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Michael Chandler is so confident about beating Conor McGregor that he’s working on a special spirit to celebrate the occasion.

This year’s International Fight Week festivities in Las Vegas will close out with UFC 303, headlined by a mega-sized matchup pitting Irish megastar Conor McGregor against former Bellator MMA champion Michael Chandler in a fight fans have been waiting more than a year to see.

With their high-stakes scrap a few short weeks away, Chandler is feeling as optimistic as ever. So much so that ‘Iron’ is establishing his own celebratory drink to send his comrades once he bags the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career.

“So Michael Chandler, dude I told you this guy is confident, I got a message and it’s a video of Mike and I’m pretty sure it went out to a lot of people and it said, ‘What’s up guys, see you at the top on June 29th, I want you to have a drink with me.” Daniel Cormier revealed on his YouTube channel.

“It’s the beat Conor McGregor (drink). And he said ‘Put your address in this text message and I’m sending you out a mixture of drinks to make for when I knock out Conor McGregor.’ It’s a list of ingredients that he’s sending to your house to make sure that when he knocks out Conor, he wants Instagram videos of people drinking this drink. It’s a very creative thing” (h/t BloodyElbow).

Michael Chandler joins the alcohol game, invests in hiatus tequila

In late 2023, Chandler invested in Hiatus Tequila, a brand founded five years ago and in collaboration with third-generation Tequila makers La Cofradía, near the town of Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico. At the time of their partnership, Hiatus was already available online and in 44 states, including Florida, New York, Illinois, and Tennessee.

With Chandler on board, the organization hopes to expand its footprint to those within the MMA community.

“I’ve always been a fan of Hiatus Tequila’s commitment to traditional methods and its naturally clean, complex flavors,” Chandler said in a press release. “I’m excited to be a part of the Hiatus family and help bring the brand’s exceptional Tequila to a wider audience. Everyone asks me how I got to where I am in my career; there is no true silver bullet other than my values of hard work and dedication.

“With this partnership, my core values will ring true. I am not just an MMA fighter but a true businessman. I look forward to helping Hiatus Tequila grow by getting out into the market, meeting the fans and educating them on what I believe is the best Tequila on the planet.”

Of course, when it comes to premium spirits, Conor McGregor is no stranger. After developing his popular brand of Irish whiskey, Proper No. 12, ‘Mystic Mac’ sold the company to Proximo Spirits for a staggering $ 600 million. McGregor still serves as a spokesperson for the brand.

He is also the proprietor of Forge Irish Stout which is currently served in his pub, The Black Forge Inn, in Dublin.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Leon Edwards’ next main event has plenty of up-and-coming European talent backing it up.

On Wednesday, the UFC announced a trio of new bouts for the July 27 UFC 304 pay-per-view event in Manchester, England, which is headlined by a rematch between welterweight champion Edwards and Belal Muhammad.

Undefeated heavyweight Mick Parkin (9-0) is set to take on Lukasz Brzeski (9-4-1, 1 NC). Parkin has won all three of his UFC fights so far, putting him into a tie for the longest win streak in the promotion’s heavyweight division alongside Alexander Volkov and Karl Williams.

Also officially added to the July 27 lineup are bantamweight bouts between Caolan Loughran (9-1) and Ramon Taveras (10-2), and Shauna Bannon (5-1) and Ravena Oliveira (7-2-1).

Loughran looks for his second UFC win after defeating Angel Pacheco this past March, while his fellow Irish prospect Bannon seeks her first win inside the octagon.

See the updated UFC 304 lineup below (bout order still to be finalized):

Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad

Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes

Paddy Pimblett vs. Bobby Green

Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape

Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze

Molly McCann vs. Bruna Brasil

Nathaniel Wood vs. Daniel Pineda

Caolan Loughran vs. Ramon Taveras

Mick Parkin vs. Lukasz Brzeski

Shauna Bannon vs. Ravena Oliveira

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Kamaru Usman vs. Conor McGregor for the UFC welterweight title? Usman says it was a possibility.

And according to him, McGregor wanted no part of it.

On an episode of the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman’s co-host Henry Cejudo asked the former champion about comments recently made by Conor McGregor on a live Q&A. Usman was shown a clip of McGregor insulting him and disregarding him as a competitor, calling Usman “a bum.”

Usman responded by claiming that during his reign as welterweight champion from 2018-2022, he offered McGregor a shot at his belt and “The Notorious” declined.

“If you wanted the opportunity to fight me, I gave Conor two opportunities to fight me,” Usman said. “Two opportunities, while I was champion. I gave him two opportunities to fight me. I told him, ‘Hey, if you want a crack at that third belt, who better?’ I was on the run that I was on, who better that he could come up and fight. He talked about it, he bounced back and forth, when he wanted to make his return he said, ‘Yeah, maybe I’ll go up and grab the third belt.’

“It is what it is, Conor. If you wanted to fight, you had your opportunity, but you didn’t. So to call me a bum is kind of disrespectful and I didn’t disrespect you when you were having your troubles, so I think it’s sometimes easier and it’s better-well, it’s not easier-it’s better that you put that whisky bottle down and actually come back to your wits and be a good father and a good role model.”

During Usman’s reign, McGregor spent much of his time preparing for a massive crossover boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., while also dealing with a litany of outside the cage issues including a suspension in 2018 after being involved in a post-fight brawl following a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 and two allegations of sexual assault in 2019.

Usman successfully defended his title five times before dropping it to Leon Edwards at UFC 278 in August 2022. He said that he has no problem with fighters issuing personal attacks to sell fights, but outside of promotion he doesn’t understand the need for unnecessary beef.

