Conor McGregor

UFC targeting Justin Gaethje – Charles Oliveira per Dana White

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Last night the UFC President did a live Q&A for fans and subscribers of ESPN+. Dana White fielded a number of questions on a variety of topics surrounding the promotion. A fan asked him about what’s next for Justin Gaethje (22-3).

The former interim lightweight champion is coming off of a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) at UFC 254. Since then, it’s been relatively quiet on what would be next for The Highlight.

The speculation was that Gaethje would be fighting Michael Chandler (21-5) at UFC 257. However, as we’ve recently learned, Dan Hooker (20-9) is going to be tasked with being the first to welcome Chandler to the UFC. 

With those two booked against each other, White said they have an opponent in mind for Gaethje. White said that the UFC is working on Gaethje taking on Charles Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC) if all goes as planned.

UFC lightweight showdown

This is the perfect fight to make for the lightweight division. It’s also the fight that makes the most sense given the current landscape of 155. Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) are headlining UFC 257 in a couple of weeks.

White said that the winner of that fight will be the number one contender. There had been speculation that the fight could be for the UFC lightweight title should Khabib Nurmagomedov completely vacate his title.

However, it appears that it will just be a title eliminator. Should Khabib stay retired, the winner of UFC 257 would likely take on the winner of this proposed matchup between Gaethje and Charles Oliveira.

Prior to the loss to Khabib, Gaethje had won four fights in a row and all of them came by knockout. Charles Oliveira is looking better than ever and he just picked up his eighth straight victory at UFC 256 over Tony Ferguson (25-5).

It appears that the UFC is putting together a little lightweight tournament. White said last week that in a perfect world, Khabib would fight one more time. If that happens, the winner of UFC 257 would get the shot at him.

If that were to happen, the winners of the Gaethje – Oliveira and Chandler – Hooker fights would likely fight. However, I believe that Khabib is likely to stay retired thus the winner of McGregor – Poirier will take on the winner of Gaethje – Oliveira for the UFC lightweight title.

Three Superfights the UFC can make in 2021

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Conor McGregor, UFC

2021 is promising to be a big year for the UFC. The world’s leader in mixed martial arts had a very good 2020 despite the global pandemic. Now, the promotion is poised to capitalize and have an even bigger 2021.

They are starting their year with an incredible three-fight run on Fight Island ending with the rematch between Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) at UFC 257. The UFC is starting out the year with a bang.

There are so many big matchups that the UFC is already talking about booking. You have Israel Adesanya (20-0) moving up to challenge Jan Blachowicz (27-8) at UFC 259. Jon Jones (26-1, 1 NC) is moving up to heavyweight to go for the UFC heavyweight title.

These are fights that are already set in stone. However, there are some major superfights that the UFC could attempt to make in 2021. These fights would depend on the fighters winning early in the year, but if they do, there’s a big opportunity for the promotion.

UFC Superfights in 2021

Khabib Nurmagomedov – Conor McGregor 2

Dana White recently said that the UFC will attempt to make this fight happen should McGregor win at UFC 257. What makes this fight hard to pull off is getting Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) to agree to it.

White is planning on talking with Khabib on Fight Island about his future. Khabib retired after he defended his title at UFC 254, however, White said that he’s going to try to convince him to come back.

Should McGregor win in January, there’s not a bigger fight the UFC could make in terms of dollar signs. McGregor is the biggest star in the sport, but Khabib is a big star on his own. The two men hate each other and a brawl ensued after their first fight.

In my opinion, they are going to get the chance to make this happen. I believe that McGregor will win at UFC 257, and then eyes will turn to the talks between White and Khabib. If Khabib agrees to it, it might be the biggest UFC PPV of all time.

Jon Jones – Israel Adesanya

There is no questioning that Khabib and McGregor would be the biggest PPV seller. However, the biggest superfight the UFC could make between two fighters in 2021 is the potential matchup between Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya.

Jones is considered to be the greatest fighter that the UFC has ever seen. Adesanya is looked at as the new-breed who is on his way to becoming the UFC’s biggest superstar. Stylebender is attempting to become a two-division champion at UFC 259.

These two men have long talked about fighter each other. Jones is currently preparing to fight for the heavyweight title in the summer. If Jones is able to win and Adesanya is able to win at UFC 259, the two men would control three titles.

There has never been a potential superfight where the champions of three combined divisions would face off. Combine that with the personal animosity and you have the makings for a massive fight that could take place at the end of 2021.

Amanda Nunes – Valentina Shevchenko 3

This might not be a superfight that everyone wants to see, but it’s sure one I want to see. UFC two-division champion, Amanda Nunes (20-4), taking on the UFC flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko (20-3), for a third time.

Both of these champions are so dominant in their divisions that nobody truly questions whether they will win their next fight or not. The debate is more centered around how they will win their fights.

These two have fought twice before with Nunes winning both. However, their fight at UFC 215 in 2017 was razor close. I’ve watched the fight a few times and I can see the argument for the judges giving it to either fighter.

The lack of challenges in their divisions is truly a testament to the dominance of the two champions. Their next challenges are set as Nunes will take on Megan Anderson while Shevchenko will fight former strawweight champion, Jessica Andrade.

Should both win, I think the UFC should seriously think about the trilogy. It would make all the sense in the world, and I don’t think there are UFC fans out there who would complain about seeing these two greats fight one more time.

State of the UFC’s lightweight division entering 2021

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As we close out 2020, the UFC‘s lightweight division is in limbo. The reason is that the undisputed champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0), said after his last fight that he was walking away from competition.

Khabib choked out Justin Gaethje (22-3) at UFC 254 to successfully defend his title. While in most cases the UFC would just move on and book a title fight for the vacant title, Dana White has said that he’s going to try to convince Khabib to compete again. 

Originally, Khabib wanted to retire at 30-0. However, after his father passed away this year, the UFC lightweight champion promised his mother that his fight against Justin Gaethje would be his last fight.

As of now, we still don’t know what’s going to happen. Nurmagomedov came out this week and said he believed that his title could be up for grabs at UFC 257. The main event of that card features the rematch between Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC).

State of the UFC’s lightweight division

If we do get confirmation that Khabib is no longer going to fight, it would make sense that McGregor and Poirier fight for the UFC title. The promotion wanted McGregor to fight for the title in 2020. Poirier is the former interim champion and deserves another shot.

It’s a fluid situation, but I think there’s a good chance we see some form of UFC title fight happen at 257. Although not officially announced, the co-main event that night is also a big fight for the lightweight division.

The UFC‘s prized signing of 2020, Michael Chandler (21-5), is expected to make his promotional debut. We found out last week that it appears he will be taking on Dan Hooker (20-9) in the co-headliner.

Again, that’s not confirmed. Whoever wins that matchup will be right at the top of the division alongside Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC). Oliveira announced his status as a top contender at UFC 256.

A few weeks ago, Oliveira completely dominated Tony Ferguson (25-5). The fight was incredibly one-sided and Oliveira should be in the conversations for a title eliminator after that performance.

2020 was a rough year for Ferguson who lost in dominant fashions to both Oliveira and Justin Gaethje. Ferguson was the boogey man of the lightweight division for so many years. However, he took a major step back in 2020.

There’s a reason why the lightweight division has been the best in the UFC for some time. It’s a murderers row of contenders and with Khabib stepping away, the division is up for grabs. Should be a very fun 2021 in that division.

State of the UFC’s featherweight division entering 2021

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One of the more dynamic divisions in the UFC over the last decade has been the featherweight division. The division had it’s first title fight back in 2011 when Jose Aldo (29-7) fought Mark Hominick at UFC 129.

Prior to that the featherweight division had been in the WEC. After the featherweight division moved over to the UFC, the division was ruled by Aldo until the end of 2015 when Conor McGregor knocked Aldo out in the first round.

While Aldo did end up winning an interim featherweight title after McGregor left the division, once Aldo’s reign was over, we transitioned to the blessed era. Max Holloway (21-6) became UFC featherweight champion in 2016.

Holloway went on a run that saw him beat Anthony Pettis, Aldo (Twice), Frankie Edgar, and Brian Ortega (15-1, 1 NC). However, the Blessed Express finally fell last December to the new king, Alexander Volkanovski (22-1).

Volkanovski entered UFC 245 as a betting underdog to Holloway. However, he used a steady attack to dethrone the featherweight king. The two ran things back at UFC 251 with Volkanovski barely edging Holloway by split decision.

With two consecutive wins over Max Holloway, Volkanovski is ready for new challenges in the UFC‘s featherweight division in 2021. Fortunately for him, it’s a division full of killers which is promising for a big year.

UFC’s featherweight division in 2021

Starting at the top, we should expect to see a UFC featherweight title fight pretty quickly in 2021. After Brian Ortega completely dominated Chan Sung Jung (16-6), he’s earned the next shot at Volkanovski.

Dana White has said that the title fight between those two will likely take place in February. The former champion, Holloway, is still near the top of the division. Holloway will kick off the UFC‘s action in 2021 on Fight Island.

UFC Fight Island 7 is being headlined by Holloway as he takes on Calvin Kattar (22-4). Kattar has risen to the top of the division having only lost once in the last couple of years. Whoever wins that fight should be in a really good position in the division.

The one UFC contender people need to watch out for is Zabit Magomedsharipov (18-1). The Russian didn’t get to fight in 2020 and he’s not currently booked, but he’s been perfect at 6-0 since joining the UFC.

Had he picked up a win in 2020, he could’ve gotten a title shot before Brian Ortega. I would expect the UFC to get Zabit a fight relatively early in 2021. The top contender needs to get back in the octagon sooner than later.

The featherweight division is absolutely stacked and Volkanovski is going to have his hands full in 2021. To be completely honest, I really don’t know who will leave 2021 as the UFC featherweight champion. Should be a very fun year in that weight class.

McGregor – Poirier 2 will be for the UFC lightweight title per Khabib Nurmagomedov

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Conor McGregor, UFC

A bit of breaking news this afternoon. UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0), has told Match TV that the rematch between Conor McGregor (22-4) and Dustin Poirier (26-6, 1 NC) will be for the lightweight title.

Nurmagomedov said that he was retiring after his title defense at UFC 254 over Justin Gaethje. It is worth noting that this news has not been confirmed by the UFC and there has been no official announcement regarding the UFC 257 main event.

Nurmagomedov told Match TV, “My belt will be taken by the winner of Dustin and Conor.” Khabib also said that he does not like the prospect of returning to the octagon insinuating that he’s happy with retiring as is.

Dana White has said that he plans on meeting with the lightweight champion when they are in Abu Dhabi. There have been whispers surrounding the McGregor – Poirier fight and the potential vacant UFC lightweight championship.

McGregor’s head coach recently stated that he didn’t see why the belt wasn’t on the line if Nurmagomedov was retired. Honestly, I completely agree with him. If Nurmagomedov is truly done for good, UFC 257 should be for the vacant lightweight championship.

UFC lightweight title up for grabs

The lightweight division in the UFC is in an interesting position. The promotion doesn’t to take away the title from Nurmagomedov after all he’s done for the promotion. Not too mention that he just fought and Dana White is hoping he will fight again.

However, it’s clear that Nurmagomedov is not going to be fighting lightweight contenders anytime soon. The only fight that would make sense for Nurmagomedov at this stage is a fight with UFC legend, Georges St. Pierre.

However, that fight doesn’t appear likely. In terms of the active lightweight division, UFC 257 would make for the perfect event to crown a new champion. The UFC wanted McGregor to fight for the title after he knocked out Donald Cerrone in January.

That is one of the reasons the promotion held him out. Dustin Poirier holds a knockout win over Justin Gaethje and he’s coming off of a win over Dan Hooker. McGregor and Poirier make for the perfect pairing to crown a new UFC lightweight champion.

This has been a possibility ever since this fight was made. Again, nothing has been confirmed by officials so I would take this news with a grain of salt. Still, it appears even more likely that UFC 257 will crown a new lightweight champion.

Jake Paul’s boxing challenge accepted by Ben Askren

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Jake Paul has certainly been busy after his second professional boxing match that took place a few of weeks ago. The YouTube celebrity knocked out former NBA player, Nate Robinson, in the second round a few of weeks ago.

Paul improved to 2-0 as a boxer and proceeded to start calling out professional MMA fighters for a boxing match. The two primary targets that he’s been focusing on are Conor McGregor and Dillon Danis.

Jake Paul even pulled a water balloon drive-by on Danis in an attempt to build the potential boxing match. Danis was filming an episode of Food Truck Diaries with Brendan Schaub at the time of the incident.

McGregor has yet to even acknowledge the insults and comments coming from Paul. Of course, McGregor is focused on his UFC return which takes place next month against Dustin Poirier on Fight Island.

However, this week, we’ve seen several MMA fighters throw their hats in the ring for the boxing match against Jake Paul. Former UFC champion, Michael Bisping, said this week that there had been talks for him to be the guy. 

Last night, Ben Askren announced on his Twitter that he was accepting the boxing challenge from Jake Paul. Askren said that he was in to make a lot of money and beat up a fake athlete. The proposed matchup would take place on March 28th.

