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Michael Chandler may be sticking to his guns and patiently awaiting a fight with UFC star, Conor McGregor, however, that hasn’t stopped the Missouri native from chasing a future title challenge with incumbent gold holder, Islam Makhachev.

Chandler, the current number six ranked lightweight contender, remains sidelined since 2022, in a period which saw him compete an impressive five times inside the Octagon since his debut in the organization just the January of the year prior.

Awaiting a long-drawn out fight with former two-weight champion, McGregor, Chandler, a former three-time Bellator MMA lightweight kingpin has yet to fight since he dropped a third round rear-naked choke loss to recent UFC 299 victor, Poirier at Madison Square Garden in the pair’s grudge match.

Competing for a lightweight crown during that five fight stretch, Kill Cliff FC staple, Chandler – who has proven a favorable asset to the Dana White-led organization, was stopped with a brutal come-from-behind knockout from Charles Oliveira in the pair’s vacant title pairing. 

Islam Makhachev receives warning from Michael Chandler

Maintaining he is the kryptonite to current champion, Makhachev due to his own wrestling pedigree, Chandler claimed he still plans to stand across from the Russian in the near future in another title siege.

Thanks for the unsolicited advice @MAKHACHEVMMA – I sleep just fine at night… I have a plan and you’re part of it, champ,” Michael Chandler posted on his official X account today.

Himself yet to make the walk since October of last year, pound-for-pound king, Makhachev has been sidelined since he ended his rivalry with Alexander Volkanovski with a hellacious opening round high-kick KO win.

Turning down a UFC 300 return in a monstrous main event welterweight title charge against Leon Edwards due to his participation in the religious period of Ramadan, Makhachev has sights on a June return to the Octagon, instead.

And in terms of potential opponents, the American Kickboxing Academy has sounded out a fight with the aforenoted, Poirier – who is fresh from a KO win over Benoit Saint-Denis earlier this month – candidly taking notice of his patented guillotine choke chases.

Who wins in a potential future fight: Islam Makhachev or Michael Chandler?

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Conor McGregor appears to be a little frustrated with how his return to the UFC is going.

It’s been nearly three years since MMA fans last saw McGregor in the octagon, when he snapped his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. After a long recovery process, McGregor was teased to be returning in 2023, even coaching The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler, setting up a rumored fight between the two in December. It never happened. Nor did the rumors of that same fight happening in January, nor will it happen at UFC 300. Most recently, McGregor claimed he will return at International Fight Week this June, but UFC CEO Dana White has consistently shut down any specifics as to a McGregor return.

All in all, it’s been a puzzling situation, where the biggest star in the sport wants to return but for some reason has yet to do so. Speaking with The Mac Life while on the red carpet for the premier of his new movie Road House, McGregor himself seems to be a little frustrated with what’s happened, saying he’s repeatedly prepared for a fight only to have it no come through, leading to a loss of interest on his part.

“I’m wrapping up this tour, I’ve got St. Patrick’s Day festivities going, and then I’m going to get back and regroup,” McGregor said. “I’m going to test myself physical-wise on the treadmill and do the round test and go about the McGregor Fast way, and get myself right back.

“I had a camp in Cannes, the south of France, I had a camp in Dubai, world champions training with me where I was hoping for a December date, then a January date, then it keeps getting pushed back, then I lose interest and stop training for a while. Not stop training, I’m always training, but stop full training and [start] drinking a little bit. So I’m going to go back, regroup, get full tested, and get ready to rock. The date’s going to come and then I’ll be ready to rock.”

With International Fight Week set to take place in Las Vegas on June 29, McGregor could still make his previously stated timeline. However, UFC CEO Dana White seems to think that a fall return is more likely. And when he does return, it still appears that Michael Chandler will be the opponent, as the former Bellator lightweight champion continues to sit out and wait for his shot at McGregor.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Sean O’Malley has made up his mind. He wants Merab Dvalishvili next.

At UFC 299, O’Malley put on one of the best performances of his career, dominating Marlon Vera to retain his UFC bantamweight title. After his big win, O’Malley immediately called for a shot at newly crowned featherweight champion Ilia Topuria, before later adding, “If you guys want me to knockout Merab, I’ll do that too.” Well, nearly a week removed from his performance, O’Malley seems to have shifted his focus to Dvalishvili, calling for him next and teasing a “legendary” 2025 to come.

With Dvalishvili currently on a 10-fight winning streak, UFC CEO Dana White even suggested the Georgian contender was the obvious next choice of opponent for O’Malley after Dvalishvili dominated former champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 298. Even so, O’Malley repeatedly made his interest known in jumping up to face Topuria ahead of UFC 299, or in a boxing superfight.

All of it has frustrated Dvalishvili, who responded to O’Malley on Friday, taking umbrage with the idea that he may have to wait another year to get a shot at the title.

When the two do finally lock horns, be it this year or next, the bout is sure to be among the most anticipated on the calendar, given their stature in the bantamweight division and the rivalry between O’Malley and Dvalishvili’s team.

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Rematch
| BJPenn.com

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

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

It’s tough to get a read on Francis Ngannou’s boxing abilities.

On one hand, he knocked down Tyson Fury and nearly won a split-decision. On the other, Anthony Joshua scored a flawless victory over “The Predator,” knocking him down three times in just two routes en route to a brutal knockout win (watch highlights). It’s difficult to know just how much of Ngannou’s success against Fury came due to the champion being ill-prepared, or it could just be that Joshua came in with the right game plan and executed perfectly.

Really, it all comes down to the relatively small amount of time in the ring for Ngannou, who never competed in the amateur ranks before that debut against Tyson Fury. Perhaps that’s why analyst Teddy Atlas is now labeling Ngannou an “amateur” boxer after his knockout loss. Unlike Fury, Joshua was able to demonstrate Ngannou’s inexperience and capitalize very quickly.

“He exposed an amateur, because he did in reality,” Atlas said on his YouTube channel (via MMA Junkie). “I know the great performance against Fury, I explained that, it was great, but that was different. Now he had to react. I even think Ngannou’s confidence hurt him because he thought he could be more aggressive, and he was ready to be more aggressive. He was right in front of him. I thought that hurt him this time because he wasn’t that guy yet.

“He was still an amateur, and we forgot that because of his brilliance performance against Fury. … (Joshua) reminded us he was an amateur, he’s not ready for prime time because he did what a top guy should do. You exposed him. You exposed the things he wasn’t yet.”

Why the massive difference in outcomes and performance? Atlas contributes Ngannou’s success in his boxing debut to the element of surprise, as well as matching up better stylistically with “The Gypsy King.”

“Styles makes fights,” Atlas explained. “Fury’s style was completely different from Joshua’s, that’s No. 1. It does influence fights. No. 2. There was something missing that was there the first time, that helped Ngannou when he fought Fury. That something is the element of surprise. That’s a big something, not a little something. Fury was ready physically, he was, I’m making no excuses. Tremendous job by Ngannou, but Fury wasn’t ready mentally.

“You couldn’t be. It’s almost not human to have really taken him seriously, where every fiber of your body and mind would be ready for what was coming. It was his first pro fight, and you’re the champion of the world.”

After the defeat, Ngannou may be returning to the MMA cage by making his Professional Fighter’s League (PFL) debut. He’s adamant, however, that his boxing career isn’t over yet, and perhaps that third matchup will prove whether or not Ngannou really has something left to offer boxing.

Insomnia

Paulo Costa has reached a new level of trolling.

I could really see this fight going either way. Nasrat Haqparast has the superior kickboxing, but Jared Gordon is an absolute gamer.

This was the exact moment I knew Jack Della Maddalena was going to give Gilbert Burns major problems. His ability to deny an almost-in back mount was so impressive!

If you haven’t seen it, watch it. If you have, enjoy the nostalgia.

Had to laugh at this one!

Merab Dvalishvili responds to Sean O’Malley’s callout and fight timeline:

Bryan Battle’s weight cut doesn’t look like a lot of fun.

Slips, rips, and Cage Warriors clips

A nice display of working an opponent to the fence, feinting, then capitalizing with a multiple-level combination.

Falling off back mount into the arm-across guillotine is a great way to threaten the neck while retaining some control. Anthony Hernandez is really good at it!

Guillotine and d’arce double threat!

Random Land

A baby platypus.

Midnight Music: I have full-on Dune brain.

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

MMAmania.com – All Posts

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Alexandre Pantoja will defend his flyweight title at UFC 301 in a five-round contest against rising prospect Steve Erceg, the UFC announced Friday.

MMA Fighting has learned that both fighters have agreed to the matchup, but have yet to sign bout agreements.

Pantoja (27-5) won and defended the 125-pound championship in 2023 with wins over Brandon Moreno and Brandon Royval, boosting his current winning streak to five.

Erceg (12-1) has won three straight bouts since joining the UFC in 2023, capped off by a vicious knockout of Matt Schnell this past March.

“He’s a tough opponent,” Pantoja said on UFC Fight Pass show Bancada. “He’s tougher than Royval and Moreno for me, because he comes from down the rankings and he has nothing to lose. He’s ranked No. 10 and is fresh in the division. The thing in my favor is that I’m more experienced in fighting, and that will be used by me in the octagon. I can’t make mistakes or underestimate him because he hits hard.”

The company also announced two new matchups for UFC 301. In the middleweight division, Michel Pereira gets a quick turnaround to battle Mahmud Muradov, and former title contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz takes on Iasmin Lucindo in a strawweight bout.

UFC 301 takes place May 4 at the Jeunesse Arena in Pantoja’s native home of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Check the updated lineup below.

• Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg
• Michel Pereira vs. Mahmud Muradov
• Paul Craig vs. Caio Borralho
• Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Iasmin Lucindo
• Anthony Smith vs. Vitor Petrino
• Joaquim Silva vs. Drakkar Klose
• Alessandro Costa vs. Kevin Borjas
• Dione Barbosa vs. Ernesta Kareckaite
• Joanderson Brito vs. Jack Shore
• Elves Brener vs. Myktybek Orolbai
• Jean Silva vs. William Gomis

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Coach Rafael Cordeiro plans on pushing Jake Paul into panic mode when the YouTube star steps inside the ring with heavyweight legend ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson on July 20.

Emanating from the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium, ‘The Problem Child’ will seek his 10th career win inside the squared circle when he meets the “baddest man on the planet” live on Netflix. Preparing Tyson for the encounter is Cordeiro, the proprietor of Kings MMA in California. Before that, he made a name for himself in the MMA world as a Muay Thai coach at Chute Boxe.

“This fight won’t be a massacre, it’s going to be a very technical match, because we have a kid on the other side that can box and isn’t afraid,” Cordeiro told MMA Fighting. “Mike has such heavy hands, and it will be impossible not to touch Jake. Jake will feel Mike’s hands, there’s no other way, and that’s when we’ll have an idea on how the fight will go. It’s going to be interesting to see.”

As a professional boxer, Jake Paul is 9-1 with six of his victories coming by way of knockout.

By the time he steps inside the ring with Mike Tyson, the former unified heavyweight champion will be 58 years old — 31 years older than his opposition. Despite that, Cordeiro believes that Tyson’s iconic power is still there and is confident that Paul will panic once he gets a taste of it.

“Panic — he will panic,” Cordeiro said with a laugh. “That’s the goal. Our goal is to keep Jake in a panic the entire fight. Or for as long as he can take it.”

Rafael Cordeiro Commends Jake Paul’s boxing skills

No official announcement has been made, but according to Cordeiro, Paul vs. Tyson will be a professional boxing match. If that proves to be true, it will be Tyson’s first pro fight since suffering a loss to Kevin McBride in 2005.

Tyson has since stepped inside the ring, competing in an exhibition boxing match with fellow legend Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020. Before going eight rounds with RJJ, Tyson had done very little in the way of training, but, ‘Iron’ has stayed active in the gym ever since.

“Unlike the first camp, [Tyson] won’t be coming off 15 years away [from the ring],” Cordeiro said. “He’s been training ever since, and that makes all the difference. It’s going to be good. We still got four more months for the fight, so he will be ready.”

“There’s the age difference, and there’s the factor that [Paul] is competing more often, but he’s facing someone with enormous experience,” he continued. “Mike doesn’t train for some time, and when he returns, the explosiveness, the movement, it’s like he never stopped. More than who hits the hardest, it’s about the technique. Jake has good boxing. You can’t say otherwise. He’s winning the fights, and his loss is a split decision to a legit boxer, not a MMA champion, and that shows the kid knows how to box.”

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