Conor McGregor

Khabib Nurmagomedov will come back if someone does something special at UFC 257

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Back in October after UFC 254, lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) laid down his gloves and retired. It had been an incredibly tough 2020 for Khabib in which he lost his father to a battle with COVID-19. 

Khabib had promised his mother before the Justin Gaethje fight that he would retire after UFC 254. However, Dana White has been holding out hope that Khabib Nurmagomedov would change his mind and come back for one more fight. 

The original plan for Khabib was to try and retire from the UFC at 30-0. That was his father’s plan, but Khabib admitted that he didn’t want to go on without his father in his corner. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov was the lead trainer for his son Khabib.

There is no questioning that Khabib Nurmagomedov is the best lightweight in the world. He’s an absolute animal who just appears to be getting better every time we see him. From a fighting perspective, it would be a shame to never see Khabib in the UFC again.

That is where Dana White has been coming from in wanting him to fight. Well, yesterday White and Khabib had their much anticipated meeting about Khabib’s future. After the first fight on the main card at UFC Fight Island 7, White announced Khabib’s decision.

The decision’s impact on the UFC lightweight division

White told Jon Anik that Khabib is going to wait until after UFC 257 to make a final decision. Khabib is not ready to close the door on his fighting future, however, he’s not ready to commit to a comeback just yet.

White said that Khabib will be watching next Saturday and if he feels that someone does something special, he’ll think about coming back to defend his UFC title. However, if nothing excites him, he won’t hold up the division and he will give up the title.

The Conor McGregor (22-4) rematch is what the UFC wants to do. However, McGregor has to get by Dustin Poirier first. For now, the decision really didn’t give us anything new. We know that Khabib is not fully committed to retirement, but at the same time, he’s not committed to coming back yet.

UFC: Conor McGregor wants to have a run at lightweight

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Conor McGregor, UFC

The biggest combat sports star in the world will make his return next Saturday. The UFC‘s first champ-champ, Conor McGregor (22-4), will be fighting for the first time since he knocked out Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds at UFC 246.

McGregor will be taking on Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) in a rematch from UFC 178. That night, McGregor stopped Poirier in the first few minutes in a fight that showed the world that Conor McGregor was the real deal.

Fast forward more than six years later and both men are in drastically different spots. McGregor became a two-division world champion and he’s even boxed Floyd Mayweather. Meanwhile Poirier rose to the top of lightweight and became the interim champion.

Going into UFC 257, it’s safe to say that both men are at their peaks. I think we are probably going to see the best versions of Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier when they fight next weekend.

The one thing that’s been pointed out about McGregor leading up to this fight is his mentality. When McGregor appears fully focused, he might be the best fighter in the world. However, outside distractions have sometimes hindered his performance in the cage.

There has been a lot of speculation about what will be next for McGregor should he win at UFC 257. Will he box Manny Pacquiao? Will he stay at lightweight? Or will he pursue welterweight superfights? McGregor told The Mac Life his plans earlier this morning.

McGregor wants a UFC title run at lightweight

“I never got a good stint at 155 pounds. A consecutive stint as I did in the featherweight division. I would like to do it the same in the lightweight division as I did in the featherweight division. Give it a good run and tear through the division,” McGregor said.

This has to be music to the ears to everyone at the UFC. There would be nothing better for their business than having McGregor go on a run in the lightweight division. McGregor appears to be fully committed to that or at least he’s appearing that way as of now.

Conor McGregor also discussed his fellow competitors at lightweight and said that there’s many great competitors that he wants to fight. He also mentioned being very interested in the trilogy with Nate Diaz (20-12) at some point in the lightweight division.

UFC currently working on Nate Diaz’s return to lightweight

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One of the most popular fighters in the UFC appears to be heading back to his natural weight class. Dana White revealed this morning to The Mac Life that the promotion is working on the return of Nate Diaz (20-12).

White said that the UFC was working on a Nate Diaz fight as we speak. He also said that the fight would take place at lightweight which is the natural weight class for Nate Diaz. Diaz hasn’t fought at 155 since 2015 when he defeated Michael Johnson.

When Diaz fought Conor McGregor and Anthony Pettis, those fights were at welterweight despite all being natural lightweights. White also said that the fight would get Diaz right back into the title picture should he win in his return to lightweight.

We didn’t see Nate Diaz in a UFC octagon in 2020. Late in the year, the promotion looked to be moving towards booking the rematch between him and Jorge Masvidal. However, the UFC has decided to shift gears towards Masvidal – Colby Covington.

That left Nate Diaz without a dance partner. There really didn’t appear to be a clear matchup for Diaz at welterweight or lightweight. However, using White’s clues about his return to 155, let’s try to figure it out.

The UFC’s plan for Diaz

A fight that makes total sense for all parties involved is Nate Diaz – Tony Ferguson (25-5). That would be the biggest fight in my opinion that the UFC could make, however, Dana White said that the fight for Diaz is not Ferguson.

It’s hard to imagine that the promotion would book him against either Justin Gaethje (22-3) or Charles Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC). The plan currently is for those two to fight assuming the promotion can get the fight done.

The next available contender would be Rafael Dos Anjos (30-13). This fight would actually be a rematch from several years ago when RDA completely dominated Nate Diaz over the course of three rounds.

I find it pretty hard to believe that this would be the potential fight that White is hyping up. At this point, the most logical option appears to be Paul Felder (17-6). Considering the spot in the top ten, that would be the only opponent I can think of for Diaz.

White said that the win for Diaz would get him right back in the mix. Felder makes the most sense unless the UFC believes that the RDA rematch is the fight to make. Time will tell what will happen with Nate Diaz.

Dustin Poirier wants a war with Conor McGregor at UFC 257

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We are just about a week away from UFC 257. The highly anticipated PPV is being headlined by the rematch between Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC). The first fight took place at UFC 178 back in 2014.

That night, McGregor knocked out Poirier in the first few minutes of their fight. It was a massive statement on McGregor’s meteoric rise to the top of the combat sports world. Both men are in much different places six years later.

McGregor is fighting for the first time since UFC 246 last January. That night, McGregor stopped Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds. The former two-division UFC champion is promising another finish in under a minute at UFC 257.

However, Dustin Poirier has different plans. The Diamond is not wanting this fight to end with a clean knockout one way or the other. Instead, Poirier is wanting both of them to be badly hurt so they have to dig down deep.

Poirier told Theo Von recently, “What I want is for both of us to be dripping blood and hurting early in the fight. I want both of us to be bleeding and really have to dig down deep to see who’s the better fighter.”

Will UFC 257 be a war?

Words cannot express how excited I am for this rematch. Both of these men are so much better than they were six years ago when they fought the first time. It’ll be very interesting to see if Poirier’s improvements can push him past McGregor.

Based on what Poirier’s saying, you can tell he’s taking a slight jab at McGregor. Poirier has been in real trouble in fights and has had to dig down deep to win. That’s why he later said he beats McGregor ten times out of ten if the fight gets tough.

However, it is worth noting that the UFC’s first champ-champ hasn’t always had it easy. McGregor was hurt by both Khabib Nurmagomedov and Nate Diaz in their fights. McGregor did better than anyone in terms of fighting Khabib going off recent history which includes Poirier.

Conor McGregor’s biggest test came at UFC 202 when he fought Diaz for the second time. McGregor is a very fast starter and dropped Diaz a number of times early. However, Diaz didn’t go away and stormed back into the fight.

When it appeared that McGregor was on his way to losing again, he dug down deep and won the crucial fourth round. That round secured the decision for Conor McGregor in a fight he desperately needed to win.

We’ve seen Poirier come back from adversity more times than McGregor, but we know McGregor is capable. If this fight is truly a war, I think both are capable of digging down deep to find a win. I can’t wait to find out what happens next Saturday night.

