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If the UFC can’t find him a fight, Conor McGregor will play matchmaker himself.
The former two-division champion has been involved in a public spat with UFC President Dana White about fights offered and fights accepted over the past few days. But now the Irish superstar is taking it upon himself to land suitable opposition.
It all started with McGregor sending a message to former opponent and fellow top ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier.
Former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler has signed with the UFC, and while he doesn’t have a fight yet, his first could be epic.
UFC president Dana White on Thursday said on “SportsCenter” on UFC broadcast partner ESPN that Chandler (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is now in the UFC and that he will serve as a backup and potential replacement for the UFC 254 main event between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and interim champ Justin Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC).
Tony Ferguson won’t be fighting Dustin Poirier or anybody else at UFC 254.
That’s according to UFC president Dana White, who just days ago teased that Ferguson had been offered a new opponent after the promotion failed to come to terms with Poirier on a deal to fight on Oct. 24 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
At the time, White was confident Ferguson would accept the opponent the UFC offered him, which sources later confirmed to MMA Fighting was former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler, who signed with the organization earlier this week.
Anthony Johnson is one step closer to his UFC return.
The former light heavyweight title contender has officially re-entered the promotion’s anti-doping program through the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Stipe Miocic wants to make one thing crystal clear — he absolutely wants to fight.
The problem facing the UFC heavyweight champion is a matter of bad timing. First, he was forced to undergo a procedure to repair a torn retina following his rematch with Daniel Cormier last year that put him out of action for several months.
Then just when Miocic started to get his full range of vision back as he returned to training for a proposed trilogy against Cormier, the coronavirus pandemic swept the country and he was forced to follow stay-at-home orders with gyms across Ohio being shut down by order of the governor.
Since that time, Miocic has said numerous times that he plans to fight again as soon as he’s able to put together a training camp but that hasn’t stopped a long list of heavyweights from criticizing him for not returning sooner.
UFC 249 has been cancelled and all upcoming UFC events have been postponed indefinitely.
The stunning reversal comes just days after UFC president Dana White confirmed plans to move forward with events starting with the card planned on April 18. The UFC has now decided to postpone all of its upcoming shows with no timeline for when the promotion will return to action.
Personal tragedies led to the withdrawal of ex-UFC champ Rose Namajunas from UFC 249, her manager said on Thursday.
One day after her reported withdrawal for “undisclosed reasons,” Namajunas’ rep issued a statement via Instagram to clear the air. He said Namajunas lost two family members as the result of the coronavirus and asked fans for their privacy.
Justin Gaethje may be stepping on short notice at UFC 249, but he’s confident that if he connects, it’ll be game over for Tony Ferguson.
Gaethje (21-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) faces Ferguson (25-3 MMA, 15-1 UFC) at an unknown location for the UFC interim lightweight title after champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was forced off the card due to the travel restrictions currently imposed in Russia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’ll be Gaethje’s first shot at UFC gold, and the former World Series of Fighting champion has looked better than ever, finishing each of his last three opponents in the first round. He knows the durable Ferguson won’t be an easy challenge, but Gaethje is riding a ton of confidence from his recent results, and aims to put Ferguson away.
Chan Sung Jung, otherwise known as The Korean Zombie, wants to make sure everyone is on an even playing field.
The 33-year-old South Korean fighter has climbed the UFC featherweight ranks after picking up back-to-back first round finishes over Renato Moicano and Frankie Edgar. Although he hopes for a title shot in his next bout, Jung will be out of action, at least, until the summer after opting to undergo eye surgery.
While the world is in a state of confusion due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Korean Zombie has decided to use this time to educate fans. In a new video, Jung — with help from Road FC fighter pulled back the curtain on ways fighters can cheat during pre-fight weigh-ins.
Brazil has more than 12,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, and it now includes Bellator fighter Erick Silva and his family.
Silva opted to self-quarantine with his wife’s family at their beach house in March after most of the cities around the country started to impose lockdown measures and close non-essential services due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
His wife Isabela, who gave birth to their second son Carlos in late 2019, started to get sick days later.
The UFC will crown a new interim lightweight champion once again.
After undisputed lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov ended up stuck in Dagestan – and forced out of UFC 249 – due to his home nation’s travel ban, the promotion swiftly found Tony Ferguson a new opponent, in the form of top contender Justin Gaethje.
As well as being a replacement main event, the fight will also feature a replacement title, with UFC president Dana White announcing that Ferguson’s tussle with Gaethje would be for a newly-instituted interim 155-pound title. White said making the replacement matchup was an easy task.
UFC women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will not be defending her belt at UFC 251.
Her flyweight title defense against Joanne Calderwood, slated for June 6 in Perth, Australia, is on hold because of an undisclosed injury, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity since the UFC has yet to make an announcement. The fight is expected to be rescheduled, although a date to rebook hasn’t been set.
Calderwood first revealed the development Tuesday in an interview with MMA Fighting.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones was arrested by Albuquerque Police early Thursday morning for aggravated DWI as well as negligent use of a firearm.
According to arrest records obtained by MMA Fighting on Thursday, Jones was picked up just past 1 a.m. local time and based on booking information, he’s already been released from custody. He is due back in court on April 8 for a bond arraignment hearing, per Bernalillo County district attorney spokesperson Michael Patrick.
In the fight against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Conor McGregor is trying to do his part.
Following a passionate plea from the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion encouraging Ireland to go into “lock down”, McGregor revealed via Twitter that he will be donating 1 million euro in medical supplies—or just under $1.1 million USD—in his native Ireland.
Dana White sees UFC activity returning to normal in the coming weeks.
Despite coronavirus concerns and experts predicting the outbreak could very well last months in the U.S., the UFC president plans to resume his promotion’s fight schedule in full beginning with UFC 249 on April 18.
Veteran MMA coach Din Thomas is striking out on his own after 19 years with American Top Team.
Thomas on Thursday told MMA Fighting he’s leaving the famed team in Coconut Creek, Fla., to train and develop fighters as a head coach. Currently, he guides former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, whose fight on Saturday against Leon Edwards on was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The split was amicable, Thomas said.
While many people were intrigued and excited at a reported matchup between Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen for May’s UFC San Diego event, it seems to be news to Sterling himself.
A Brazilian doctor has been issued a two-year suspension by USADA after violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy in connection with a case involving middleweight contender Paulo Costa.
USADA made the announcement on Monday.
American Top Team is home to many of the world’s top MMA fighters. It’s also housed a few rivalries, several of them the product of UFC star Colby Covington’s promotional style.
Starting now, Covington and the rest of the team will have to look for targets outside the Coconut Creek, Fla., facility. Unless someone has a contract to fight, there’s a “zero tolerance” policy for trash-talking.
Anyone hoping for a kinder, gentler Colby Covington will have to keep waiting.
The ever-controversial welterweight contender spoke to Submission Radio earlier this week and explained that he wanted to apologize to fellow American Top Team fighter Dustin Poirier for insults that he made about Poirier in an interview with ESPN. But Covington’s olive branch was only extended to Poirier and when he was asked about other ongoing feuds with ATT members Jorge Masvidal and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Covington doubled down on his sentiments.
