lot of people have forgot.”

• Read More: Chael Sonnen Feels Khalil Rountree Fight Will Fast Track Alex Pereira’s Heavyweight Move: ‘The Best Way, Get Him Beat!’

Continue Reading Chael Sonnen Tells Fans To Hold Their Horses On Seeing Magomed Ankalaev As Top Light Heavyweight Contender: ‘Rakić Is That Damn Good!’ at MMA News.

MMA News

Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson steps back in the ring on Nov. 15 against Jake Paul at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Tyson will without question be the most skilled boxer Paul has stood across the ring from, but Tyson is also 58-years old going up against someone more than half his age.     

Tyson appeared on the IMPAULSIVE YouTube channel hosted by Jake’s older brother Logan Paul.  The elder Paul expressed concern for Tyson going up against his brother and gave the former ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ a warning.

“I’m very nervous for you,” the older Paul said to Tyson.  “I want you to be okay in there, Mike.  You’ve got to take him serious, Mike.”

“I take him extremely serious.  These people don’t take him serious,” Tyson responded.  “This is what I’ve learned through my 58 years of experience, that anyone is capable of killing you.  In my live, and the way I lived my life, anyone is capable of killing you, so you should be apprehensive for anyone.”  

“This is what’s going to happen, to make everything short, two men are going to fight.  Somebody is going to win.  They might fight again, and then they go to their separate banks and life goes on.”  

Later in the podcast, Tyson stated what makes him different from Paul’s previous opponents, and it’s wasn’t his boxing experience.  

“I look at him as a killer.  That’s how I look at him,” Tyson said.  “If you think I’m too old for this fight, you need to come tell me in my face.”

“The difference between me and all the other guys that he’s fought, they weren’t apprehensive and afraid of him.  I’m apprehensive and scared, so I’m totally different than them,” Tyson continued.  

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

submitted by /u/TheBigRedHalfrican [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

At the PFL Battle of the Giants press conference, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira will answer questions from the media on Thursday in Washington, D.C.

The press conference is set to be hosted by Jake Paul.

The PFL Battle of the Giants press conference is expected to begin at 1 p.m. ET.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

submitted by /u/TheBigRedHalfrican [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC 305 is officially in the books, and Dricus du Plessis is still the UFC middleweight champion after submitting former two-time champ Israel Adesanya in the fourth round. While du Plessis continues to surge, Adesanya has now dropped three of four. What does the future look like for both fighters following their battle in Perth?

On an all-new edition of Between the Links, the panel discusses the fallout of du Plessis’ big win, how long his reign might last, and where Adesanya goes from here. Additionally, topics include the rest of the UFC 305 storylines, Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree headlining UFC 307, Dana White saying he should get the blame for the Francis Ngannou scrub from the UFC 305 Countdown show, White saying he adamantly believes Jon Jones will fight Tom Aspinall if he beats Stipe Miocic, and more.

Host Mike Heck moderates the matchup between #MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew and Eric Jackman.

Watch the show live at Noon ET / 9 a.m. PT in the video above.

If you missed the show live, you can still watch above, or listen to the podcast version, which can be found below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your pods.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Joe’s big wish
| BJPenn.com

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is making its return to Canada on Sat., Nov. 2, 2024, with the UFC Edmonton mixed martial arts (MMA) event at Rogers Place. Headlining the ESPN+ fight card is the flyweight showdown pitting No. 3-ranked Erin Blanchfield against No. 5-ranked Rose Namajunas, with the winner moving within striking distance of a 125-pound title shot (behind Manon Fiorot).

Blanchfield is currently a slight betting favorite at -120 against +100 for the underdog Namajunas. That’s according to our fiscal friends over at BetOnline.ag, who also pegged heavyweight hurter Derrick Lewis as the +120 underdog for his co-main event opposite undefeated Brazilian bruiser Jhonata Diniz (-140).

In addition, Rodrigo Nascimento (-145) is favored to beat Alexandr Romanov (+125).

“I think [Namajunas] is better at 115,” Blanchfield previously told The MMA Hour. ”I think just moving up a weight class ten pounds like 115 to 125, it’s a big percentage of your body weight especially when you’re that small. She won against [Amanda] Ribas, but Ribas is also someone who’s fought at 115. She’s not that big of a girl. She had the one fight against Manon and she lost that. I think she’s a great fighter. I think he’s got a lot of skill, but I think she’s going to be a little outsized at 125.”

We’ll find out in less than three months.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/TheBigRedHalfrican [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts