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While he admits the submission hold was deep, Michael “Venom” Page says he was never concerned about getting choked out by Ian Garry at UFC 303.

Page made the walk inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena at last month’s International Fight Week pay-per-view event, making his sophomore appearance inside the Octagon after swapping Bellator for the UFC in late 2023.

While “MVP” immediately burst into the rankings on debut by getting the better of Kevin Holland in Miami this past March, he was unable to climb further toward his targeted all-English title fight with Leon Edwards on June 29.

Instead, Garry cemented his top 10 spot by narrowly getting the better of the Londoner on the scorecards in the UFC 303 main card opener. The Irishman utilized his grappling to enjoy large periods of control in rounds one and three.

For the most part, Page didn’t appear in danger of getting finished throughout the close fight. He did, however, find himself in a worrying spot during the first grappling exchange, as “The Future” attempted a rear-naked choke.

But although many were surprised to see “MVP” escape the hold, the man himself was less shocked…

Page: Not Getting Choked Out Is One Of My Jiu-Jitsu ‘Superpowers’

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Page looked back on his first UFC setback and failed attempt to blemish the perfect professional record of Garry, a former Cage Warriors champion.

The Brit was specifically asked about the compromising position he found himself in on the ground shortly into the opening round, having no doubt drew out cries of ‘he’s going to tap’ from some fans watching at home.

Page is yet to be submitted in 25 pro fights, and he says that’s for good reason.

“I’m very difficult to choke. In jiu-jitsu, that seems to be one of my superpowers. It’s always hard for people to finish chokes on me,” Page said. “When I got into that position…that was way closer than (against Holland). When I say closer, yeah, it was deep, but there was no way I was tapping and I wasn’t going to sleep either.

“Not to give away anything, but like I said, I am very difficult to choke,” Page continued. “Even in the gym, there’s guys that get me really deep and they’re like, ‘What the f…?!’ Their arms burn out before I tap. So luckily, I’m stubborn in that area. But it was a deep choke (at UFC 303).”

Whether Page will need to prove that once again opposite one of the welterweight division’s top grapplers next time out or will instead be matched against a fellow striker remains to be seen.

But either way, “MVP” has touted his extra motivation since the defeat in Las Vegas and vowed to bounce back as his pursuit of gold continues.

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• Read More: Michael Page Gives Grim Assessment Of Ian Garry’s Title Chances After UFC 303: ‘Leon’s Gonna Kill You…Shavkat’s Gonna Kill You’ 

Continue Reading Michael Page Reveals How Close Ian Garry Was To Getting First-Round Choke At UFC 303: ‘Their Arms Burn Out Before I Tap’  at MMA News.

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At number 1, the one, the only, Mr. Herbert Dean! And this is only counting fights in the UFC, I've seen him ref One events half way across the world on Friday nights. submitted by /u/Agreeable-Pop-535 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

At number 1, the one, the only, Mr. Herbert Dean! And this is only counting fights in the UFC, I've seen him ref One events half way across the world on Friday nights. submitted by /u/Agreeable-Pop-535 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Prediction
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Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Conor McGregor is at it again.

“The Notorious” has been harassing Dustin Poirier on and off for the past few months, going on wild social media posting sprees attacking his past opponent … and Dustin’s wife. The stuff McGregor has written is so gross we’re not particularly interested in repeating it. This time he took a shot at Poirier’s Good Fight Foundation charity.

“Scammers, him and the wife. SCAMMERS,” McGregor wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “BROKE SCAMMER ALERT.”

McGregor was reacting to news that Khabib Nurmagomedov was buying the shorts Poirier had worn at UFC 302 after the winner of a charity auction pulled out.

“Buy the shorts that he quit in in the most important fight of his life #NeverBeen,” McGregor quipped.

This isn’t the first time Conor has trash talked Poirier’s Good Fight foundation, which helps underprivileged families in Dustin’s home state of Louisiana. After their second fight, Mac promised to make a charitable donation of $ 500,000, only to renege on the offer claiming The Good Fight wasn’t being transparent about where the funds would go.

McGregor eventually donated the money to the Boys & Girls Club of Acadiana in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Poirier hasn’t responded to this latest attack, or many of the previous attacks. He did address McGregor’s regular taunting during a new appearance on The MMA Hour.

“He crossed lines you can’t come back from,” Poirier said. “I want to whip his ass.”

“When he does it, like the other day, I saw him say something. And it’s like that’s what he’s trying to bring out of me. He wants me to fire back or something. I just go on with my day. Is it hard? Yeah, because of course I wanna say something right back and try to set up a fight with him. I wanna, but it is what it is, man.”

Insomnia

Kamaru Usman with the super hero fit:

Alex Pereira has some words for Artem Vakhitov, who is trying to get their rivalry going once again.

I love that bears love wrestling.

Is anyone optimistic about a 2024 Dominick Cruz return to action?

Khamzat Chimaev is looking decidedly healthy in this training clip, but I still wouldn’t advise buying into his cryptocurrency.

Should UFC rebook Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree after Rountree’s suspension is up? The fight still makes sense.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

A series of highlights from Liam Harrison, featuring some of his career-best wins:

Throwing a crisp high kick from the back foot like this is so impressive.

Little shots can do a ton of damage if the receiving fighter doesn’t expect/see them.

Random Land

Snow covered by sand.

Midnight Music: Post-punk revival, 2002

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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At number 1, the one, the only, Mr. Herbert Dean! And this is only counting fights in the UFC, I've seen him ref One events half way across the world on Friday nights. submitted by /u/Agreeable-Pop-535 [link] [comments]

MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean Strickland has his sights set on fighting for the UFC middleweight title, no matter what the fans might be clamoring for.

