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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

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UFC

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

A week ago, Conor McGregor was all smiles online despite the controversy and questions surrounding his alleged “minor injury.” There was a lot of optimism from McGregor and the general fighting community regarding his upcoming UFC 303 main event versus Michael Chandler, which is supposed to go down on June 29, 2024.

Supposed to.

That booking is looking less and less likely by the minute. The latest report is overwhelmingly negative, strongly hinting that UFC was in need of a new main event option. McGregor himself posted an update (sort of) to his social media, reposting an older video of himself talking about avoiding injury. He explains, “I think the more resistance you train with, the less movement and the more injury. But the less resistance you train with, the more movement and the less injury. So, a band balances itself.”

Accompanying those philosophical training thoughts? A sad emoji and some prayer hands.

Fan fans are viewing this post — which has since been deleted — as an absolutely terrible sign for the UFC 303 main event. Check out some of the reactions to McGregor’s post below:

“Seems pretty clear at this point that Conor McGregor is out and he knows it and would like to inform the fans, except the UFC is preventing him from doing so until they find a way to save the card.”

“So much for the return”

“lol he’s trolling and everyone is eating it up for clicks”

“Can he at least take a Power Slap fight”

“Conor is cooked”

“It’s so over”

“I do not want to hear Conor say the word “injury” before this fight.”

Stay tuned for updates to UFC 303, which seem imminent … one way or another.

Insomnia

Chael Sonnen is 47 years old, but he hasn’t even begun to peak!

I would love to see Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya at UFC 305, and I hope it works out that way.

Can Jake Paul and Sean O’Malley save UFC 303? More importantly — WHO YA GOT?!?

I like that the commentator’s first reaction to the chaos in the ring is a chuckle.

Odd how all the Russian/Muslim fighters I can think of who came through the Jackson-Wink doors were at least one weight class below Kennedy …

The beef between Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez continues.

Move aside boxing, Craig Jones vs. ADCC is shaping up to be my favorite beef of the year.

25-4 ACA Lightweight champion Eduard Vartanyan rides an eight-fight win streak, but he will NOT be signing with UFC.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Ripping body shots on an opponent trapped on the ropes:

Homie definitely has tight hips …

Major airtime on this wild slam!

Random Land

Stand your ground!

Midnight Music: Psych rock, 1967

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Chael Sonnen has a shot at redemption.

This Saturday, Sonnen faces off with Anderson Silva in an exhibition boxing match in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It’s a continuation of their longtime rivalry in MMA, one that defined the early 2010s in the UFC. And though both men are far removed from their athletic peaks — Sonnen is 47 and Silva is 49 — “The American Gangster” still views this as a chance to redeem himself.

“I didn’t know how big this was,” Sonnen said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “I did not know what a thing this was until I got here. Everybody is talking about it. We’ve had boxers coming to our events. I met a guy yesterday who is on the card, he’s an Olympic silver medalist, and he was coming and showing us respect, even though we’re getting ready to do his sport. It’s a big deal out here, I guess that’s all I’m trying to say.

“I have a very legitimate shot of redemption. It won’t just be something I will know, or I’ll send you a text and a couple of us know, there’s a lot of people that are going to watch this fight, and I have a shot to fix my life.”

Sonnen challenged Silva for the UFC middleweight title twice in his career, falling short both times. In their first matchup, which will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer, saw Sonnen dominate the fight until Silva secured a miraculous come-from-behind submission victory in the final round. Their rematch two years later was far less compelling, as Silva stopped Sonnen early in the second round. And Sonnen says that it’s hard to ever get over something like that.

“Sports were such a part of my life,” Sonnen said. “I did them since I was 8-and-half years old. And none of them went the right way. I lost in the state finals, I lost in the national finals, I lost in the UFC finals. There’s counseling and things that are involved when you have those traumatic experiences, of trying, basically, to let yourself know, ‘Hey, that sport is not a big deal. Quit being a baby.’ But as easy as it is to say, it’s not easy to do when I don’t have memories of anything else. I didn’t have social events and friends and sleepovers and things like this. I was always at practice. So when it doesn’t go your way, it’s one of those things that sticks with you. It would be a massive opportunity to fix it.

“I remember Rashad Evans lost five fights in a row, it might have even been six. He left the UFC and he came back in Eagle [FC] and it wasn’t widely attended, but he knew. He knew that he had stopped the losing streak — not only did he win the fight, but he won every round and he could feel good about himself and was proud of himself. That might sound like a small deal but it’s a massive opportunity, and I’ve got it.”

Sonnen is not the first fighter to covet an opportunity like this. Former opponent Tito Ortiz famously got a third crack at his longtime rival Chuck Liddell 12 years after their second encounter, and Ortiz exacted his revenge with a first-round knockout. Sonnen doesn’t view this as exactly the same, but he admits that winning on Saturday will still be a happy moment for “The Bad Guy.”

“Yes [it would soften the blow of the earlier losses]” Sonnen said. “It wouldn’t replace those two fights. Those happened and it’s not just about who can beat who up and things like this. The most important part of our sport is time. Can you beat the guy at a certain time?

“So no, I would not make believe that if I got the jump on him, I’m going to grab the mic and cut a Tito-Chuck-esque type speech. I realize what the stakes were and I realize that they’re not there now. But yes, inside and internally, yeah. And I’d stop by Cleveland to see the guy [I lost against] from NCAA and I’d stop by Medford to see the guy [I lost against] from high school state if I had the opportunity.”

