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The Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor feud lives on.

At UFC 303, McGregor was supposed to make his long-awaited return to the cage in a five-round main event fight against Michael Chandler. However, two weeks prior to the event, McGregor withdrew from the card, citing a broken pinky toe. McGregor’s reason for pulling out of the fight received plenty of criticism, and while former foe Dustin Poirier wants to be give “Notorious” the benefit of the doubt, he agrees with the critics.

“Dude, a pinky toe?” Poirier said on The MMA Hour. “I’ve fought with so many injuries. Like Conor said he fought with a lot of injuries, I’ve fought with a lot of injuries over the years, but a pinky toe doesn’t seem like a reason to pull out of a fight. But also, giving him his respect, I don’t know the severity of it. Did he damage ligaments, is it the muscle in his foot? There’s a lot of stuff going on inside of a foot, there’s a lot of small bones, so I don’t know. If it’s just a pinky toe, I think that’s not a reason to pull out of a fight.”

Poirier and McGregor have a long history together. They first met in 2014 when McGregor knocked Poirier out at UFC 178 at featherweight. Seven years later, the two rematched up a weight class in the main event of UFC 257 and this time, Poirier was the one to knock out McGregor. This set up a trilogy fight at 264, where Poirier once again won, this time when McGregor suffered a devastating leg injury.

While Poirier and McGregor had mostly been on good terms heading into the rematch, things deteriorated prior to the third bout, in part surrounding a promised donation to Poirier’s charity. Then things took a dark turn afterward the bout when McGregor lashed out at Poirier and his family, even threatening to kill Poirier and his wife. Even after the event, McGregor continued to double down on his feud with Poirier, and so given the animosity, “The Diamond” is prepared to run things back with McGregor, should the opportunity arise.

“He crossed lines you can’t come back from,” Poirier said.

“I want to whip his ass. … The other day I saw him say something. He’s trying to bring that out in me. He wants me to fire back. I just go about my day. … [But] of course I want to say something right back and try to set up a fight with him. But it is what it is.”

McGregor still has not fought since his most recent bout with Poirier back in 2021. Poirier, on the other hand, recently fell short in his lightweight title bit, losing by fifth-round submission to Islam Makhachev at UFC 302.

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Abubakar Nurmagomedov, the cousin of Octagon icon Khabib Nurmagomedov, gifted his coach Javier Mendez a well-thought-out piece of memorabilia to commemorate the legendary trainer’s success as both a fighter and a developer of world champions.

Abubakar, who has competed under both the PFL and UFC banners, recently presented Mendez with an engraved knife that was meant to pay tribute to Mendez’s successful combat sports career as well as his role in shaping some of the fight game’s biggest stars over the years.

Today I have a gift. I wouldn’t say it’s ‘Wow’ but I think he will like it. It’s a knife with Javier’s face, our coach, engraved on it. Abubakar Nurmagomedov said in a video on Khabib’s YouTube channel, which you can watch below.

Khabib’s Team Pays Tribue to Javier Mendez’s status as a legendary fighter and trainer

The knife itself had an image of Mendez engraved on it along with the ISKA world champion belt he won in the early 90s.

Nurmagomedov also had Mendez’s many champions engraved on it including Daniel Cormier, Cain Velasquez, and Luke Rockhold.

After his own illustrious career in combat sports came to a close, Mendez began his journey as a trainer, coaching a slew of superstars to fame, fortune, and world titles. Aside from the names mentioned above, Mendez has also worked with the likes of Frank Shamrock, BJ Penn, Cung Le, Josh Thomson, Islam Makhachev, and Usman Nurmagomedov.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Javier Mendez (@akajav)

LowKickMMA.com

One of the biggest fights of the year is set to go down on August 17 at UFC 305 when the Octagon returns to Perth, Australia.

The feud between current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and former two-time titleholder Israel Adesanya has been building for over a year at this point.

Whilst the consensus seemed to be heavily in Adesanya’s favor when the fight was first spoken about this time last year, many have found that the matchup has become more difficult to predict after both men’s recent fights.

A former training partner of Du Plessis’ who is one of the most recognizable names in ONE Championship believes that the champion will be more than a tough test for the returning Adesanya…

Aung La N Sang Points Out Advantages For Dricus Du Plessis Against Israel Adesanya

Aung La N Sang has been one of the poster athletes for ONE Championship for eight years now, having previously reigned as a simultaneous two-weight world champion.

