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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Michael Chandler is still training and preparing to fight Conor McGregor at UFC 303.

Despite rampant speculation that the bout capping off International Fight Week 2024 could potentially be in jeopardy after a pre-fight press conference in Dublin, Ireland was scrapped at the very last minute, the former Bellator lightweight champion has every confidence that he’s still preparing for a showdown against McGregor in just a few weeks’ time.

“The fight’s happening,” Chandler told The Pivot podcast. “Where we are right now, there’s a lot of speculation but the fight is on. June 29. It’s happening.”

Considering the rollercoaster that Chandler’s been riding for the past year and a half, it’s understandable why the press conference cancellation had so many people concerned.

McGregor hasn’t fought since 2021 when he shattered his leg in a fight against Dustin Poirier. Less than two years later, he signed on to coach opposite Chandler on The Ultimate Fighter with all signs pointing towards an eventual fight after the reality show finished airing.

Those dates came and went but the fight never got scheduled.

Then McGregor ended up at odds with the United States Anti-Doping Agency after he dropped out of the UFC’s drug testing pool. Under the terms of the program, McGregor had to undergo six months of testing before fighting again, which pushed back the date of the Chandler fight even further.

It appeared like all the doubts and confusion finally washed away when the promotion finally announced McGregor vs. Chandler as the headliner for UFC 303 but then the press conference cancellation had the entire world wondering if perhaps this matchup was just doomed to never happen.

“So I was actually up late that night because the fights were on the East coast,” Chandler revealed about his discovery that the press conference was cancelled. “So I didn’t get into bed until like 12:30, 1 [a.m.] because I wanted to watch Islam [Makhachev] vs. [Dustin] Poirier. Watched that fight so I had probably fallen asleep for maybe 45 minutes, maybe an hour and I woke up to my phone buzzing. It was Hunter Campbell.

“Everyone knows Dana White as the face, but Hunter Campbell is kind of the guy behind the guy, handles a lot of stuff in the UFC and he called me and let me know ‘hey, it’s looking like this thing isn’t going to happen.’ So obviously I laid there and thought about it for quite a while and then the next morning, we got on a call and he said ‘it’s not happening.’”

Once the press conference was cancelled, Chandler remained steadfast that he was still fighting but no one ever came forward with any reason why the event to hype up UFC 303 just got scrapped at the last minute.

McGregor’s statement didn’t exactly instill confidence after he stated that the press conference was called off “due to a series of obstacles outside of our control” but added nothing further.

Regardless of the public perception, Chandler never lost faith because he could have done that dozens of times already after the initial delays in actually booking the fight against McGregor kept getting pushed back.

“A cancelled presser, not that big of a deal, right? It happens,” Chandler said. “But it’s the layers in which if a presser is cancelled, is something else wrong? Is there something going on? Obviously then immediately speculation starts going all over the place in 2024, social media and all that stuff.

“I just kept resting in the fact that I can only control what I can control. I’ve been doing that now for a year and a half with this whole fight.”

While the reason behind the press conference cancellation remains a mystery, McGregor released training footage that showed him hard at work, which seemingly dispelled any rumors that he might be dealing with an injury.

With McGregor’s reputation built around always showing up for a fight, Chandler has every confidence that isn’t going to change with UFC 303 rapidly approaching.

“I do believe that Conor shows up,” Chandler said. “Conor shows up under the bright lights. He lives for these moments.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Dustin Jacoby probably knows Alex Pereira better than most after sharing the ring with the future UFC champion when both competed for GLORY Kickboxing.

While there’s still hope they’ll get to run it back one day in MMA, Jacoby has marveled at Pereira’s fast rise up the UFC ranks, where he’s already claimed titles in two divisions with only 12 fights to his résumé. Pereira’s run feels almost unbelievable given his lack of overall experience and the belief that his wrestling and grappling are nowhere near elite level.

That’s been the running commentary from veteran light heavyweight contender and frequent UFC analyst Anthony Smith, who remains impressed by Pereira’s growing list of accolades despite largely remaining a one-dimensional fighter.

“I stand by everything I’ve said,” Smith told MMA Fighting back in April. “[Daniel Cormier] says it all the time, how is this guy still winning fights? Yeah, I ask the same thing. Because it doesn’t make any sense! He has a very limited skill set. He’s very, very, very dangerous at one thing and he’s mediocre at the rest. … I’m not talking shit about it. It’s impressive.”

Jacoby agrees with Smith, because he’s also stunned at how Pereira continues to steamroll his competition, which now includes a vicious knockout win over Jamahal Hill to cap off the historic UFC 300 card in his first title defense at 205 pounds.

“I tell you what, it’s incredible,” Jacoby told MMA Fighting. “I’m a huge Alex Pereira fan, but there are so many guys at the 185-pound division — because he came into the UFC at 185 — and at 205 [pounds] who I think can beat him, just in the MMA rule set. But he keeps proving us wrong, he keeps knocking everybody out. I am blown away.

“I know he’s a great fighter. One of the best strikers, if not the best striker on the planet today. His left hook is unreal. His striking, his timing, so much power. But you can’t tell me there’s not a guy out there like [Khamzat] Chimaev — like, I feel like Chimaev would just go in there and grab him and throw him down.”

While Pereira has taken offense to Smith’s criticism, Jacoby promises nothing is being said with malicious intent.

But he won’t hide the fact that Pereira has gotten by with one very dominant weapon while still trying to evolve the other parts of his overall MMA arsenal.

“It’s remarkable what he’s been able to accomplish, what he’s accomplished in such a short amount of time,” Jacoby said. “I’m a huge Pereira fan, but I believe there are several guys on the roster at any weight class that could beat him with the right strategy and on the right night.”

