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At least for now, Dana White is done entertaining the idea of Alex Pereira to heavyweight.

The UFC CEO delivered a vehement “no” when asked Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show whether Pereira will get his chance to challenge UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Pereira, 37, is the current UFC light heavyweight champion and former middleweight champion. Also a former two-division champion in GLORY Kickboxing, Pereira has twice stepped in on short notice to save the UFC in 2024, headlining UFC 300 in April with a first-round knockout of Jamahal Hill and then headlining UFC 303 in June with a second-round knockout of Jiri Prochazka.

Following the Prochazka knockout, UFC color commentator Joe Rogan led a voracious charge to allow Pereira to move up to heavyweight and attempt to become the first three-division champion in UFC history. Both Pereira and Jones have expressed an openness to the matchup, and Pereira’s longtime coach Plinio Cruz recently endorsed the idea to MMA Fighting, calling Jones vs. Pereira “the biggest fight this sport has ever seen.”

“I think it’d be a mega-fight. I think [it’d be] the biggest fight this sport has ever seen,” Cruz said in July. “We all respect Jon Jones a lot. And I think it’s going to be just a great fight. I’m not going to say [who] wins, they lose, [who] wins, they lose. Fight is a fight, but I think it’s going to be the best fight between two great champions.”

“I like the idea. I think that’s a [move] that’s going to happen eventually,” Cruz added. “I don’t think right now it’s the move, because let’s just be honest, the heavyweight division is clogged, it’s stopped right now. First Jones has to fight, first [Tom] Aspinall has to fight, so for us to be chasing something that’s not even moving yet, I don’t think is the point.”

Jones, 37, is the current UFC heavyweight champion and widely considered the greatest light heavyweight to ever compete. Jones is expected to face Stipe Miocic in a long-awaited matchup — most likely in November at New York’s Madison Square Garden — after spending most of 2024 rehabilitating from a shoulder injury that derailed the bout in 2023. Jones has not competed since defeating Ciryl Gane to claim the vacant title in March 2023, which marked Jones’ first and only bout at heavyweight in his 15-year MMA career.

White has been an ardent supporter of both the Jones vs. Miocic matchup and Jones’ claim to being the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, and that continued on Tuesday.

“Well, everybody on the internet is stupid,” White said when asked about criticism of his positions. “Anybody who thinks Jon Jones isn’t the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world should never be discussing fighting ever. Period, end of story.”

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Michael Chandler would love to kick Conor McGregor’s ass in front of Donald Trump.

Chandler has been nothing, but patient while waiting for his red panty night against the Irish megastar. It looked as though the way would finally pay off on June 29 when the two were scheduled to headline UFC 303 in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the fight never came to be after McGregor bowed out due to a broken pinky toe.

Recent rumors suggest that their clash will be rebooked for UFC 310 in December, though no official announcements have been made.

In the meantime, ‘Mystic Mac’ has been picking a fight with former U.S. president Donald Trump after ’45’ dubbed Khabib Nurmagomedov the greatest fighter of all time. Obviously, that didn’t sit well with the Irishman.

During a recent interview courtesy of Lucky Block Casino, Michael Chandler offered his full sport to the GOP nominee and expressed his hope to see Trump in the arena when he finally settles things with McGregor on MMA’s biggest stage.

“I would love to fight Conor with Donald Trump, our 45th and soon-to-be 47th president, cage-side,” Chandler said.”That would be awesome. Obviously, he and I have hung out a couple of times and had a few conversations, so it would be awesome to have him at the fight. I think it would be great.

“The last time I spoke to Donald Trump, the fight had not been announced yet, so he was just saying, ‘Man, you deserve this fight. It’s a fight that everyone wants to see. It’s a fight that the Trump team wants to see,’ so that was the last thing that he said about it, and obviously since then, the fight got booked, contract signed, and then it changed.”

Chandler suggests Donald Trump has more testicular fortitude than McGregor

While Conor McGregor called Trump’s favoritism toward Nurmagomedov a “campaign-ending decision,” Chandler thinks that America’s favorite warrior against wokeism will be just fine come election night in November.

‘Iron’ also suggested that when it comes to Trump and McGregor, it’s the former president who has the bigger set of cojones.

“Conor’s tweets are absolutely not going to touch Donald Trump’s candidacy and presidency at all. But it shows you the hatred between Conor and Khabib is still deep. It’s real. I can’t imagine living like that. Conor and I had a nice little back and forth. I said, ‘If you had half the balls Donald Trump did, you would have shown up on June 29th,’ because Donald Trump’s got some balls.

“He says what is on his mind, and obviously I have shown my support for Donald Trump, and I believe he will win in November, and the world will be a better place because of it.”

LowKickMMA.com

Tom Aspinall is pushing for Stipe Miocic to be replaced in his potential bout with Jon Jones, much like Joe Biden was swapped out in the 2024 United States Presidential election.

For context, Biden stepped out of the presidential race in July following a challenging debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump, which raised significant scrutiny about the sitting President’s mental readiness for another term.

Amid mounting pressure for the UFC to cancel Miocic’s planned title shot against the reigning heavyweight champion, UFC CEO Dana White has made it clear that the fight is still on. White has resolutely stood by his decision to reschedule the matchup, which was originally set for November 2023 at UFC 295 but had to be postponed after “Bones” suffered a serious pectoral injury.

Consequently, Aspinall capitalized on the opportunity at UFC 295, stepping in to claim the interim heavyweight title with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich. The 31-year-old Salford native has eagerly called for a title unification bout against Jones. However, “Bones” has consistently dismissed the challenge, showing more interest in rebooking his showdown with Miocic instead.

The British powerhouse then defended his interim title against Curtis Blaydes with a first-round knockout at UFC 304, avenging his only UFC defeat. Following this triumph, Aspinall made it clear that his sights are set solely on a title unification bout as his next challenge…

Aspinall Targets Miocic’s Slot In Upcoming Jones Fight

During a recent interview with TNT Sports, Aspinall suggested that Miocic should follow Biden’s lead and step aside for the upcoming title clash against Jones, which is expected to take place at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 16.

Miocic is set to turn 42 on August 19. The former two-time UFC heavyweight champion was seen in action in March 2021, when he lost his title in a crushing second-round knockout defeat to Francis Ngannou at UFC 260.

Meanwhile, Jones last graced the Octagon at UFC 285 in March 2023, where he captured the heavyweight title with a dominant submission victory over Ciryl Gane.

• Read More: Jon Jones Hints That He Is Going To Retire In 2024 After Stipe Miocic Fight

Continue Reading Tom Aspinall: Stipe Miocic Needs To Be ‘Joe Biden’d’ To Allow Title Unification Against Jon Jones at MMA News.

MMA News

With the USA currently living in uncertain times, Oscar De La Hoya has decided to change his allegiance regarding Donald Trump.

Since his inauguration into office in 2017, Trump has divided opinion among the American people. While some doubts still remain, the 45th President of the United States has received a wave of support since surviving an almost fatal assassination attempt.

One man that has turned the doubt into praise for Donald Trump is boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya. During a recent interview, De La Hoya questioned the state his country is in under the current leadership.

“Where I’m at today, I just feel that our country needs help,” De La Hoya said on the PBD Podcast. “It really needs help.”

“I was born in California, in Los Angeles. Taxes are through the roof right now. I’m walking my streets, I have a place in Beverly Hills, and even there you see the homelessness. The situation is just getting worse.”

“I’m not sure if it’s this party’s fault or that party’s fault but America needs help. And right now with our current president, I just feel that it’s not getting the help necessary to make this country what it is.”

“Our country is great. It should be great. Better than any country in the world. I just personally feel it’s not.”

Related: Dana White blasts CNN host: ‘You guys are really bad’

De La Hoya later insisted that Trump is the right man to take the country forward — backtracking on his past ‘America sucks’ comment.

“I would consider it [voting for Trump], I literally would consider it. I have to tell you a little secret here, I actually just purchased the Donald Trump shoes…”

“Nobody knows it, I’m really considering it. Whether it’s Trump or somebody else, our country needs help. It just needs help.”

“I don’t know exactly what the policies are and where we can get help from and what we can change but our country needs help.”

Watch Oscar De La Hoya speak about Donald Trump below.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Joilton Lutterbach admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs prior to getting a short notice opportunity with the UFC, and now, he is dealing with the repercussions.

On Tuesday, Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) announced that Lutterbach accepted a 24-month sanction for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy. The test was administered June 8, two weeks before Lutterbach was set to face Shara Magomedov at UFC Saudi Arabia.

Lutterbach tested positive “for the presence of 3a-Hydroxy-2a-methyl-5a-androstan-17-one, a metabolite of drostanolone,” which is an anabolic steroid. The 31-year-old was made aware of the positive test on June 20 while at the host hotel two days before the event. According to the release, he admitted to “extensive use” of the prohibited substance prior to his signing, and because he didn’t declare the use ahead of time, Lutterbach received the stronger penalty.

Additionally, Lutterbach’s UFC contract was terminated based on the failed test, and Lutterbach admitting to it — which he also did on social media after he was pulled from the card.

“I actually used juice three months ago and had no idea that I would sign with the UFC,” Lutterbach wrote at the time. “I could have hidden in the mountains or gone to Thailand to hide as many do and are not tested, but I preferred to take the risk and believe I was clean and fit to fight.”

Lutterbach will be eligible to return on June 23, 2026.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

A pivotal lightweight clash is expected for the PFL’s return to pay-per-view

Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a matchup between former Bellator featherweight champion A.J. McKee and former Cage Warriors star Paul Hughes is targeted for the PFL’s superfight pay-per-view event on Oct. 19. MagicM MMA first reported the booking on Twitter.

Since losing his title to Patricio Pitbull in April 2022, McKee has had a successful shift to lightweight, winning all four of his 155-pound appearances. In his most recent outing, the 29-year-old submitted Clay Collard in 70 seconds at February’s PFL vs. Bellator event. The No. 13 ranked lightweight in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings has won 22 of his 23 pro fights.

Hughes signed with PFL earlier this year as one of the sport’s highly-touted free agents following a nine-fight run with Cage Warriors. In his first promotional appearance, the 27-year-old stopped Bobby King via second-round TKO at Bellator Dublin in June.

The event will be headlined by the MMA return of Francis Ngannou as he faces fellow knockout artist Renan Ferreira.

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The feud continues
| BJPenn.com