The former middleweight and light heavyweight king, who is set to return on September 6 in Denver, trains out of Kill Cliff FC in Florida, where Du Plessis has also trained in the past.

In a recent interview with The AllStar, “The Burmese Python” weighed in with his thoughts on this fight, speaking about where the champion can cause problems for “The Last Stylebender.”

He pointed out how the physicality of “Stillknocks” and his willingness to walk opponents down could make it a very difficult night for Adesanya.

“For sure, Dricus is my boy. It’s gonna be a good matchup. Styles make fights and Dricus doesn’t care about how good Israel’s kickboxing is, he’s just going to go forward and hit him, you know?

“One thing for sure that I know about Dricus, he’s very very strong physically, very, very strong. If Israel’s not on point, he’s going to have a hard night.”

• Read More: UFC Middleweight Abdul Razak Alhassan Blows Lid On Dricus Du Plessis’ ‘Real’ African Comments: ‘If He Is A True African, He Would Have Understood That…’

Continue Reading ONE Championship Star Breaks Down Du Plessis vs. Adesanya At UFC 305: ‘Dricus Is My Boy…’ at MMA News.

MMA News

The return of Jon Jones may be put on hold once again after the UFC heavyweight champion revealed some damaging news in a recent tweet-and-delete.

‘Bones’ hasn’t competed inside the octagon for over 16 months. The last time we did see the Hall-of-Famer, he just made history by joining an exclusive list of competitors that have held titles in two different weight classes back at UFC 285.

Despite all signs pointing toward him returning to defend his throne against Stipe Miocic later this year, that may no longer be the case. 

According to reports, Jon Jones shared a now-deleted but incredibly worrying post on social media. Instead of revealing a date for his potential comeback, Jones announced that he had suffered an injury — in the form of a mutilated finger.

Jon Jones is injured. The UFC heavyweight champion with a concerning, since deleted tweet this today.

“Getting half my finger cutoff at the Los Angeles Airport.”

Via Jon "Bones" Jones /Twitter #UFC #JonJones #MMA pic.twitter.com/xXPT54pIQh

— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) July 13, 2024

Jones would later go on to delete the post but not before fans began speculating. 

While the post was quite revealing, the 36-year-old later released several more hints to his wellbeing on X, though those messages were more of a challenge to understand.

@bigsevenn7 stop before it starts

— BONY (@JonnyBones) July 13, 2024

Having potentially sustained an injury, a cloud of doubts looms over Jon Jones’ future in the sport.

Related: Jon Jones releases video response to assault allegations

If the rumors are true and Jones has suffered a serious injury, it would leave the heavyweight division even more in the dark than it already is.

Stipe Miocic is waiting on the sidelines for news on his proposed matchup against the New Mexico native — despite not competing for over three years.

Tom Apsinall grew tired of waiting around for Jon Jones and will now defend his interim heavyweight title later this month. The Brit will be on home soil when he rematches Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.

With Jon Jones potentially out for the foreseeable future, itis unclear whether the UFC will convert Aspinall’s interim title into the undisputed championship.

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Jake Paul claimed he was a “crazy motherf*cker” when hinting at a future showdown against Mike Perry in a bare-knuckle fight. “The King of Violence” isn’t buying it.

Just after their boxing match on July 20 was announced, Paul touted his interest in potentially facing Perry in either MMA or a bare-knuckle fight just to prove he could beat the 32-year-old veteran anywhere and everywhere.

“I want to do an MMA fight and I think Perry is actually a good opponent for MMA and maybe bare-knuckle,” Paul said on The MMA Hour in June. “I haven’t thought about it but I’m down.”

While Perry didn’t hesitate to sign up for a boxing match with Paul after Mike Tyson suffered health problems that forced him to delay his own Paul matchup until November, the former UFC fighter-turned-BKFC superstar scoffs at the idea that Paul would actually consider taking off the gloves to fight him with bare knuckles.

“One thing I want to remind Jake over and over again is that he wouldn’t do a bare-knuckle fight,” Perry told MMA Fighting. “Whether he says he would or not, especially after this fight in 10-ounce gloves. He wants to bring it up like ‘boxing is this incredible sport and these hooligans are out there doing this bare-knuckle stuff’ and blah, blah, blah.

“I’m going to beat him with 10-ounce gloves on. He definitely won’t want to do bare-knuckle after that.”

There’s little doubt that Paul would be at a disadvantage going into a bare-knuckle fight against somebody as experienced as Perry, who sports a perfect 5-0 record in BKFC including wins over ex-UFC champs Luke Rockhold and Eddie Alvarez.