Strickland earned a split decision win over Paulo Costa in the co-main event of UFC 302 this past month. Three weeks later, Robert Whittaker stopped Ikram Aliskerov in less than two minutes in the main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. With Dricus du Plessis and Israel Adesanya headlining UFC 305 in August for the 185-pound strap, the majority of MMA fans believe Strickland and Whittaker should battle it out in a No. 1 contender bout.

After losing the title to du Plessis at UFC 297 in January via a razor-close split decision, followed by earning the five-round win over Costa, Strickland feels as if he’s done enough to get a title shot and shouldn’t need to fight Whittaker to solidify it.

“The thought that Whittaker gets a title shot before me is f*cking wild,” Strickland wrote on Twitter. “Bro, you’re 0-3 [against du Plessis and Adesanya], with a stoppage. I beat both those c*nts.

“Do rankings matter? Do the right thing UFC.”

A fan stated his opinion that Strickland should fight Whittaker in his next bout, and Strickland disagreed. However, the fan-favorite says he’s certainly open to facing “The Reaper,” but he’ll do so after he regains his title.

“He can get it after I win my belt back,” Strickland responded.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Former two-time undisputed bantamweight champion, T.J. Dillashaw has firmly shut down rumors of a return to combat sports off the back of his retirement from fighting back 2022, claiming he is definitely “done”. 

Dillashaw, a former two-time undisputed bantamweight champion, called time on his career in mixed martial arts two years ago following an unsuccessful title challenge against fellow former champion, Aljamain Sterling.

Suffering a flare up of a pre-existing shoulder injury during the early goings of his title charge against the above-mentioned, Sterling, ex-champion, Dillashaw was dispatched in dominant fashion by the Uniondale native, dropping a second round TKO loss in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

T.J. Dillashaw confirms fighting career is definitely over

And still dealing with shoulder issues following a slew of reconstructive surgical procedures, Angels Camp native, Dillashaw confirmed this week that he is “done” with fighting, definitively, amid recent links to a second comeback to the Octagon.

“It’s exciting, and it’s sad at the same time,” T.J. Dillashaw spoke of the bantamweight division during an appearance on the JAXXON Podcast. “Like, I’m f*cking done, you know what I mean? I was forced out of the sport and it sucks. I felt like I had so much more to give still. It is exciting [to watch fights]. But that’s that way I look at it.”

Divulging an update on his shoulder issue, Dillashaw admitted he will likely never regain full strength of it again, describing the lingering injury as “depressing”.

“I can’t even raise my arm up in the air yet,” T.J. Dillashaw explained. “I don’t ever know if my shoulder is ever going to be the same again. It’s f*cking depressing. As a competitor, you have to be delusionally optimistic, but that’s also what got me in this position, too. It’s just gotten worse and worse from each surgery.”

Would you have liked to see T.J. Dillashaw continue his UFC career?

LowKickMMA.com

Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal exceeded the expectations of many when they headlined a boxing event at Honda Center, Anaheim, this weekend. The constant back and forth between the MMA veterans made for an entertaining fight, and rumors around their return to the UFC have already caught fire.

Diaz last fought in the UFC in September 2022, defeating Tony Ferguson via submission. He then fought Jake Paul in August 2023 but lost via decision. After beating Masvidal on the scorecards, he called out Paul and the top UFC welterweights, teasing a return to the promotion.

Tons of fans believed the Ferguson fight was a send-off for Diaz by the UFC. However, Chael Sonnen thinks that returning for another run is feasible for the Stockton native because, well, he’s not Ronda Rousey…

Chael Sonnen Lays Down The Plan For Nate Diaz To Fight Dustin Poirier In UFC Return

Sonnen discussed Diaz’s return to the UFC on his official YouTube channel recently. He started by giving context about UFC contracts and why a star like Rousey could never return properly after losing the belt.

“I maintain for you, one of the things that cost Ronda Rousey her career was not that she was falling down in the first round over and over, it was that her contract was so big, she had to be a main event and it had to be of a pay-per-view just to justify the numbers. And main events of pay-per-views were world title fights, which means as good as Ronda was, and she was very good. She was very good, we just found out how exceptional Amanda Nunes was.”

As per “The American Gangster”, athletes like Rousey get massive contracts that can only be justified with main-event or title fights. So, Rousey struggled to find a place in the UFC when she could no longer fare well against the top women fighters.

The former UFC title challenger then explained how things are different for Diaz. He usually fights in co-main or main events but has the star power to draw viewers without a belt. A great example is his latest boxing bout with Masvidal.

“Nate’s position is going to be different and it’s got to be done. In fact, Jon Anik, one of the Diaz boys’ biggest supporters, knows the same thing to be true that I just said, and has made his suggestion, which is Dustin Poirier. Bring Nate in, get him in there with Dustin, solves every possible problem.”

Sonnen claimed that Dana White intends to organize multiple fights whenever he gives fighters a contract. Diaz seems open to fighting several times upon his UFC return which could make negotiations easier.

“The American Gangster” believes Dustin Poirier, who is potentially looking for an intriguing retirement bout, to be Diaz’s best option upon returning to the Octagon. Amidst the optimism, he also cited that renegotiating a new UFC contract and then choosing your opponent can naturally get complicated.

Hence, Diaz, who’s already 39, might want to hit while the iron is still hot.

Read More: Magomed Ankalaev Continues Persistent Pursuit Of Alex Pereira Post-UFC 303: ‘This Is A Promise…’ 

Continue Reading Chael Sonnen Explains Why Nate Diaz Can Easily Return To UFC, Unlike Ronda Rousey: ‘She Had To Be A Main Event’ at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts