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With UFC 302 on Saturday night, it’s time for a closer look at the top two fights on the pay-per-view main card thanks to the ‘UFC 302 countdown’ video.

Islam Makhachev defends his UFC lightweight title in the UFC 302 main event, and former UFC champion Sean Strickland faces off against Paulo Costa in the co-main event.

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Jon Jones treated a few of his fans to some new swag at the mall.

Whether you love him or hate him — and there are plenty of reasons to land on either side of the fence — the reigning undisputed UFC heavyweight world champion has a reputation for being cordial with fans, whether it be out in public or at an event.

Recently, ‘Bones’ shared a video of him doing some shopping at a local mall when a group of Gen Z’ers came up looking for a handout. According to Jones, they asked the MMA icon to buy them each a $ 100 shirt.

Jones agreed to foot the bill but on one condition.

“Local Albuquerque boys were brave enough to walk up to me and asked me to buy them $ 100 T-shirts at the mall,” Jones wrote on X. “In the Bible, it teaches us to ask and it shell be given to you. I respected the gangster and the bravery to ask so I gave them a proposition.”

We’re not sure which passage in the bible references receiving overpriced apparel for 50 pushups, but good on Jones for making those kids’ day.

Now maybe he’ll give Tom Aspinall his title fight in exchange for 100 squat thrusts.

Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall prepare for separate UFC heavyweight title fights

Despite being the undisputed heavyweight titleholder, Jon Jones seemingly has no intention of fighting current interim champion Tom Aspinall, forcing the UK-based star to become the first fighter in more than a decade to defend an interim belt at UFC 304 in Manchester.

Meanwhile, Jones continues to gear up for his return to the Octagon, slated for November 9 in Madison Square Garden, where he will presumably face consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic, though Dana White and Co. have not yet made an official announcement.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

MMA is freaking fun!

On the latest episode of This is CineMMA, the MMA Fighting movie review get their funny bones tickled as we watch the 2012 comedy “Here Comes the Boom,” starring Kevin James, Henry Winkler, and former UFC champion Bas Rutten.

When disillusioned teacher and former wrestler Scott Voss (James) finds out that a friend needs almost 50 grand to save the school’s music department, he teams up with the eccentric Niko (Rutten) to get himself back into fighting shape in the hopes of making some quick cash. Scott’s inspiring underdog story eventually lands him a chance to fight for the UFC, where the stakes couldn’t be higher.

After a season of episodes filled with doom and gloom, Alexander K. Lee, Jed Meshew, E. Casey Leydon, and special guest Mike Heck have their spirits raised by the heartwarming tale, which also might be the most accurate MMA film ever made.

How does the movie get everything so right? Would Scott Voss actually be a contender in the UFC? And is Bas Rutten the best MMA fighter/actor yet?

Put on your viking helmet and get PUMPED as we answer these questions and more.

New episodes of the This is CineMMA show come out weekly and are available to watch on YouTube, and in podcast form on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever else you find your favorite podcasts. This week’s episode can be heard below.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Khabib Nurmagomedov has a plan for Islam Makhachev at when he faces Dustin Poirier.

Next Saturday, Makhachev puts his lightweight title on the line against Poirier in the main event of UFC 302. It’s Makhachev’s third title defense, giving him a chance to tie the lightweight record (currently held by four different champions), and heading into the bout, Nurmagomedo — Makhachev’s friend and coach, and former lightweight champion — believes that have a decided advantage give his own experience against “The Diamond.”

“Many people underestimate Dustin Poirier,” Nurmagomedov said in a YouTube video documenting Makhachev’s training camp. “I personally fought him, spent three rounds and over 10 minutes with him, and I have a good sense of his strengths and weaknesses. We are working hard on these aspects.”

Nurmagomedov fought Poirier back in 2019 at UFC 242, when Poirier was an interim lightweight champion. While Poirier had some moments in the fight, it ultimately was another dominant performance from the greatest lightweight of all time, as he went on to submit Poirier in the third round. But Khabib hopes Makhachev will be able to improve on his past performance against Poirier when they fight.

“Dustin is very experienced; he’s been in many battles already,” Nurmagomedov said. “Yes, he has lost, but he also has many victories in the UFC, more than 22 or 23 wins. Using our slang, he is a seasoned warrior. You can’t take him lightly. We have great respect for Dustin, but on June 1, he is our opponent. We have a clearly developed plan for the fight, and I believe Islam will follow it. I really hope that Islam will finish him off in the second or third round.”

