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“I’m ready to go, lad.”

Jon Jones is supposed to be fighting Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November.

So why hasn’t the promotion made the fight official? We’re less than three months until the Nov. 16 pay-per-view (PPV) card pops off inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, but Dana White and Co. have maintained radio silence over its heavyweight headliner.

Interim champion, Tom Aspinall, is hearing rumors about a potential injury.

“I’m hearing rumors that Stipe is potentially injured,” Aspinall told fans on YouTube. “This is stuff I’m hearing from inner circles. Stipe, I believe his birthday was yesterday, actually, he’s 42 years old. The guy is gonna be injury prone. Jon Jones, million miles on the clock, he’s gonna be injury prone. Me, I’m ready to go, lad. I’m not even in my prime yet. I’m hungry for it. I’m not sure these two guys are, but I am. I’ll fight either of them for the undisputed title on any notice. I’m ready.”

Jones is returning from a year-long injury setback after tearing his pectoral muscle.

During his absence, Aspinall won the substitute strap by stopping Russian bruiser Sergei Pavlovich, then defended the belt with an emphatic victory over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 in London. That led to multiple callouts of “Bones” which to date, have been ignored.

Hopefully Miocic can clear the air (or confirm the injury) sooner, rather than later.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Francis Ngannou knows how the game works, especially when it comes to Dana White.

Now that he’s preparing for his PFL debut, which comes more than a year after he passed on a lucrative offer to stay with the UFC and test free agency, the former heavyweight champion understands that his former boss can create whatever story he wants about avoiding a potential fight against Jon Jones.

Following the most recent edition of The Contender Series, White put the blame on Ngannou as he responded to a question about that potential matchup when he claimed “you can’t make people fight and we couldn’t make Francis fight [Jon Jones].”

On Thursday during a pre-fight press conference to promote his fight against Renan Ferreira in October, Ngannou smiled when asked about White saying that he was the one who prevented a fight against Jones from happening.

“I think that’s the new narrative since he needs to say something either way,” Ngannou said. “As far as I’m concerned, it was Jon Jones that didn’t want to fight me — according to them. So many times we sit down on the meeting, [they said] ‘oh it can’t happen, Jon Jones doesn’t want to fight anymore. He’s living in Albuquerque, he’s living his small life, he has a lot of money in his bank account.’

“I think the guy who controls the narrative can say whatever he wants. But that’s just the narrative.”

While he openly pursued the fight against Jones going back several years, Ngannou admits that the only way he would have turned down that potential matchup was if that became a condition of his negotiations with the UFC.

Prior to leaving the company, Ngannou made it clear he was seeking some concessions in his contract to allow him more freedom to pursue outside interests like the boxing matches he eventually landed with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Ngannou also sought other conditions beyond just money that eventually led to him leaving the heavyweight title behind when he exited the UFC.

Looking back now, the 37-year-old Cameroon native doesn’t have any regrets but he can promise that he never just passed on Jones as an opponent simply because he was desperately trying to avoid that fight.

“I was the one requesting the Jon Jones fight but I didn’t want [to get trapped] into some deal and get to something that I didn’t want. I wanted things to be straight and square. So yes, I wanted to fight Jon Jones but in good conditions. Not just to fight to be paid out.”

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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.  

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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.

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