Smith previously welcomed the chance to compete against Pereira in anything he wanted, although the conversation almost always drifts back to grappling because that’s a perceived weakness for the Brazilian.

There’s no telling if those two will ever actually face off, but Jacoby expects that Pereira would be in for quite a rude awakening if he actually had to go to the ground with Smith in a fight or a grappling match.

“It’s insane,” Jacoby said. “I don’t understand it. Because a guy like Anthony, people don’t understand how good his jiu-jitsu is. Training with that guy in jiu-jitsu absolutely sucks. It makes you feel like you’re rolling around in a wet blanket and you feel like you’re suffocating the whole time.

“Could Pereira knock out Anthony? Abso-f*cking-lutely, I think he can knock out anybody. But Anthony’s also a guy, if he just went in there and shot and just worked to get it down to the ground and getting it into his world, I could totally see Anthony winning that fight.”

With or without world-class grappling, Pereira continues to run roughshod over the UFC, and Jacoby knows that deserves a standing ovation.

That still doesn’t mean Smith is wrong in his assessment.

“Kudos to him, but Anthony’s right,” Jacoby said. “It’s not that I think he’s dogging him. I think it’s more of a respect [thing], kudos to him.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

New Date
| BJPenn.com

The official promo for Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler was released by the promotion on Friday night, indicating that the highly-anticipated matchup will in fact still take place at UFC 303 later this month in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In case you missed it, McGregor’s return hit a speedbump earlier this week when a pre-fight press conference in Dublin, Ireland was canceled (details HERE). Rumors began to swirl about a possible injury to “Notorious” and whether or not he could compete at UFC 303 as planned. McGregor has never pulled out of a fight before, but he hasn’t fought in nearly three years and needs to make his return fight count.

Luckily, things took a turn for the better just a few days ago as McGregor appeared to be in good spirits. The former UFC double champion even posted some new training footage ahead of his return. Chandler, who has been waiting forever to get his hands on McGregor, confirmed that the “fight is on” during a recent interview.

On Friday, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) took to YouTube to release the official promo video for UFC 303. This would indicate that the fight between McGregor and Chandler is in fact still good to go. If not, it would be pretty silly for the UFC marketing machine to pump out a trailer and continue to promote McGregor’s return.

The official UFC 303 promo can be seen in the above video player.

For more UFC 303 fight card news click here HERE.

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Mirela Vargas is happy to derail the Savannah Marshall hype train.

Marshall, boxing’s undisputed super middleweight champion, makes her MMA debut against Vargas in the main event of Saturday’s PFL Europe 2 event in Newcastle, England. Marshall currently holds the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and The Ring titles in boxing with a professional record of 13-1, having lost only once in the ring to Claressa Shields.

Now Marshall makes the jump to the cage to test herself. Vargas is just 1-2 in MMA, however she feels her background still gives her the edge in the grappling department.

“She’s a boxer, but I won’t let her do her thing,” Vargas told MMA Fighting. “My idea is to smash and pressure her a lot. I will force her to use her strength because it’s hard to use your boxing after you have to grapple hard on the ground. It makes a huge difference, and I’m ready for this.”

Vargas started training Muay Thai at a young age, but first competed when she transitioned to jiu-jitsu. After years of grappling competitions, she decided to join a kickboxing class and ultimately started competed, entering several tournaments in Brazil and around Europe.

“I know it’s going to be a hard fight, but it’s going to be a good one,” Vargas said. “I don’t want to leave it to the judges. I want to finish the fight with a knockout or a submission. I don’t want to leave it to somebody else to decide [the winner]. I want a finish. I want to end it.”

The Brazilian lightweight moves up an extra five pounds for a 160-pound catchweight bout with Marshall, then hopes PFL once again stages a lightweight season for 2025 so she can chase her ultimate goal in the sport.

“Many people don’t know, but fighting for PFL was my dream,” Vargas said. “I never dreamed of fighting for Invicta FC or the UFC, I’ve always wanted the PFL. I want to hold that big million-dollar check. That’s my dream, and I was very emotional when news came that I had signed with them, and I’m going to be the main event.”

Watch Marshall’s recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani below.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

New behind the scenes footage from the UFC’s collaboration with Fight Inc. has shown the moment heavyweight champion, Jon Jones found out he would sidelined for up to a year after suffering a pectoral tendon tear last year, questioning both Dana White and Chief Business Officer, Hunter Campbell’s sincerity.

Jones, a former two-time light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight titleholder, has been sidelined since March of last year, landing the vacant crown with a stunning opening round guillotine choke submission win over former interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane.

And slated to return at UFC 295 back in November in a first outing at Madison Square Garden, Jones was forced from a main event fight with former champion, Stipe Miocic just weeks from the event, after suffering a pectoral tendon tear during training.

Jon Jones learns of injury setback in newly released footage

Releasing a new behind the scenes in association with Fight Inc. called ‘Inside the UFC’ – new unseen footage has revealed Jones receiving the prognosis of his injury setback from the above-mentioned, Campbell – whom he first thinks is joking, before becoming upset.

“You’re lying,” Jon Jones replied to Hunter Campbell who told him he was going to be out for up to a year and would require surgery. “Yeah, I knew it hurt. I knew it hurt. Six months to a year? Six months to a year?”

“Wow, yes sir – yeah – I don’t wanna cry in front of you two,” Jon Jones explained. “This is a lot for me to process right now. I’m sure it’s a lot for you guys, too. I’m gonna go – I’m gonna go. Yeah, it is something that doesn’t usually happen – it’s usually trouble outside of the Octagon, I’m sorry guys.” 

At the time of publication, Jones has indicated he is all but set to return at the promotion’s annual event at Madison Square Garden in November, atop a UFC 309 in a rescheduled title defense against Miocic.

Are you excited to see Jon Jones return later this year?

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts