CombatSports.org

UFC

submitted by /u/TimW001 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

There’s a lot riding on the heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic when they finally meet in November.

While an official announcement about the matchup hasn’t been made, Jones and Miocic are expected to headline UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. For Jones, the fight serves as a bout he’s chased since dispatching Ciryl Gane in rapid-fire fashion back in March 2023 to capture the vacant UFC heavyweight title.

Meanwhile, Miocic wants to cement his legacy as the best heavyweight in history by taking out arguably the greatest fighter of all-time in Jones.

The stakes get even higher with the expectations that one — or both — fighters could potentially retire afterward, although UFC CEO Dana White believes that’s only a certainty as far as one heavyweight is concerned.

“Stipe 100 percent is going to retire after this fight,” White told Kevin Iole. “Listen, Jon Jones, you know how I talk about Jon Jones and what I think of Jon Jones as a fighter — Jon Jones always loves to challenge himself, moved up to heavyweight.

“I don’t know what Jon Jones will do after this fight, but I would be shocked if he didn’t want to test himself against [Tom] Aspinall.”

Tom Aspinall currently reigns as UFC’s interim heavyweight champion. The English powerhouse owns an almost spotless record in the promotion aside from a freak injury that prematurely halted his fight against Curtis Blaydes in 2022. Aspinall recently avenged that setback with a one-minute knockout of Blaydes to defend his interim title at UFC 304.

Overall, Aspinall boasts an 8-1 UFC record with eight finishes. No opponent has even made it past the second round against him. Many within the MMA community believe he’s already established himself as the best heavyweight in UFC no matter what title Jones currently holds, but that makes a potential fight between them that much more intriguing.

White believes Aspinall having so much hype around him now may actually serve as the perfect bait to get Jones interested in the fight, assuming he gets through Miocic.

“Everything I’m saying, these are f*cking facts,” White said. “It’s not like me and Jon Jones have this unbelievable relationship like I have with Ronda [Rousey] and Chuck Liddell and Conor [McGregor] and some of these guys that have fought in the past. You know this is not the case. What I am saying about Jon Jones is undebatable.

“[It’s] undebatable what this guy has accomplished in his career, and if he beats Stipe and he comes out and fights Tom Aspinall and beats him, it’s already undeniable — nobody, I don’t care how much you dislike Jon Jones for what he’s done, this isn’t about personally who Jon Jones is and do you like him, we’re talking about the baddest dude to ever walk the face of the Earth in combat sports already — if he goes out and beats Tom Aspinall, he cements his legacy as the greatest fighter of all-time.”

While Aspinall may have momentum right now, White still wants to let Jones and Miocic settle their business in November after promising both of them he would make that fight.

Despite Miocic sitting out for the past three years and his most recent outing ending in a brutal knockout loss to Francis Ngannou, White believes Miocic has earned the opportunity to come back and face Jones for his likely last chance at reclaiming the UFC title.

“This title fight was supposed to happen a long time ago,” White said. “All the things that happened from injuries, whatever that got in the way — you’ve got two sides of the coin. You’ve got everybody talking about, ‘Dana doesn’t respect this guy and he doesn’t do this and he doesn’t do that.’ I’m showing both of these guys the respect. They want to fight each other. It’s a fight that they both want to happen. Total respect fight. I think they both deserve it.

“At the end of the day, I get it. Everybody wants to see Tom Aspinall, but let me tell you what, after Stipe and Jon fight, whoever wins, the Aspinall fight is even bigger.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

submitted by /u/TimW001 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC interim titles aren’t exactly rare, but rarely are those belts ever defended.

At UFC 304, Tom Aspinall became just the third interim champion in UFC history to defend that title, joining Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Renan Barao who faced similar situations in the past. Prior to Aspinall dispatching Curtis Blaydes in just 60 seconds at UFC 304, the last time an interim title was defended was Barao all the way back in 2013.

In Barao’s case, he was stuck waiting for an injured Dominick Cruz to return, but Cruz never did in a timely fashion so the Brazilian was eventually just declared the undisputed champ. For Aspinall, he’s largely holding onto the interim title because reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones was injured with torn pectoral muscle, but perhaps more importantly now, it’s that Jones’ next fight most likely comes in November against Stipe Miocic.

While Aspinall didn’t blink when UFC asked him to face Blaydes in July, he’s simply not interested in becoming the longest reigning interim champion in promotional history. That’s why Aspinall is throwing down the gauntlet when it comes to his next fight — and he’s not concerned as much about who he’s facing, but rather what is on the line.

“I don’t know what’s happening [next],” Aspinall told MMA Fighting. “That’s kind of out of my hands. All I know is my next fight’s going to be for an undisputed title. That’s it. I won’t do anything else.

“My next fight, I’ll fight anybody as always, as I’ve done throughout my whole career — you can ask any of the UFC matchmakers that — but right now, I’m the best UFC heavyweight in the world and I’m fighting for an undisputed title next.”

Following UFC 304, UFC CEO Dana White said the promotion would be crazy not to have Aspinall set as the backup fighter for the Jones vs. Miocic bout expected later this year.

While some fighters have bristled at taking on a backup role rather than just getting a title fight, don’t count Aspinall among them. At this point, he can’t imagine a single scenario where he would back down from the chance to face Jones or Miocic in the octagon.

“Yep, I’ll be there. I’ll do that,” Aspinall said about being the backup fighter. “I’d fight them guys on an hour’s notice if they needed me to.

“Listen, I could beat both of these guys, no problem. If I’ve got to do it on a day’s notice, I can do it. Easily. So I’ll be there and savor the opportunity if it presents itself.”

Aspinall isn’t cocky but rather confident in the work he’s shown throughout his UFC career to put himself in a position to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

He may have to share a part of UFC’s heavyweight championships with Jones right now, but Aspinall has zero doubts he’s the best regardless of the interim tag affixed to his belt.

“I am the best,” Aspinall said. “I beat all the contenders. That means I’m the best. To me, that means I’m the best. You beat all the contenders, you’re the best in the world, and that’s it.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Jack isn’t happy
| BJPenn.com

The lightweight champion is still looking for a more interesting opponent than current No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan.

Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is once again picking on featherweight fighters.

Since winning the 155 pound belt, Makhachev has fought former 145 pound champion Alexander Volkanovski twice, and now he says he’s open to fighting another 145er in Max Holloway.

Holloway is scheduled to fight Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi — a card that was originally supposed to feature Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan. But an Islam hand injury scrapped that, and now Mak sees Max as a potential better option than Arman.

“Why not?” he said of a Holloway fight at a recent Q&A session. “I already beat Arman. If UFC puts him next, that’s no problem. But, I’m not excited much [by Tsarukyan]. I need new name, new challenger. I already beat Arman.”

“If Max wants, let’s do it. I don’t need his BMF belt, but Max is a good name. It’s going to be a crazy fight for the fans. If he beats Topuria — this is a hard match-up for him. If he beats him and UFC wants this match? Let’s go.”

It seems like Makhachev is always willing to challenge these smaller fighters with bigger names, rather than discuss fights at his own weight class. It’s something Max Holloway has called him out for in the past.

“I saw Islam talk about, ‘Oh, this fight makes no sense,’ and blah, blah, blah,” Max said leading up to UFC 300. “Brother, you should’ve fought Justin in February.”

That being said, Holloway does has his eye on Makhachev’s belt.

“If I can go out there and get my hand raised like we plan on doing, there’s a lot of fights that can be there for us. And one of them being the 155 champ, which I think would be a fun one.”

MMAmania.com – All Posts

submitted by /u/TimW001 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Monday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.

Ariel Helwani calls in from Paris to break down all the action and storylines from a busy combat sports weekend with Eric Jackman and Conner Burks, plus much more. The gang recaps UFC Abu Dhabi and Crawford vs. Madrimov, plus debates what’s next for the big winners, including Umar Nurmagomedov, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Terence Crawford. Next they react to the announcements for UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, headlined by Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway. Finally, Ariel checks in with the Parlay Boys and GC recaps his picks.

For latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts