Tom Aspinall’s UFC London win draws reactions from Jon Jones, Ciryl Gane
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones may soon have a new challenger to think about. Heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall recently returned to action after spending an injury forced him to the sidelines for a year. The Englishman secured an incredible first-round TKO win over Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 224 in London last weekend and wasted no time mapping out his future career moves. Aspinall used the post-fight octagon interview to state his intentions to face the winner of Ciryl Gane vs. Sergey Spivak, scheduled for UFC Paris in September, before taking on Jon Jones for the heavyweight strap. He said: “I’m gonna go to Paris. I’m gonna be sat front row for Ciryl Gane vs. Sergey Spivak, I’m gonna beat the winner. Then I’m going to beat Jon Jones.” Soon after Tom Aspinall’s bold callout, ‘Bones’ and ‘Bon Gamin’ shared their reaction on social media. Responding to the Englishman’s speech, Jones took to Twitter to post a simple three-word reaction. He wrote: “Sounds good, lol.” Similarly, Gane also seemed keen on the idea of facing Aspinall. Issuing a warning, he wrote: “Great performance Tom, careful what you wish for. See you in Paris.” Jon Jones is set to defend his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295. The bout will take place at Madison Square Garden on November 11. Tom Aspinall previews Jon Jones fight, claims to present a “different” challenge to ‘Bones’ Jon Jones is widely regarded as the greatest mixed martial artist ever. From his dominant reign as the light heavyweight champion to his mind-numbingly quick heavyweight title capture, Jones has repeatedly proven why he’s not an opponent to trifle with. Nevertheless, Tom Aspinall is confident of his chances against ‘Bones.’ After stopping Marcin Tybura’s two-fight win streak via TKO, Aspinall expressed his intention to face the heavyweight champion eventually. In the post-fight presser, the Englishman was asked how he saw a potential fight against Jon Jones going. He confidently replied: “I think I match up well [against Jones]. It’s a dream fight of mine, and I think I’m young and I’m fresh, and I haven’t got loads of miles on the clock. I’m big; I can do everything well. I’m fast, strong, and I’m heavy. Which is unlike a lot of his opponents who he’s fought in the past. I think I bring something different to him, and I think he knows that as well. Or he should know it moving forward definitely.”
What happened in the first fight between BMF title fighters Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje
The UFC will soon crown its new ‘BMF’ champion. Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje are booked to fight for the famed “Baddest Motherf**ker” title at UFC 291 on July 29. This bout will also be the second meeting between the former interim lightweight champions. Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje first met in the octagon at UFC on Fox 29 in April 2018. After a slugfest that lived up to its expectations, ’The Diamond’ secured a fourth-round TKO victory over ‘The Highlight.’ Both fighters started strong, with Gaethje looking to attack with leg kicks and big right hands early. Meanwhile, Poirier focused on putting together boxing combos and peppered his opponent’s face with quick jabs. As the fight progressed, it was clear that neither fighter was interested in backing down and pushed forward relentlessly. Despite two eye-pokes resulting in a point reduction for Justin Gaethje, ‘The Highlight’ significantly damaged Dustin Poirier with his devastating leg kicks in the third round. After ‘The Diamond’ artfully survived the striking onslaught that followed, he put on an exceptional boxing clinic in the fourth round. Poirier countered an early low kick with a clean left that stunned Gaethje. Sensing his opportunity, Poirier rushed forward and landed a barrage of strikes that caused Gaethje to drop to his knees. Thirty-three seconds into the fourth screen, the referee stopped the contest. ‘The Diamond’ got his hand raised via TKO, with both fighters taking home ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. Jorge Masvidal on potentially presenting the BMF title to the victor at UFC 291 Jorge Masvidal recently discussed the possibility of him presenting the BMF title to the winner of Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje at UFC 291. Masvidal was the inaugural BMF champion, defeating Nate Diaz at UFC 244 to win the black-and-grey belt. At the UFC 290 post-fight presser, MMA journalist Mike Bohn asked UFC president Dana White about Masvidal possibly presenting the BMF title belt to the Poirier-Gaethje winner. Interestingly, White seemingly agreed with the idea, and it appears the UFC will proceed with the plan. In a recent interview with MMA reporter Chamatkar Sandhu, Jorge Masvidal thanked Mike Bohn for his suggestion. Implying that future BMF title winners would present the belt to their successors, Masvidal said: “That’s what I heard. It’s happening… It is gonna happen when I go out there, wrap the belt around the winner. And the tradition lives on.” Watch the full interview below:
“Jon Jones is unreliable!” – Colby Covington explains why the UFC would want him on the UFC 295 MSG card
Colby Covington is not a fan of Jon Jones. ‘Chaos’ recently weighed in on the highly-anticipated UFC 295 card and explained why the promotion wants him as their insurance policy in New York on November 11. It was recently reported that Covington could face Leon Edwards in a welterweight title fight at UFC 295. A blockbuster heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic will headline the highly-anticipated card. The UFC intends to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a massively stacked card that promises to put on a spectacle at Madison Square Garden. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Colby Covington explained why he’s being roped in for a championship fight at UFC 295 despite being inactive for over a year. Recalling Jones’ reputation for finding trouble and promising to ask ‘Bones’ hard-hitting questions during the pre-fight presser, Covington said: “Guys, who doesn’t want to see me on stage with Jon Jones? You know the questions I’m going to ask? I’m going to ask him questions that all the people want answers to. What is a picogram Jonny? Who were the two girls in the back of your Bentley when you wrecked it in Vegas?… Guys, it’s going to be a freaking electric factory if you put me and him on the same stage… Plus, we know he’s unreliable. That’s two reasons why.” Catch Covington’s comments below (5:50): Colby Covington claims he’d love to train Elon Musk for Mark Zuckerberg fight Colby Covington is on team Elon Musk all the way. ‘Chaos’ recently weighed in on the highly-anticipated Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg cage fight. The ever-outspoken UFC welterweight backed the Tesla CEO to beat the Meta Platforms CEO and even offered to train him for their potential fight. The two tech billionaires recently took their rivalry to a whole new level. After some light social media banter escalated, Musk and Zuckerberg seemingly agreed to fight each other in a cage match. Their intentions were confirmed by UFC president Dana White, who also claimed he could make the fight happen. While many have debated the outcome of a potential Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg fight, Colby Covington firmly backs the Tesla CEO to come out on top. In the same interview mentioned above, he said: “My line is always open to Elon… I’d love to train Elon. He has so much alpha qualities. The guy is just a straight alpha. He’s fighting for freedom of speech, he doesn’t want people suppressing our free speech, like Mark Zuckerberg, ironically… I’d love to train Elon to put him in six feet deep.”
“We were supposed to fight in London!” – Colby Covington on why a fight with Leon Edwards hasn’t been announced yet
Colby Covington recently sounded off on Leon Edwards for fumbling a blockbuster pay-per-view event in London this weekend. Covington is set to get the next welterweight title shot against Edwards, much to the chagrin of many top-ranked welterweights. ‘Chaos’ was initially scheduled to fight Leon Edwards as the headliner for the upcoming UFC London event this weekend. However, stalled negotiations caused that plan to fall through. According to reports, Dana White is targeting Covington vs. Edwards for UFC 295 on November 11 at the Madison Square Garden in New York. A heavyweight showdown between Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic will headline the event. In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Colby Covington blasted Leon Edwards for refusing to fight less than four months after his last title defense against Kamaru Usman at UFC 286. “The original plan, we’re supposed to be fighting this weekend in London. We’re supposed to be giving the London fans a spectacle, a pay-per-view main event… Leon robbed the UK fans… After that fell apart, it only made sense that this was going to go down somewhere in America.” Covington continued: “He [Edwards] knows he has to prepare for ‘Chaos.’ He knows he needs a full year of training camp… He’s not going to stop the Colby train, and deep down, he knows that. That’s why he’s delaying this, that’s why he’s pushing this as far back as he can possibly get. Now he’s at the point where he’s going to get stripped.” Catch Covington’s comments below (2:06): Geoff Neil claims Colby Covington doesn’t deserve a title shot UFC welterweight contender Geoff Neil recently weighed in on a potential Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards title fight. The No.8-ranked welterweight opined that ‘Chaos’ doesn’t deserve a shot at UFC gold and named Belal Muhammad the more deserving candidate. It’s no secret that Dana White’s decision to hand Covington a title shot was unpopular among fans and fighters alike. ‘Chaos’ last fought Jorge Masvidal in March 2022 and has been away from competition for over a year. Given Covington’s inactivity, many believe Muhammad’s last unanimous decision victory over Gilbert Burns should’ve made him the title challenger instead. In a recent interview with MiddleEasy, Geoff Neil weighed in on the welterweight title picture and said: “It’s so annoying. I just wish he would fu**ing fight, it’s our job to fight… Belal [Muhammad] should be fighting for a title, I think. I think he’s deserved it; I think he’s earned it… I feel like the fight should make sense; Colby hasn’t done anything to deserve another damn title shot. If I’m being honest, he hasn’t done sh*t. He hasn’t fought anybody, let him fight somebody else.” Watch the full interview below:
UFC Fight Night event this weekend: Here are all the details
The UFC is back with another thrilling fight card this weekend. UFC Fight Night 224 goes down tomorrow at the O2 Arena in London, England, and will mark the promotion’s 15th visit to the British capital. As expected, the fight card features some of the most prominent English stars in the promotion. An explosive heavyweight matchup between Tom Aspinall and Marcin Tybura will headline the power-packed main card. Aspinall will be making his long-awaited return to action after an injury sidelined him in July 2022. Before that, the Englishman had a perfect 5-0 UFC record and was touted to be among the most exciting prospects in the heavyweight division. Meanwhile, Tybura is on a two-fight win streak and has gone 4-1 in his last five outings. In the co-main event, fan-favorite women’s flyweight fighter Molly McCann will face Lithuanian grappling maestro Julija Stoliarenko. McCann is coming off a tough first-round submission loss against Erin Blanchfield, which stopped her three-fight win streak. Meanwhile, Stoliarenko will look to redeem her tough loss against Chelsea Chandler at UFC Vegas 61. Elsewhere on the card, Scottish middleweight Paul Craig will take on Andre Muniz, and Jai Herbert will face Fares Ziam in a lightweight bout. UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall on Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury Tom Aspinall recently weighed in on the Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury boxing match and shared some intriguing news. The mercurial UFC heavyweight claimed he has been in touch with the WBC heavyweight champion and could help him train for his fight against Ngannou. Fury will go ten rounds against the former UFC heavyweight champion on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While the WBC champion’s title won’t be on the line, the fight will be governed by standard professional boxing rules. Ngannou has long campaigned for this match and is expected to make the biggest payday of his career. In a recent UFC Fight Night 224 media day interview, Tom Aspinall discussed the heavyweight boxing match and said: “Yeah, I spoke to him [Tyson Fury]. He called me the other day and asked if I would help him to train and stuff. We’ll see how it goes… I have a busy schedule myself. We’ll be in touch again after my fight is over with.” While Aspinall doesn’t count Francis Ngannou out completely, he doesn’t see the Cameroonian beating Tyson Fury. He said: “I think Ngannou has a puncher’s chance, but it’s a very, very, very small puncher’s chance. It’s a very slim chance… Obviously, he punches like an absolute truck… But Tyson Fury is a master at what he does, and it’s going to be a tough night for Ngannou.”
Umar Nurmagomedov out of Cory Sandhagen fight after reportedly suffering a shoulder injury a
Umar Nurmagomedov has reportedly pulled out of his scheduled bout against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Nashville on August 5. The No.11-ranked bantamweight is the older brother of Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov and a cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov was forced out of the fight after suffering a nasty shoulder injury during his training camp. According to his manager Ali Abdelaziz, the Dagestani fighter is scheduled for surgery next week. The news was first reported by ‘The Schmo,’ who took to Twitter to break the development. He wrote: “Breaking: Per sources, UFC is looking for a replacement opponent for Cory Sandhagen on August 5.” Umar Nurmagomedov was slated to compete in his first main event after three finishes in four outings. The five-round contest was meant to be his fifth promotional outing. The 27-year-old last fought Raoni Barcelos at UFC Vegas 67. He beat the Brazilian via first-round KO. Meanwhile, Cory Sandhagen has won two consecutive fights following back-to-back losses to T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan. Sandhagen last defeated Marlon Vera via split decision at UFC on ESPN 43 in March. Aljamain Sterling reacts to Umar Nurmagomedov pulling out of Cory Sandhagen fight due to freak injury UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling recently weighed in on Umar Nurmagomedov pulling out of his bout against Cory Sandhagen. The fight was set to take place on August 5 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Dagestani suffered a freak injury while training for the fight and will reportedly require surgery. Nurmagomedov uploaded a video of the incident to his social media handles which shows the nasty shoulder slip. Reacting to the same, Aljamain Sterling recently tweeted out his observation, stating: “Wow. That’s freaky. Not sure if that’s chronic, but seeing a shoulder slip out right there just seems like a real freak accident.” Interestingly, the ‘Funk Master’ also suffered a similar injury during the build-up to his fight against Henry Cejudo. The bantamweight king later revealed that he had a partially torn bicep for almost a year before his fight against ‘Triple C’ but chose to compete anyway. Sterling is set to defend his title against Sean O’Malley next at UFC 292 on August 19.
Islam Makhachev set to defend belt against Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi
UFC president Dana White recently revealed some explosive matchups for UFC 294 in October in Abu Dhabi. He announced that an exciting lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira would headline the card. This would be the second time the two 155-pound juggernauts meet in the cage. The two world-class lightweights previously fought for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280 last October. Makhachev put on a grappling clinic to submit the Brazilian in the second round to be crowned champion. In the aftermath of their fight, ‘do Bronx’ made it clear that he wanted a rematch, and Makhachev seemed keen to grant him one. In a recent video posted to his social media handles, Dana White stated: “I’m here to announce that the card everyone has been waiting for, we had it done. Abu Dhabi, UFC 294 on Saturday, October 21st, the main event – Islam Makhachev will defend his lightweight title in the rematch against Charles Oliveira.” After their last fight at UFC 280, Charles Oliveira redeemed his loss to Islam Makhachev with a stunning first-round TKO win over Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 last month. Meanwhile, Makhachev defended his belt against Alexander Volkanovski via unanimous decision in a closely contested match at UFC 284. What other fights have been announced for UFC 294 in October? UFC 294 is set to go down at the Etihad Arena on October 21 in Abu Dhabi. Apart from a rematch between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev, Dana White also announced two other blockbuster matchups. In the same video mentioned above, White also revealed that Paulo Costa will face Khamzat Chimaev in a middleweight battle. This news shed some much-needed light on ‘Borrachinha’s recent pulling out from his bout against Ikram Aliskerov next weekend. While several media reports had hinted at the Brazilian pulling out to fight ‘Borz’ in Abu Dhabi, White’s announcement confirmed the speculations. Considering their mutual dislike for each other, this fight is expected to bring fireworks to UFC 294. Khamzat Chimaev has a perfect 6-0 record as a professional fighter. He last blitzed Kevin Holland via first-round submission in September 2022. Meanwhile, Costa hasn’t competed since beating Luke Rockhold last August, which snapped his two-fight losing skid. Lastly, Dana White announced that Ikram Aliskerov has been re-scheduled to fight Nassourdine Imavov at UFC 294.
BREAKING: Israel Adesanya to potentially face Sean Strickland at UFC 293 with Dricus Du Plessis out
Fans will have to wait for longer to witness the highly anticipated middleweight grudge match between Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis. According to reports, the South African will not sign the contract to face Adesanya at UFC 293 in September in Sydney, Australia. The Nigerian-born Kiwi has named Sean Strickland as his first choice for a replacement opponent. Adesanya posted a video on his socials, slamming Du Plessis for backing out and calling on ‘Tarzan’ to do ‘The Man Dance’ with him in September. Claiming that ‘Stillknocks’ is backing out due to a foot issue, he said: “I don’t even know how to start this, but ‘Dricus du P****,’ you f****** b****… Your foot’s sore… I’m fighting in Sydney. I don’t give a f*** who… You’re out. Strickland, you’re in, let’s do the man dance, show you how to really dance.” MMA journalist Ariel Helwani later confirmed that Dricus Du Plessis might not be able to compete at UFC 293 with such a short turnaround. He tweeted: “It’s not quite official but pretty close at this point that Dricus Du Plessis will not be able to fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 on Sept. 9 in Sydney. He was banged up going into the Robert Whittaker fight, and that turnaround is just too soon, I’m told. If that ends up being the case, and Israel Adesanya stays on the card, which is his desire, it’ll be Adesanya x Sean Strickland for the middleweight title on 9/9.” Adesanya and Du Plessis shared a racially charged face-off in the aftermath of UFC 290, where the South African secured a second-round knockout over Robert Whittaker. They have been exchanging verbal shots for months following Du Plessis’ comments about Adesanya’s African heritage. Sean Strickland’s coach claims ‘Tarzan’ prepared to fight Israel Adesanya if Dricus Du Plessis fight falls through It seems Sean Strickland keeping himself ready for a potential middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 293. In the aftermath of his second-round TKO win over Abus Magomedov at UFC on ESPN 48, Strickland voiced his eagerness to fight Adesanya for the 185-pound title. However, Dricus Du Plessis cemented his title shot against the Nigerian-born Kiwi with a statement win at UFC 290. With the Du Plessis vs. Adesanya fight looking unlikely now, Strickland’s coach Eric Nicksick recently claimed that his fighter is ready for a backup role. In an interview with MMA Junkie, he said: “I think you have to [prepare for it]. That’s the thing with Sean. My main concern is not him being prepared. Just making sure his weight is within striking distance to make that championship, 185-pound limit… He does need to stay ready because that phone might ring at any moment… I want to be ready to go and get this taken care of.”
Nate Diaz positive about fighting in the UFC again
Nate Diaz recently confirmed that he will fight in the UFC again. The Stockton slugger chose not to re-sign with the promotion after his last fight against Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. Diaz beat Ferguson via fourth-round submission and used the post-fight octagon interview to say his goodbyes. The Stockton native is now booked to make his professional boxing debut against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on August 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The card is billed as “Ready 4 War.” In a recent interview with fitness influencer Bradley Martin, Diaz was asked if he’d ever grace the octagon again. He replied: “Yeah. I’m gonna get this fight done with and then everything changes with every fight. People don’t understand that everything changes with every fight. Every fight that happens it’s like, how do you say it? It changes the whole bracket. When a fight happens, everything changes.” Nate Diaz is widely considered one of the UFC’s biggest superstars. The Stockton slugger garnered a massive cult during his time in the promotion and has fought several world-class fighters in blockbuster pay-per-view events. Nate Diaz addresses rumors about him taking a fall against Jake Paul Nate Diaz is nothing if not real. The Stockton slugger recently dismissed rumors of him getting paid to throw the Jake Paul fight and sounded off on those perpetuating them. Given Paul’s reputation of stat-padding his boxing resume by fighting retired MMA fighters like Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and Ben Askren, many speculated that ‘The Problem Child’ wants another high-profile win against Diaz. After his shocking first-round knockout against Askren, Paul was also accused of paying his opponents to take a fall. Addressing the same rumors, Nate Diaz recently made it clear that he’s not up for sale. In the same interview with Bradley Martin, he said: “They’re telling me that too, they’re like, ‘Tell me you’re not gonna take a fall against Paul.’ Everybody says that to me. I’m like are you kidding me? You couldn’t pay me all the money in the world to take a fall on anybody… I wish there was, I would tell on him. I ain’t no snitch bro, but I would tell on that b*tch ass.” Watch the full interview below: Meanwhile, Jake Paul is coming off a loss against Tommy Fury. They fought earlier this year in February, with Tyson Fury’s half-brother getting his hand raised via split decision after a closely-contested fight.
Islam Makhachev claps back at Alexander Volkanovski for claiming he’s “running” from him
Islam Makhachev has made it clear that he wants to fight Alexander Volkanovski again. Volkanovski recently took a shot at Makhachev and suggested that the Dagestani fighter was ducking a rematch against him. The two champions faced off at UFC 284, with Makhachev ultimately getting his hand raised via a controversial unanimous decision. The Australian strongly rallied for a rematch in the aftermath of their closely-contested fight. While Islam Makhachev was keen on the rematch, the lightweight king recently expressed interest in becoming a two-division champion. He called out welterweight champion Leon Edwards on Twitter, claiming he’s down to fight the Englishman at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Alexander Volkanovski wasn’t pleased about this development and responded to Makhachev’s tweet, stating: “You running brotha, you don’t want this smoke.” Not one to take a jibe sitting down, Islam Makhachev fired back, stating: “Take the fight then.” Volkanovski last defeated Yair Rodriguez via third-round TKO in a featherweight title unification fight at UFC 290. Meanwhile, Makhachev has yet to compete since his fight against Volkanovski. It’s unclear whether the UFC would book Edwards to defend his title against Makhachev next or against top welterweight contender Colby Covington instead. Alexander Volkanovski confident about dethroning Islam Makhachev in rematch Alexander Volkanovski is optimistic about his chances against Islam Makhachev in their rematch. The Australian has made no secret of his dream to become a two-division champion and is eager to see it through. After his fight against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, Volkanovski voiced his intentions to correct his errors and make UFC history if given the opportunity to face Makhachev again. In a post-fight press conference, ‘The Great’ stated: “I’d be lying to say I’ll just walk through him and do this and do that… It’s going to be another highly contested battle, but I guarantee I get my hand raised… It is two tough guys going at it. They’ve done five rounds, and there’s a good chance you might see another five rounds of it. I’d love to get a finish. We’re both so good that it might be another tougher fight. But I’m looking forward again.” Watch the full presser below: UFC president Dana White was supportive of the featherweight champion’s aspirations. In an interview after Volkanovski’s fifth consecutive title defense, he stated that the promotion would back the Australian in whichever fight he wanted to pursue. It’s unclear when or against whom Alexander Volkanovski will return to action. He revealed that he needs surgery and will spend some time recovering. Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev is expected to headline UFC 294 in October in Abu Dhabi.