Michael Chandler believes he will be the UFC lightweight champ this year

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Michael Chandler

One of the biggest storylines for the UFC that came outside the actual octagon in 2020 was the promotion’s signing of Michael Chandler (21-5). The former Bellator lightweight champion finished his contract back in August.

After he knocked out Benson Henderson, Chandler was the hottest free agent in MMA. All of the big promotion’s were throwing money at him, however, there was one place he knew he wanted to be at.

Despite the UFC not offering the most money, Chandler signed with the biggest MMA promotion in the world. For Michael Chandler, signing with the UFC was more about his legacy and the competition over the money.

Chandler has made it very clear that he wants to prove that he’s one of the very best in the world. He served at the backup at UFC 254 if Khabib Nurmagomedov or Justin Gaethje would have fallen out of the main event.

Chandler showed up and made weight despite not being officially booked for a fight. He wanted to get the feel of being in the UFC and he wanted to meet everyone behind the scenes to get a sense of what it’s like.

After initially struggling to get him a fight, the promotion has booked Chandler for his debut at UFC 257. Chandler will be taking on top lightweight contender, Dan Hooker (20-9), in the co-main event of the evening.

Will Chandler become a UFC champion?

Michael Chandler recently sat down with MMA On Point where he talked about his journey in getting to UFC 257. He made it clear that he believes he will prove he’s the best in the world saying, “I truly believe I’m going to be the UFC Lightweight Champion this year.”

Defeating Dan Hooker would be a great first step for the former Bellator champion. However, even beating Dan Hooker isn’t likely to net Chandler a title fight right away. More than likely, he will have to win twice to get that shot at the title.

Granted, starting in January is a great thing for Michael Chandler and the UFC. Chandler has a desire to be active in 2021 and if he’s going to be champion, he’s going to have to fight three times this year.

Michael Chandler does have the skills to become a champion in the UFC. However, it’s going to be far from easy, but that’s his prime motivation. Chandler’s addition made the best division in the promotion even more exciting in 2021.

Dustin Poirier has signed a new eight-fight deal with the UFC

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dustin poirier, ufc

Next weekend at UFC 257, Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) will get the opportunity to avenge one of his biggest losses. In the headliner, Poirier will be taking on Conor McGregor (22-4) in a rematch from UFC 178.

The first fight that took place back in 2014 did not go well for Poirier. After a heated buildup, McGregor stopped Poirier in the first round. However, since that moment, Poirier has surged in his career.

Since the first loss to McGregor, Poirier has gone 10-2,1 NC in thirteen fights. The pinnacle of his rise came at UFC 236 when he defeated Max Holloway (21-6) to become the interim lightweight champion.

However, his interim reign didn’t last long as he was dominated by Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) at UFC 242 later that year. Still, Poirier is one of the very best in the world and he plans to show his improvement next Saturday.

Getting Poirier to this fight hasn’t been an easy thing. Originally, the promotion wanted Poirier to fight at UFC 254 in the co-headliner against Tony Ferguson (25-5). However, Poirier and the UFC couldn’t come to an agreement.

After they couldn’t come to an agreement on the money for the Ferguson fight, the promotion tried offering Poirier a fight with Michael Chandler (21-5). However, Poirier was still not good with the UFC‘s financial offer.

As a result, the talks fell apart and Poirier didn’t end up fighting. During this time, Conor McGregor was having his own issues with the promotion. With both men upset at the UFC, they talked online about having a charity match. That’s where things turned.

Charity Match to a New UFC Contract

McGregor and Poirier both agreed to an exhibition MMA match for charity that had nothing to do with the UFC. Of course, that is when the promotion decided to engage both men about fighting each other.

After a long negotiation, both sides came to a deal and the two are headlining UFC 257. However, it wasn’t just a one-off for Poirier. The Diamond revealed to Theo Von in a recent interview that he’s signed a new eight-fight deal with the promotion.

After all of the issues that Poirier was having with the promotion, it seems that everything has been ironed out. In the interview, Poirier even talked about a willingness to move up to welterweight eventually.

Poirier told Von, “I just signed an eight-fight contract with the UFC. My plan is to fight eight more times. I want to finish this contract I’m on, fight eight more times. Then we’ll see where we’re at there. But I’m not looking past that or before that.”

You can watch the entire interview below.

Charles Oliveira wants a UFC title shot next, not Justin Gaethje

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A UFC lightweight who saw his stock soar in 2020 was “Do Bronx” Charles Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC). Oliveira has flown under the radar in the premium division in the promotion despite the winning streak he’s on.

Heading into 2020, Oliveira was riding a six-fight winning streak. Not only that, but he had finished all six opponents in those UFC contests. He started out 2020 by taking on Kevin Lee (18-6) back in March.

This event was actually the UFC‘s last event before they shut down due to the pandemic. Oliveira impressed again as he was able to score a third round submission victory over Kevin Lee. His seventh straight stoppage win in the lightweight division.

Then, Oliveira got the biggest fight of his career. A co-main event slot against El Cucuy, Tony Ferguson (25-5) at UFC 256. Ferguson was looking to bounce back after he had lost to Justin Gaethje (22-3) back in May.

Oliveira completely dominated the former UFC interim lightweight champion. Had Ferguson not been so tough, Oliveira would have scored another first round stoppage. He locked in a deep armbar that had me tapping from my chair at home.

Instead, Ferguson gutted it out and fought through it. However, Oliveira still dominated every second of the fight to make it eight straight. Last week, Dana White said that the UFC was looking to book Oliveira against Gaethje. Well, Oliveira is not a fan of that.

Do Bronx isn’t down with the UFC’s plan

Oliveira’s manager told MMA Fighting, “With all due respect, Khabib ran over (Gaethje). That must count, and a lot. I believe Charles’ next fight has to be for the belt against the winner of Poirier and McGregor, not Justin Gaethje.”

It was also revealed that Oliveira’s next fight will be the final fight in his UFC contract. However, Oliveira’s manager made it clear that Do Bronx isn’t going anywhere and that they are working towards a new deal with the promotion.

I completely understand where Oliveira is coming from. He’s won eight fights in a row and seven have been stoppages in the toughest division in the sport. However, that still might not matter at the end of the day.

Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) are fighting at UFC 257. The winner of that fight will be fighting for the lightweight title no matter what in their next fight. Should McGregor win, the UFC is going to push for the rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0).

Khabib is retired, but Dana White is going to try and convince him to fight one more time in the UFC this week. However, even if Khabib stays retired and McGregor wins, Oliveira will likely need to get one more win to get a UFC title shot.

While he’s certainly deserving, the promotion is also going to look at what’s the biggest fight they can make. McGregor – Oliveira doesn’t sell the way McGregor – Gaethje would. That said, I think Oliveira is going to have to settle for the UFC giving him Justin Gaethje.

If Do Bronx runs through Justin Gaethje, there’s no denying him. It’s a very tough position to be in, however, I don’t think he’s going to have another choice.

UFC: Can Dana White convince Khabib to fight one more time?

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Dana White will finally get his chance to meet with the UFC‘s lightweight champion this week. White will meet with Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) this week on Fight Island where the two will talk about Khabib’s future.

We last saw Khabib back at UFC 254 when he demolished Justin Gaethje to retain his lightweight title. Following the fight, Khabib collapsed in the octagon and sobbed reflecting on the challenging year he’s had.

Nurmagomedov lost his father earlier in the year who was his lead trainer and his best friend. Khabib announced after the fight was over that he wouldn’t be fighting anymore without his father.

The UFC lightweight champion said he promised his mother that he would retire. With that, Khabib Nurmagomedov laid down his gloves and said he was walking away at a perfect 29-0.

However, Dana White isn’t ready to see Khabib walk away. White knows that Khabib’s father always wanted him to go out at 30-0. With that, the UFC President wants Khabib to fight one more time before hanging it up.

White had an interview yesterday with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto where he talked about it. He said, “I have no idea (how the meeting will go), but I think he should fight again. I’m going to press him as hard as I can for one more.”

Will the UFC lightweight champion return?

In my opinion, it’s going to be very tough for White to convince Khabib to return. Nurmagomedov has been very vocal that he doesn’t have any desire to fight Conor McGregor (22-4) or Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) for the second time.

Those two men headline UFC 257 and the winner is being looked at as the number one contender. White said in the interview that the biggest possible fight they could do is the Khabib – McGregor rematch should Conor win.

However, getting the lightweight champion to back out of retirement and accept that fight won’t be easy. I’ll say this, if anyone can convince someone of this, it would be Dana White.

In all my years following the sport, I’ve really only seen White come up short once when he’s this determined. That was of course the Fedor Emelianenko deal which of course was really dead in the water before it started.

This week will tell us a lot and I’m in the same camp White is in. I would love for the UFC to be able to put on the rematch between McGregor and Khabib should Conor win. I’m very curious to see the reports out of Fight Island this week.

UFC will allow a limited number of fans on upcoming trip to Fight Island

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The UFC will have live fans in the stands for their first cards of 2021. After shutting out fans since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the promotion will open their doors to a limited number of fans on Fight Island.

The UFC has an upcoming three-card run on Fight Island which concludes with UFC 257 headlined by Conor McGregor (22-4). MMA Junkie was the first to report the news that fans are officially back for the promotion.

The UFC had been hosting their events at the Flash Forum on Fight Island. However, with the addition of fans, the promotion will be hosting their next three events at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

At this point, there is no word on how many fans will be allowed in attendance. This news does break away from the initial statements from Dana White. White previously said he wouldn’t host events with partial crowds. 

White has been very firm that it would be all or nothing for the UFC. Either they would sell out an event or there would be no fans at all. However, he did say that he was hoping to have an International Fight Week with fans for the upcoming Fight Island Trip.

The UFC welcomes back fans

As of now, there is no information on if the promotion will try to host International Fight Week for the UFC’s first week back. It appears they are just opening up their doors to allow a limited number of fans to enjoy the live action.

I do find this all a little convenient when it comes to Conor McGregor. One of the biggest gripes with the promotion’s handling of Conor McGregor last year had to do with live gates.

The UFC held McGregor out waiting for fans to be able to return. However, McGregor just wanted to compete and his frustration led to his brief retirement. As the biggest star in the sport, McGregor pulls in a hefty live gate whenever he fights and the UFC didn’t want to lose that revenue.

Obviously this decision isn’t completely tied to McGregor seeing as they are not selling the arena out. I just find it a little convenient that he will headline the first PPV that will have fans in the stands. It’s very fitting for the promotion.

On a more important note, this is a great thing for the UFC. It’s a very positive step in the right direction to have at least some sort of fan interaction for fights. While the fighters have delivered over the last year, you do miss the energy that a live crowd brings.

While it’s on a very small scale, it will be nice to hear fans in the crowd again for this run on Fight Island. I wouldn’t be shocked if the UFC’s first full capacity event in 2021 also comes at Fight Island.

Who will be the UFC champions after 2021? (Flyweight – Lightweight)

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Conor McGregor, UFC

2021 is already looking like an incredibly exciting year for the UFC. After a big year despite the pandemic in 2020, the promotion is riding a wave of momentum that should carry them to a huge year in 2021.

2020 was remarkable in the sense that no UFC champion lost their title inside the octagon. Sure, there were titles that were vacated, however, if a champion made the walk to the cage as a champion, they left as a champion.

We might never see another year like that in the UFC. With how good the competition levels are, every year you’re virtually guaranteed to see at least one champion lose their title. We should expect this in 2021.

Earlier this week, we posted an article on which UFC champions would likely lose their titles in 2021. However, I wanted to dive a little more in-depth and make predictions on who exactly I believe will leave 2021 a champion.

In this article we will go through the lower men’s divisions starting with flyweight. We will continue to go through the rest of the divisions and the women’s divisions throughout the week. So, who will walk out of 2021 a UFC champion?

UFC Champions after 2021

Flyweight – Deiveson Figueiredo

The first division we will look at features the 2020 UFC fighter of the year, Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1). Figueiredo captured the flyweight title this year after it was vacated by Henry Cejudo in late 2019.

He captured the title after dominating Joseph Benavidez twice. From there he defended his title against Alex Perez before running into Brandon Moreno (18-5-2). Moreno and Figueiredo fought to a draw at UFC 256.

Their fight was a fight of the year candidate. A back and forth war that ultimately saw the hands of both men raised. The UFC is planning on them rematching at some point in either April or May.

I believe that Figueiredo will win that rematch. From there, I’m expecting Figueiredo to face former bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt (12-3). I also believe that Figueiredo will turn away Garbrandt on his request to capture another UFC title.

That might be the only two times we see Figueiredo in 2021. I believe that the Moreno fight is going to be another war which might cause him to take some time off. Expect the Garbrandt fight in the second half of the year. Two tough fights might be it for Figueiredo.

Bantamweight – Aljamain Sterling

I believe that we are going to see a new UFC bantamweight champion in 2021 and his name is Aljamain Sterling (19-3). Sterling is currently waiting on his title shot against bantamweight champion, Petr Yan (15-1).

I’ll start by saying that I believe Petr Yan is incredible. If I was told that he will go through 2021 and remain the champion, I wouldn’t be shocked at all. However, I just have this feeling about Sterling.

Sterling has really showed me a lot over his last five performance. His striking is looking so much better and he’s incredibly slick on the ground. His domination of Cory Sandhagen was jaw dropping.

These two bantamweights are so good and I’m anxious for the UFC to book the title fight between the two. The bantamweight division is insanely stacked, but in my heart, I believe that Sterling is the best of the bunch right now.

Featherweight – Brian Ortega

Back in October, I believe we saw the best featherweight in the UFC compete. His name is Brian Ortega (15-1, 1 NC). Ortega fought for the first time in almost two years against The Korean Zombie.

I picked Ortega to lose because the Brian Ortega who fought Max Holloway in 2018 wouldn’t have outstruck Chan Sung Jung. However, the Brian Ortega we saw in October on Fight Island looked like a completely different fighter.

T-City showed incredible striking that night beating up TKZ. We already know the skills he possesses on the mat so there were just questions on if his striking could get to that same level. I believe that they have.

Ortega will be taking on Alexander Volkanovski (22-1) in the first part of this year for the featherweight title. I believe this is a perfect fight for Ortega when it comes to the style. His rangy striking along with his grappling skills should create problems for Volkanovski.

I’m expecting Brian Ortega to get his hand raised when the two men fight. Expect Brian Ortega to hold onto that UFC title once he gets his hands on it. T-City is a problem and he’s just getting better.

Lightweight – Conor McGregor

I can already feel a portion of the UFC fan base rolling their eyes reading that. Yes, I believe that Conor McGregor (22-4) is going to leave 2021 as the UFC lightweight champion. There is plenty of reasoning behind this.

First and foremost, I believe that McGregor is going to defeat Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) at UFC 257. McGregor’s next fight after that will be for the lightweight championship. Likely coming against Justin Gaethje or Charles Oliveira. 

Let’s say that McGregor fight’s Justin Gaethje (22-3). I really like McGregor’s chances in that matchup. While we’ve seen such good performances from Gaethje, I think McGregor’s clean straight striking would give him a lot of problems.

I only see McGregor fighting twice at lightweight in 2021 which is why I believe he will be the champion. However, should Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) not retire, I believe Nurmagomedov will leave 2021 the champion.

The toughest test for McGregor in 2021 will be Charles Oliveira (30-9, 1 NC). Based on what we’ve seen from Oliveira lately, that is a very tough matchup for McGregor.

However, I still believe in the end, McGregor is the second best lightweight in the world only behind Nurmagomedov. If there’s no Khabib, then lightweight will see the second title reign of The Notorious Conor McGregor in 2021.