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The positivity that the UFC once had regarding Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon is “nowhere to be found.”

During Wednesday’s edition of The MMA Hour, host Ariel Helwani once again expressed doubt over whether or not the Irishman’s “greatest comeback in combat sports history” would actually happen. The week prior, everything appeared to be all systems go with Helwani reporting “great positivity” that the fight between McGregor and fellow TUF coach would headline UFC 303 on June 29 as advertised.

That no longer appears to be the case as a series of reports recently claimed that the promotion was putting out another round of “feelers” to come up with a “Plan B” in the event McGregor vs. Chandler is axed.

Optimism is ‘Not Very High’ on Conor McGregor’s Return at UFC 303

“On Monday of last week, I would say optimism level was not very high,” Helwani said on his show. “There was some concern, there was some doubt, there were road blocks. I came on this show on Wednesday and said optimism was high. There was great positivity, all those words I used. It felt like we had dodged a bullet, it felt like we had turned a corner.

“On Tuesday, I reported that the UFC was sending out feelers, they were reaching out to fighters and managers to see who could possibly be available to either replace the fight — meaning two new fighters — or step in and replace one of the fighters involved to fight on this card. Obviously the fighter we’re talking about is Conor McGregor, because if not, why would Chandler be ready to go on a plane to Dublin?

“So I said that it seemed we were all good, and by Wednesday, no feelers were being thrown out, no one was talking about this, really. It seemed as though all systems were a go.

“Yesterday morning I started to hear — as I continued to check in because I know there’s a lot of anxiety, a lot of doubt, a lot of concern about this because it’s such a big fight and because no one involved are speaking about this publicly, Chandler did the one interview and I think that squashed some concern, but no one is really talking about this — and I found out, via multiple sources, that they are reaching out to people again.

“They are reaching out to managers, they are reaching out to fighters, as potential replacements, as a new fight, as backups, as someone stepping in for McGregor, or just as insurance. Just in case. All these things are in play.

“One step further, here we are, Wednesday, 1:15, the positivity that I talked about exactly one week ago today is nowhere to be found. I would say this fight is very much in limbo. I would say it’s hanging on and the UFC is working very, very hard right now to figure out a Plan B. The Plan B could be someone stepping in to fight Chandler, the Plan C could be a whole new fight.”

As it stands, neither McGregor, Chandler nor the UFC have offered any explanation for why the fight could be in jeopardy. However, a report from MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin did confirm with sources that the fight appears to be in doubt due to an issue with McGregor, the likeliest scenario being an injury.

LowKickMMA.com

Following his UFC 300 win over Jim Miller, Bobby Green used his time on the microphone to call out Paddy Pimblett.  Pimblett responded accepting the challenge, and UFC matchmakers booked the fight.  The two clash on the UFC 304 main card on July 27 in Manchester, England.  

Green (32–15–1, 1 NC) will enter the bout ranked fifteenth in the 155-pound rankings.  A win would put Pimblett (21-3) in the rankings and extend his winning streak to eight consecutive fights.  Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo gave his prediction for bout’s outcome on his YouTube channel and was surprised Pimblett accepted the match.  

“I’m actually surprised Paddy Pimblett took this fight, but it was about time.  It’s his sixth fight and now it’s time for him to fight somebody that’s actually worth a damn,” said Cejudo.  

“Bobby Green is dangerous, not just with his striking, but his takedown defense.  If Paddy Piimblett can not take this dude down, if it just comes down to the feet, this man right here (Bobby Green) is going to pack him up,” Cejudo continued.  “I’m going with Bobby Green because I just feel like it’s too much.  I guarantee you the UFC put the pressure on a guy like Paddy Pimblett.  ‘Hey man, you’ve got to fight somebody.  We can only promote you for so long before people just start getting sick of you.’  I think that’s the position they’re on to.  

“I just think, Bobby Green, his striking is just too damn good.  His takedown defense is too damn good.  And I just feel like that’s where the fight’s going to go then I have to go with the guy that has better striking.  So, I’m betting the house on Bobby Green.”  

UFC 304 takes place at Co-Op Live.  It will be the firth time the fight promotion has held an event in Manchester.  The fight card is headlined by a welterweight title bout between champion Leon Edwards and second-ranked Belal Muhammad.  The interim heavyweight championship is on the line in the co-main event with interim titleholder Tom Aspinall defending the belt against fourth-ranked Curtis Blaydes.            

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

MMA Fighting has PFL 4 results for the Moldavsky vs. Vassell fight card and more from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Thursday night.

In the main event, heavyweights Valentin Moldavsky and Linton Vassell face off in a trilogy bout. Moldavsky won the first meeting in 2019 via unanimous decision, while Vassell won the 2023 rematch via first-round knockout. Both of those bouts occurred in Bellator.

Dakota Ditcheva and Chelsea Hackett compete in a women’s flyweight contest in the co-main event.

Check out the PFL 4 results below.

Main card (ESPN/ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET)

Valentin Moldavsky vs. Linton Vassell

Dakota Ditcheva vs. Chelsea Hackett

Denis Goltsov vs. Thiago Santos

Liz Carmouche vs. Kana Watanabe

Prelims (ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET)

Taila Santos vs. Jena Bishop

Oleg Popov vs. Davion Franklin

Marcelo Golm vs. Tyrell Fortune

Ilara Joanne vs. Shanna Young

Tim Johnson vs. Danilo Marques

Juliana Velasquez vs. Lisa Mauldin

Saray Orozco vs. Sumiko Inaba

MMA Fighting – All Posts