An argument could be made that Perry faces a similar uphill battle against Paul in the boxing ring by giving up a lot of size, weight, and experience to the social influencer, who holds a 9-1 record in his professional career.

Perry doesn’t see it that way, but has no problem playing the underdog until fight night.

“I have accolades that the rest of his competitors did not,” Perry explained. “I’m 6-0 in the last couple years. I fought a pro boxer, who had a really good record and a lot of experience in the ring and that was seven two-minute rounds.

“I’ve sparred Jake before for free. He tried to pay me but I told him I didn’t want it. I didn’t want that money back then. I was trying to get more work and more experience but that was back when I was still in the UFC. I’ve just been working towards this and it’s a great opportunity for me and my professional boxing record.”

In the lead-up to the fight, Paul has often predicted that he expects to finish Perry with a vicious knockout, which is exactly how he dispatched his past two opponents in the boxing ring.

Perry pointed out that while Paul may have beat up a pair of journeymen fighters who offered little resistance, it was just three fights ago that Paul went 10 rounds with UFC veteran Nate Diaz. On that night, Paul did score a knockdown on Diaz, but he couldn’t get the finish before ultimately settling for a unanimous decision win.

“He wasn’t able to finish Nate Diaz in a 10-round boxing match,” Perry said. “I know Nate is very durable and I would have to say I am just as, if not more durable than a Nate Diaz is. Nate’s a smart guy. He fought the fight in a slower type of pace. I don’t plan on doing that. I plan on bringing the pain to Jake.

“I’m going to put a pressure style on him, a Mike Tyson brawler style boxing is what I bring to the table. I’m putting pressure. I’m getting inside. I’m slipping side to side and I’m ripping straights and hooks and jabs and body shots. I want to work that body. I want to break his sides down. I want to make him tired of dealing with me and just stop putting that pressure on him, no matter what he does.”

For all the talking and predictions that Paul has unleashed since the fight was announced, Perry remains adamant in his thoughts about how the matchup will play out.

Paul may start strong, but Perry promises he will be the one finishing the fight late.

“I said seventh-round knockout, TKO, if you will,” Perry said. “I’m looking to make Jake take a knee. Fall down, hit him hard, he’s not going to stand still to let me land the best shot I can land. I have to time it. I have set it up. I have to put the pressure on him. I have to wear on him and break him down over time. I’ve got to hit that body, find those lumps on the side of his head and eventually I think by the seventh round if not the eighth, I’d like to finish him in the last round, too.

“I’ve got to stop him. I’ve got to put the pressure, overwhelm him and just give the ref no other choice but to step in and stop me from punching on him.”

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Even in defeat, it’s tough to wipe the smile off Drew Dober’s face.

Despite a disappointing result after an absolutely gruesome cut was opened over his right eye that forced the referee to stop his fight against Jean Silva at UFC Denver, Dober still managed to keep things positive after getting stitched up backstage. The veteran lightweight showed off the aftermath of the gash that cost him the fight while releasing a statement about the loss on Instagram.

“Such an honor to be able to step in there and show off my heart and determination,” Dober said. “Thank you, Denver, and the UFC for these moments and opportunities. There is no shame in failure. Just an opportunity to become a better man.”

In typical fashion, Dober went out looking for the highlight-reel finish as he engaged in a battle with Silva from the first second of the fight until the very last.

There were more than a few moments that showed off Dober’s incredible durability as he absorbed some punishing shots from the Brazilian. With just seconds remaining in the second round, Silva uncorked a wicked spinning back elbow that clubbed Dober and left him on wobbly legs, but the horn sounded before the Brazilian was potentially able to take advantage of the damage done.

By that time, Dober was already dealing with the cut over his eye, which came from an earlier elbow landed by Silva. It wasn’t until the third round when Silva connected with yet another elbow strike that completely split Dober open that referee Herb Dean was forced to pause the contest.

It took the ringside physician only a split second to look at the open wound and determine that it wasn’t safe for Dober to continue, so the fight was stopped.

Still, it was a valiant effort from Dober, who came to put on a show like he always does.

While it certainly wasn’t the result he wanted, Dober did leave Denver with an extra $ 50,000 after earning Fight of the Night honors for the fourth time in his UFC career.

On Sunday, he shared another look at the stitched-up count via Instagram Stories.

@drewdober, Instagram

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