Who will Jake Paul be boxing?

ESPN’s Ariel Helwani did report shortly after that the fight was far from done. Paul’s team is looking into a number of options for the celebrity to box in his next venture into the squared circle.

I will say, Askren would be one of the safer pics. Askren was a top level MMA fighter due to his incredible wrestling. Funky Ben was an Olympic level wrestler and he used that wrestling to go undefeated for the first ten years of his career.

However, Askren has never been known for his standup skills. Let alone his boxing skills. If Paul wants the easiest potential matchup, Askren might be it considering the pool of MMA fighters that he has to choose from.

Dillon Danis is another option. However, youth is on the side of Danis who has been training for the last few years. My guess is that we will know in the next couple of weeks who Jake Paul will be boxing in March.

UFC booking Dan Hooker – Michael Chandler (Report)

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There are reports out this evening that are saying the UFC has booked a lightweight contest between Michael Chandler (21-5) and Dan Hooker (20-9). The news was first reported by Stuff, a media outlet in New Zealand. The bout will take place at UFC 257.

Michael Chandler posted on social media a couple of weeks ago that he was entering camp for his UFC debut. However, he didn’t say who he’d be facing. The speculation was that he’d be facing Justin Gaethje in his debut.

Dana White even alluded to that potential matchup in the last couple of weeks. However, Dan Hooker also came out last week and said that he was in training camp for his next UFC fight.

The rumors started running on if Hooker would be facing off against Chandler. Assuming this report holds true, we now know that Dan Hooker will be the lightweight responsible for welcoming Michael Chandler to the UFC.

Hooker is coming off of a loss to Dustin Poirier back in June. That loss snapped a three-fight win streak for Hooker. He will enter the cage on January 23rd currently ranked as the sixth best lightweight in the world.

UFC debut for Michael Chandler

Michael Chandler will be making his anticipated UFC debut in January. As mentioned above, we knew that Chandler would be making his debut likely at UFC 257. However, we had been missing the opponent.

Dan Hooker is a very interesting matchup for Michael Chandler. Chandler will enter the octagon having gone 5-1 in his last six fights with the lone loss coming to Patricio Pitbull in May of last year.

UFC 257 is proving to be a pivotal night for the lightweight division. Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier are headlining the card and Chandler – Hooker is expected to be the co-main event of the evening.

There has been rumblings that the McGregor – Poirier fight could be for a title if Khabib Nurmagomedov sticks to his retirement. However, nothing is official as of yet. Dana White is expected to meet with the lightweight champion in a few weeks.

Boxing: Canelo Alvarez isn’t a fan of the Paul brothers

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Canelo Alvarez

This past weekend, boxing great Canelo Alvarez (54-1-2) took to the ring to take on Callum Smith (27-1) for the WBC and WBO Super Middleweight championship. Canelo was attempting to capture the WBC Super Middleweight title to go with his WBO title.

As expected, Canelo completely dominated the much taller Callum Smith on his way to capturing the World Boxing Council Super Middleweight title. The new championship is just another in the long list of titles for Canelo Alvarez.

The world of boxing has been spinning lately with the rise of the Paul brothers. Jake and Logan Paul are YouTube celebrities that have seemingly taken over the world of boxing.

Logan Paul is going to be stepping into the ring in an exhibition against Floyd Mayweather in February. Meanwhile, Jake Paul just knocked out former NBA player, Nate Robinson, on the Mike Tyson – Roy Jones Jr PPV.

Jake Paul has now been spending his time calling out the UFC’s Conor McGregor for a boxing match in addition to others. Paul has made it clear that he wants to box some of MMA’s best to prove that they don’t have good hands.

However, none of this is sitting well with the boxing great, Canelo. Canelo is not a fan of the YouTubers and he’s not a fan of what they are doing to the sport of boxing. He was interviewed by TMZ Sports where he gave his thoughts.

“I truly believe it’s a lack of respect (for the sport). It’s all about money. I would invite him (Jake Paul) for a sparing session so he truly knows what it’s all about,” Canelo said to TMZ Sports.

Boxing’s best is not a fan

It’s clear that Canelo doesn’t want to see the Paul brothers in his sport unless they learn some respect in the ring. Let’s be very clear, if either of the Paul brothers were to spar Canelo, they might end up in a hospital.

Neither Jake nor Logan Paul are elite level boxers. They have decent skills, especially Jake, however, there are levels to this. Canelo Alvarez is not a fan of them essentially making a mockery of the sport of boxing.

I think what they are doing is great for making money. They are capitalizing on a market where they can net a lot of money for stepping into the ring. However, I can also see Canelo’s point about what they are doing to the sport.

The Paul brothers are not serious boxers no matter what they say. As Canelo pointed out, this is truly all about money. If either one of them stepped into the ring with a guy like Canelo, it wouldn’t be a fight. He wants to spar them to teach them some respect.

Jake Paul pulls a water balloon drive-by on Bellator’s Dillon Danis (Video)

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Jake Paul certainly knows how to troll and he continued today. After he knocked out Nate Robinson a couple of week’s ago, Paul called out Bellator’s Dillon Danis and the UFC’s Conor McGregor.

Paul has been very vocal about calling out MMA fighters to box him. Just this morning, Nate Diaz issued a strong warning to Paul for his words. He’s starting to bark up the wrong trees with some of his comments.

Nevertheless, Paul is great about getting people to talk about him and here we are. Today, Paul decided to take the attack to Bellator‘s Danis. However, he did it in a very unique way.

Paul posted a video on his Twitter account of him driving by where Danis was doing either a signing or interviews. The Bellator fighter was caught off guard and was pelted with water balloons and toilet paper which prompted him to chase Paul’s vehicle.

Bellator is interested

Last week, Bellator‘s head man, Scott Coker, said that the promotion would be interested in potentially having Danis fight Jake Paul. Love or hate the Paul brothers, they certainly know how to draw attention.

We just found out recently that the elder Paul brother, Logan, would be boxing Floyd Mayweather. Jake Paul continues to be steady in his callouts of MMA fighters. He’s very focused on getting a matchup with Dillon Danis.

I really believe that Bellator is seriously going to consider putting this together somehow. With their standing in the world of MMA, they are constantly looking to get more eyeballs on their product.

They’ve done a great job of building up their light heavyweight roster recently, but honestly, having Danis box Jake Paul would bring even more casual attention. Yes, it would be a sideshow, but so many would tune in.

I’m expecting to see even more stuff like this from Jake Paul as he continues to look for a fight with guys in MMA circles. I would just caution the YouTube star on who exactly he messes with. He might just bark up the wrong tree.

After dominating Tony Ferguson at UFC 256, what’s next for Charles Oliveira?

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This past Saturday evening in the co-main event of UFC 256, Charles Oliveira (30-8, 1 NC) took on Tony Ferguson (25-5). Ferguson was looking to bounce back after his last loss while Oliveira was looking to continue his winning streak.

Heading into UFC 256, Oliveira had won seven fights in a row. However, it was the way he won those seven fights which stood out. Oliveira had finished all seven of his opponents leading into UFC 256.

Saturday night was the biggest test in the career of Charles Oliveira. With Oliveira, the questions never surrounded his talent. However, there had been times in his career where he came up short in the big fights.

Granted, a majority of those opportunities happened at featherweight. Oliveira is no longer depleting himself to make 145 pounds. Fighting at lightweight has really allowed Charles Oliveira to reach his prime inside the octagon.

That really showed at UFC 256. Oliveira completely dominated the former interim lightweight champion and nearly finished him in the first round. With the dominant victory, Oliveira made a huge leap in the rankings. 

What’s next after UFC 256?

With his victory at UFC 256, Oliveira went from seventh to third in the lightweight division. The only contenders ranked ahead of him at the moment are Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

Poirier is scheduled to face Conor McGregor at UFC 257. Justin Gaethje is being rumored to face Michael Chandler in the co-main event of that card. Conventional wisdom said the winners of those two fights would face off for the title if Khabib Nurmagomedov stays retired.

If that happens, what’s next for Charles Oliveira? This is a tough question to answer at the moment. On one hand, Oliveira definitely deserves to be in the conversation for the next UFC title shot.

However, if the promotion goes with this four man style tournament, that leaves Oliveira as the odd man out. For the sake of this article, let’s say that the promotion books those four men up at UFC 257.

If the winners come out unscathed, I could see the UFC giving Oliveira the loser of one of the fights. However, if one of the winners is going to be out for some time, the promotion could give Oliveira a title shot against the other winner.

There are a few options for the promotion and their third ranked lightweight. I think no matter what, Oliveira will either be fighting for the title in his next fight or he will be fighting in a title eliminator.