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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Conor McGregor appears determined to fight in 2024, but Dana White has other plans.

Days after White surprised many by announcing that McGregor won’t fight in 2024 despite calls for a December date with Michael Chandler, the UFC CEO doubled down on his comments, reiterating to Canadian broadcast partner SportsNet that he strongly believes McGregor won’t make his UFC return in 2024 regardless of McGregor stating otherwise.

“I don’t know what Chandler’s planning on doing. I know he’s kind of kicking around right now,” White told SportsNet. “You know, you can imagine after I said that, Conor was blowing me up, going, ‘I’ll definitely fight this year.’ When we get to a point where we’re setting a fight and I believe that a Conor McGregor fight is going to happen, I will announce it.

“As of right now, I believe that Conor will not fight this year. Conor’s saying he wants to fight, he wants to fight in December. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Following White’s comments, McGregor issued a simple all-caps statement on social media Thursday night: “THE UFC LOVE AND WANT ME FOR DECEMBER! I AM READY.”

Chandler quickly agreed to McGregor’s proposed December date: “December it is.”

McGregor, 35, has been tentatively linked to a UFC return bout against Chandler since coaching against the former Bellator champion on The Ultimate Fighter 31 in early 2023. After a long, drawn-out saga, McGregor’s comeback fight against Chandler was initially scheduled for June 29 at UFC 303, however McGregor ultimately withdrew from the bout due to a broken pinky toe. “The Notorious” has not competed since suffering a broken leg in his July 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier, but publicly maintains his desire to make a UFC return.

Chandler has also sidelined himself since a November 2022 loss to Poirier, largely to wait for McGregor. He told TMZ on Wednesday that he still hopes to fight McGregor in December but also indicated a willingness to move on to a different matchup if the McGregor bout fails to come together in 2024. He added that he believes White may not have been entirely truthful with his comments nixing the idea of McGregor making a winter return.

“There’s no reason why Conor can’t fight this year,” Chandler said. “Obviously, you know I can fight this year. I think it comes down to scheduling. December makes a lot of sense. November, you’ve got MSG, it’s already kind of booked up. Before that, you’ve got Abu Dhabi, so December is that big pay-per-view card. You know, cap off the year with a huge pay-per-view, Chandler vs. McGregor. Makes a lot of sense.

“Dana, as much as we love him, he has also said some things that were just absolutely false in press conferences and whatnot — which, that’s his job. Sometimes it’s his job to give you the exact information; his job is, sometimes, to give you misinformation. So sometimes, saying the fight isn’t happening this year might mean that this fight is happening this year, just like he did when I already knew I was fighting June 29.

“So you can read between the lines, but as far as I know, this fight has some very huge prospects to fight by the end of the year. Conor’s ready, I’m ready, let’s sign on the dotted line.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Josh Silveira is looking for revenge, a belt, and a $ 1 million check in the 2024 PFL light heavyweight playoffs.

The son of American Top Team head coach Conan Silveira goes toe-to-toe with the man who beat him for the light heavyweight title in the 2023 season, Impa Kasanganay, at Friday’s PFL 8 card in Hollywood, Fla. Silveira vows to be “a whole new Joshua” in the semifinal match.

“I’m going to beat that guy, that’s for sure,” Silveira told MMA Fighting. “I’ve learned a lot from that fight. Unfortunately I lost in a crucial moment, a million [dollars on the line], the belt, but that’s part of fighting. Impa has experienced a bad loss in the UFC, he was cut, so he felt that pain before. He didn’t want to feel that pain again that night, you know? It was my time to feel that pain and I’ve learned a lot. And now I’m fighting as a fighter who has felt that pain and won’t let it happen again.”

The unanimous decision setback against Kasanganay in the 2023 finale wasn’t Silveira’s first MMA loss, but he says his 2022 defeat to teammate Omari Akhmedov felt “quite weird,” so it didn’t hurt like the one to Kasanganay.

“I didn’t have much chance to hit [Kasanganay] in the fight,” Silveira said. “I think I felt the pressure of the moment and that got me tired, and he did a good job. But thank God we’re here again, and I’ll be able to fight someone that has defeated me, which doesn’t happen very often in MMA. And it will be very different this time around.

“[Losing] is part of the sport. No champion, except Khabib [Nurmagomedov], ends a career like that [undefeated]. Losing is part of the game. We have to learn from it and train to make sure it’s a different result in the next fight.”

Kasanganay remains undefeated in the PFL season and playoff matches, losing only a split decision when he fought Johnny Eblen in a champion vs. champion match between PFL and Bellator titleholders. The UFC veteran stopped Alex Polizzi and Jakob Nedoh in the 2024 regular season, and Silveira promises an aggressive game plan Friday.

“You’re going to see a man with attitude, a man who doesn’t accept what happened last time,” Silveira said. “I’d rather get the KO or get knocked out, but I’ll have to try. That’s how I’ll fight. Last time we fought there was too much pressure, and it didn’t work out. This time, I’ll embrace everything I’m feeling and go in there to beat that guy.”

Silveira won the first fight of the 2024 season after Sadibou Sy suffered an injury 74 seconds into the match in April, then lost a split decision to Rob Wilkinson two months later. Silveira had enough points to advance to the playoffs, and saw Wilkinson advance to the other side of the brackets against fellow ATT fighter Dovlet Yagshimuradov.

Silveira hopes his teammate Yagshimuradov makes it to the final as well, but admits it would be sweeter to claim the PFL title by avenging two defeats.

“I feel like I won that fight, but that’s something we can’t control,” Silveira said of the Wilkinson loss. “I feel like I was the aggressor. He’s a boxer who knocks everybody out, but he became a grappler that night, and I wasn’t expecting that. I was the one trying to finish the fight. When I lost that fight, I didn’t feel that pain. I was thankful for making it to the playoffs so I didn’t think too much about the loss. I know I fought well against a tough guy, and to rematch him and Impa would make it a nice story, beating two guys that have defeated me. I would like to beat Wilkinson again just to show the world that I won that fight.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

His peak
| BJPenn.com

UFC

The Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) is finally upon us. Meanwhile, Jones is upon his opponent, Gabi Garcia.

Everyone loves some good competition and Australia’s Jones is creating exactly that with his head-to-head alternative to the world-famous Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) this weekend. CJI will feature tons of talented grapplers competing over the next two nights (Fri., Aug. 16 and 17, 2024). You can watch day one here and day two here.

In a long-anticipated and often teased intergender grappling match, Jones will take on nine-time ADCC champion, Garcia. At least, that was the plan until he complicated things with his friendly expression in the embedded video above.

All jokes aside, the event should be a great night in grappling and the serious money on the line makes the overall head-to-head element in the community a compelling one. In Jones vs. Garcia, specifically, the man himself is so confident in his abilities that he has placed a $ 100,000 bet on a win via leg lock, his signature submission type.

Even for competitors who are no longer just grapplers, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters and contenders in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) like Mackenzie Dern couldn’t say no to the opportunity.

For much more on the upcoming CJI tourney click here.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC is returning to Macau for the first time in 10 years.

The promotion officially announced that a Fight Night event is set for Nov. 23 at Galaxy Arena. It will be the UFC’s first trip to the area since an August 2014 event headlined by Michael Bisping and Cung Le.

No fights were officially announced for the card.

UFC has hosted three previous events in Macau, all taking place at CotaiArena. In the most recent trip, Bisping stopped Le in the fourth round via TKO. Tyron Woodley competed in the co-main event, knocking out Dong Hyun Kim in just 61 seconds. The card also featured Colby Covington in a preliminary fight earning a first-round TKO win over Anying Wang.

Le also headlined the UFC’s first Macau card, knocking out Rich Franklin in the first round in an event that aired on Fuel TV in November 2012. The second fight card in Macau took place in March 2014, and was finale for The Ultimate Fighter: China, which was capped off by Kim knocking out John Hathaway with a spinning elbow.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Saifon Rattanaphanu, known as Haseng Wahani – a prominent Muay Thai striker is reportedly on the run after he is alleged to have stabbed and killed his father last night. Saifon, is alleged to have fled the scene of the murder, and is reportedly taking refuge on the Bua Yo Mountain, with a manhunt conducted by law enforcement underway to apprehend him.

Saifon, a former champion in Muay Thai, is the subject of a manhunt by law enforcement officers, with the Muang Yala Police receiving a report of an incident at a residence at the Ban Lo Sali Yala Province, with a man stabbed to death with a knife, Haseng Wahani, otherwise known as Saifon Rattanaphanu is the current sole assailant whom police are currently attempting to apprehend. 

Manhunt underway for Saifon Rattanapanu

News of the incident involving Saifon was reported on social media today, with the report detailing how the Muay Thai fighter had cut his father’s throat with a knife before fleeing the scene of the alleged incident.

“A manhunt is ongoing for Muay Thai champion Saifon Rattanapanu, who is wanted for murdering his father,” WoradonBK posted on their X account. “Saifon reportedly slashed his father’s throat at 3 AM today, before escaping to a mountain.”

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