“If you’re trying to sell a fight, reserve it for that,” Usman said. “Do what you need to do to sell a fight. Because I’ve been in some of the most tumultuous fights there was. I fought Colby Covington, who left nothing in the kitchen when it came to promoting that fight, and he did. He said everything he needed to say. He cursed me, he said something about my family, something about my daughter, he said everything that he needed to say. But at the end of the day I understood that it was about him promoting the fight and we went in there and we settled it. Conor and I don’t have a fight on the table.

“What you need to be worried about is Michael Chandler because Michael Chandler’s training. Conor, you need to put that whisky bottle down and you need to get to training. This is not the time, this doesn’t call for you trolling. Why are you trolling me? I have nothing to do with you. When I was champion, I gave you an opportunity and you declined. You went silent. You didn’t say a word.”

Usman went on to call McGregor’s habit of diminishing other fighters’ accomplishments “disgraceful.” He warned that McGregor, who turns 36 in July, needs to be fully focused for his return to the cage when he fights Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29.

If McGregor is off his game, Usman predicts a knockout win for Chandler.

“I’m no hater, I’m a realist,” Usman said. “Conor—Well, Conor McGregor that we grew to know and like in this sport and respected in the sport of martial arts has real skill, and if that Conor McGregor somehow emerges again, it’s a tough night for almost anybody in his weight division.

“But Michael Chandler is the real deal. We saw that Michael Chandler puts hands on you, chances are you might wake up asking what happened. So if Conor’s not prepared and he goes in there playing around, Michael Chandler will—They might have to bring some smelling salts for [McGregor] in that fight.”

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Conor McGregor makes his octagon return on July 29th in the UFC 303 main event against Michael Chandler.  The event has already set the record for the highest gate in the promotion’s history and it’s a month away.  

When the former two-division champion steps into the octagon at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas against Chandler, it will have been more than three years since he last fought.  He broke his leg in the closing seconds of the first round in his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.    

Fully healed and film obligations out of the way, McGregor says he’s ready to get back to doing what made him a household name.  Wanting to fight three times this year, McGregor anticipates that he’s about to ‘go on a tear.’  

“I’m ready to go.  I’m calm.  I’m composed.  I’m cold in the soul for this man and this whole thing.  I’m coming back with a vengeance, and I’m coming back with skill,” McGregor told TheMacLife.  “I’m excited to show my skills.  I’m in a great place mentally, physically, spiritually.” 

“He has his set movements, his set patterns he moves in, and his set shots.  I’m aware of them, and I’m preparing for a multitude of outcomes and just getting myself as ready as I can be.  And I’m confident all my shots will land,” McGregor continued.  “I’ve got June 29th, and I’m going on a f***ing tear.  I’m going on a tear here.  God willing.  God willing, I’m going on a tear here.”  

The bout will take place in the welterweight division.  Chandler has also had a long layoff heading into the event.  He last fought at UFC 281 in November 2022.  Ironically, he too lost to Poirier in his last octagon appearance.  

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Finally
| BJPenn.com

The UFC featherweight champion has big plans for his future, and they involve beating new BMF champ Holloway and fighting McGregor in the home of Real Madrid FC.

New UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria is lining up his future opponents, and Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski is not included in the list.

Topuria took the belt off Volkanovski with a second round KO of the longstanding champion, and while a rematch was initially discussed, “El Matador” feels like he has bigger fish to fry now.

“I hope to defend the belt with Max Holloway, and then I wanna fight with Conor McGregor, hopefully,” Topuria told Sportskeeda in a new interview. “If [McGregor] wins his upcoming fight, that’s the fight I’m looking for. So hopefully it’s gonna happen.”

McGregor has his own fast-moving plans: he wants to cram three fights into 2024 to make up for lost time: the June 29th fight with Michael Chandler, a headline fight at the Sphere in September for Mexican Independence Day, and then a final bout in December.

Everyone seems to want onto that Sphere show except Topuria, who has a bigger building he wants to fill: the 80,000+ person Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Spain.

“It’s gonna be the biggest fight in the in the MMA history,” Topuria said. “The biggest ticketing, the biggest pay-per-view, the biggest everything. We’re gonna have 80,000 people watching the fight in the arena. Yeah. It’s gonna be in the Bernabeu. When the UFC is gonna arrive in Spain, it’s gonna happen in Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.”

But first, Conor McGregor has to win his comeback fight at UFC 303. While “The Notorious” hasn’t been too complimentary towards Topuria, Ilia avoided burying the Irish sports star when sharing his prediction for June 29th.

“Conor, he’s he’s something special,” he said. “When he goes inside the cage, you never know. Maybe you see a knockout in 15 seconds, or maybe you see he breaks his leg, or someone knocks him out. So you never know. Something you always know is that you’re gonna see something spectacular in the fight. Something’s gonna happen.”

And if it happens that McGregor smashes Chandler, maybe it will set up a Topuria superfight in Spain for 2024 or 2025.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Wednesday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.

1 p.m. ET: We kick off the show by answering your questions in the latest edition of On the Nose

1:40 p.m. ET: Gegard Mousasi discusses his layoff and grievances with the PFL-Bellator organization.

2:05 p.m. ET: PFL star Dakota Ditcheva stops by in studio ahead of her next fight

3 p.m. ET: Paige VanZant and Elle Brooke meet in a virtual faceoff ahead of their fight in Misfits Boxing

3:40 p.m. ET: Boxing promoter Frank Warren talks about the fall out from Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk

4:10 p.m. ET: Lerone Murphy joins us to talk about his big win over Edson Barboza

4:35 p.m. ET: The Parlay Boys look ahead at the combat sports weekend.

For the latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

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