And while Khabib did not elaborate on what their gameplan is, Makhachev wasn’t as secretive. Also speaking during the video, the UFC lightweight champion kept things simple, noting essentially that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” will be the prevailing idea.

“I think this fight will be beneficial for us to review and build a plan together,” Makhachev said when discussing Nurmagomedov’s fight with Poirier. “When Khabib was preparing for him, we trained together, and I was already involved in the discussion of the fight preparation plan against Dustin. I don’t think the preparation and plan for the fight will differ much because we know Dustin’s strengths and weaknesses.”

UFC 302 takes place this Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

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The last dance?
| BJPenn.com

Last night (Sat., May 25, 2024), in the main event of Misfits Boxing 15, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Strawweight turned Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) boxer Paige VanZant fought to a dreaded split draw against Onlyfans model and social media influencer Elle Brooke from inside NRG Arena in Houston, Texas (watch highlights). Brooke retained her Misfits Middleweight title.

After the fight, VanZant posted to her Instagram that she wants a rematch in August. She is willing to go into enemy territory by fighting Brooke at the O2 Arena in London, England.

VanZant revealed during the broadcast that she signed a multi-fight deal with Misfits Boxing.

“I watched her past fights. I knew it’d be tough. It is what it is. It sets up the perfect rematch,” VanZant said after her fight. “I signed a multi-fight contract for a reason. It looks like we’re going to do it one more time.”

Brooke spoke with Misfits Boxing after the split draw and also recommended a rematch in London.

“Yeah, obviously, I didn’t get the win, but I’m still the champ,” Brooke said. “This was the biggest step up for any influencer. Arguably, I could have won that; it could have gone either way, whatever. But yeah, this isn’t even my home turf. This will be a great fight in London, number two.”

VanZant (0-0-1) has not won a fight in combat sports since 2019 (her last UFC win against Rachael Ostovich). She went 0-2 in BKFC and now has a draw in boxing. Meanwhile Brooke (2-0-1) has been perfect in Misfits Boxing besides the draw.

To checkout the latest and greatest boxing news and notes be sure to hit up our archive here.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Leon Edwards wants Conor McGregor.

This summer, Edwards defends his welterweight title against Belal Muhammad on July 27 at UFC 304 in Manchester, England. That takes place just one month after McGregor makes his long-awaited return to the cage against at UFC 303, and if both he and McGregor are victorious, “Rocky” believes the next logical step is a fight between the two of them.

“One hundred percent. Why not? Let’s give him the opportunity to become three-division world champion,” Edwards said recently on The MMA Hour. “Give me the opportunity to take out a guy like Conor McGregor. New York, that would be perfect. That is the fight. I feel like he’s got to take out Michael, I take out ‘No-one-remembers-his-name’ and we’ll go from there. We’ll go to New York, MSG, let’s go!

“That’s the fight. We’ve got business to take care of, but that’s the fight. That’s what needs to happen and it should happen.”

On top of being the biggest star in MMA history, McGregor is also the first simultaneous two-division UFC champion, holding both the featherweight and lightweight titles back in 2016. However, since then, McGregor’s had a tough road, going just 1-3 over the past eight years. Most recently, McGregor lost his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 when he snapped his leg, a catastrophic injury that has kept him out of action for nearly three years. Now he returns in a 170-pound bout against career lightweight Michael Chandler.

Even Edwards admits this isn’t something he’s spoken with UFC about yet, but insists that if both he and McGregor win this summer, possibilities abound.

“I heard a little noise but nothing to get excited about,” Edwards said when asked about the possibility of the fight happening. “Like I said, we’ve both got fights on our hands that we need to get past first before getting that far in. I have to go out there and take of Belal, he goes out there and takes care of what he needs to take care of, and we’ll go from there.”

And despite his long layoff, terrible injury, and bad run of form lately, Edwards still believes in McGregor. Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking, but the UFC welterweight champion says he’s picking McGregor to look like vintage “Notorious” against Chandler.

“I think he beats him,” Edwards said. “If you watch them stylistically, I feel like Conor is a very sharpshooter, counterstriker, and Chandler plays off his aggression. He likes to entertain the crowd and scrap. He’s too small, as well. I feel like he’s going to walk onto the back hand. It’s going to be a good fight, but I’m favoring Conor for this fight.”

McGregor vs. Chandler headlines UFC 303, which takes place June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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