Justin Gaethje’s manager reveals stipulations that Conor McGregor must meet for a possible BMF bout
Ali Abdelaziz has outlined the conditions Conor McGregor would have to meet if he wants to fight Justin Gaethje. The famed MMA manager, who handles high-profile clients like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and Henry Cejudo, recently addressed McGregor’s callout of Gaethje and warned the Irishman of dire consequences if he stepped into the octagon opposite the new BMF champion. After Gaethje’s impressive second-round knockout against Dustin Poirier at UFC 290, McGregor wasted no time calling him out. ‘The Notorious’ took to Twitter to launch a vicious tirade against ‘The Highlight’ and challenged his new BMF status. While Gaethje made it clear he wasn’t interested, they later exchanged tweets indicating that a fight between them was possible. In a recent interview with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Ali Abdelaziz revealed that Conor McGregor would need to make the lightweight limit without using PEDs for Justin Gaethje to accept the fight. He said: “This guy is a hype man, he’s not even a fighter… He’s almost 200 pounds… If Trevor Whitman’s ok and Justin Gaethje’s ok, and this guy wants to end his career… He can get it. As long as he can make 155 [pounds] and pass multiple USADA drug tests, he can get it.” Catch Abdelaziz’s comments below (4:00): Michael Chandler, on Conor McGregor calling Justin Gaethje out; addresses whether their fight is in jeopardy Michael Chandler isn’t worried about Conor McGregor forgetting about their matchup. The former Bellator lightweight champion recently addressed rumors about McGregor looking to make a return against Justin Gaethje instead of him. Earlier this year, McGregor and Chandler were roped in as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). The two explosive strikers are highly expected to fight each other after the season concludes. However, Conor McGregor may have other plans in mind. As mentioned above, ‘The Notorious’ seems to have turned his attention to fighting Justin Gaethje instead. However, Michael Chandler isn’t concerned about losing the big money fight. In an interview with ESPN, he claimed Conor McGregor succumbed to “recency bias” and is confident their fight will happen. He said: “Everyone has a short-term memory and we all succumb to recency bias… Next week, there’s going to be another guy that has a great showing at any weight class and they’re going to want to see Conor fight him. Conor’s going to get his little Twitter fingers going on the weekends every single time there’s a fight and insert himself into the conversation, but I’m not really that worried about it. I believe the fight is happening.” Watch the full video below:
Dillon Danis claps back at Jake Paul for denying accusations of fixing fights
Dillon Danis and Jake Paul won’t be making up and becoming friends anytime soon. There is a new twist in their ongoing feud. Danis recently leaked messages from a private conversation with Paul’s boxing coach Shane Mosley, which allegedly contained some damning evidence of ‘The Problem Child’ fixing his fights. Soon after, the YouTuber-turned-boxer dismissed the leaks as fake. However, Danis has come forth with more evidence that his screenshots were real. Just days before the highly-anticipated Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz boxing match, the younger Paul sibling was asked to comment on the leaked DMs. Dismissing the screenshots as doctored, Paul said: “It’s fake. Stop asking stupid sh*t. It’s literally fake.” In response, Danis took to Twitter to upload a video of him scrolling through his chats with Shane Mosley. The messages seemingly exposed how ‘The Problem Child’ operates and shed some light on his alleged match-fixing activities. The texts also showed Mosley stating that Paul won’t fight Danis unless he knew the Bellator star was suffering from a long-term injury. Danis captioned the post: “Stop the cap. The reason I’m not scrolling all the way down is because there is more about how the fights are fixed, but I don’t feel like dealing with a legal issue, I got training to do.” Jake Paul may retire if he loses to Nate Diaz, according to MVP co-promoter Jake Paul has more than just a win at stake when he goes up against Nate Diaz this weekend. ‘The Problem Child’ will face the former UFC star at the American Airlines Center on August 5 in Dallas. The fight will mark Diaz’s debut as a professional boxer and his first combat sports outing since September 2022. The Stockton slugger notably left the UFC after defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 279. Jake Paul has previously defeated former UFC stars like Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and Ben Askren. While he earned his flowers for those victories, he faces a particularly unique test against a cardio machine like Nate Diaz. Known for his tank-like durability, fans expect Diaz to be a difficult opponent for Paul. In a recent report by ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Paul’s MVP co-promoter Nakisa Bidarian revealed that ‘The Problem Child’ has more to lose than Diaz. Stating that Jake Paul could potentially quit the sport if he lost, he said: “He may retire if he loses to Nate Diaz. His boxing career is on the line, in terms of being one of the top three or four guys in the entire sport globally. I think if he was to lose, he’d just go to being another prospect that’s coming up in the ring.”
BREAKING: UFC bantamweight Song Yadong robbed at gunpoint
Song Yadong recently revealed some alarming news. The UFC bantamweight contender revealed that he was mugged at gunpoint in San Francisco last night. In a recent video uploaded to his Twitter handle, Yadong narrated the story of how it happened. It seems that after the ‘Kung Fu Kid’ went out drinking with his friend, they stopped at a gas station to hydrate. As his mate walked out with the bottle of water, they were surrounded by four men carrying guns. The men then demanded that the pair hand over their phones, wallets, and jewelry before escaping. He stated in his native tongue: “For the first time in my life, I was held at gunpoint. Last night, my friend and I drove back to Sacramento from San Francisco… I was a little drunk. I was with my friend and he was driving so he wasn’t drinking. On our way back, I was a little thirsty.” Stating that they drove around looking for a gas station to buy water, he continued: “When we got there, the four men were already standing there. They’re not following us, they’re waiting for a victim… They’re all set. Hoods up, license plates blocked… They told us to hand over money, wallets, and a necklace and hit him [A friend] with the handle of the gun]. They want money, they didn’t want to kill.” Song Yadong is coming off an impressive fifth-round TKO victory over Ricky Simon at UFC Vegas 72. While he was booked to face Rob Font at UFC 292, Font has been pulled from that bout to face Cory Sandhagen at UFC Nashville this weekend.
“Nerdy, goofy, soft punk dude” – Jamahal Hill calls out Ariel Helwani for his recent comments
Jamahal Hill has had enough of Ariel Helwani. The former UFC light heavyweight champion recently sounded off on the veteran MMA journalist for some disparaging comments he made during an interview with Jiri Prochazka. A few days ago, Helwani spoke to Hill’s predecessor on The MMA Hour. During their conversation, Helwani appeared to take shots at ‘Sweet Dreams’ for disrespecting ‘Denisa’ and insinuated that Hill tried to rush Prochazka back from a nasty shoulder injury. In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Jamahal Hill fired back at Ariel Helwani. Clearly upset at the journalist’s comments, Hill clarified that he never disrespected Jiri Prochazka and demanded proof if he did. He said: “Last time I came on your show, after my championship fight, you tried your tactics on me. And it didn’t work… You’re now upset and every chance you get you’re taking shots at me. These are blatant shots… We all know Ariel, the nerdy, goofy, soft punk dude who’s admitted multiple times, “I wouldn’t fight.” But has the nerve to disrespect fighters.” Addressing Helwani’s allegations that he disrespected Prochazka, Jamahal Hill continued: “Where did I say it at? And where was I disrespectful? Where did I do anything ill towards him other than wish him well?… Ask Jiri what I said to him when I talked to him. I’m not fake, I don’t have no reason to play fake or nice in nobody’s face.” Catch Hill’s comments below (1:05): Ariel Helwani responds to Jamahal Hill; invites ‘Sweet Dreams’ for an interview Ariel Helwani wants to clear the air with Jamahal Hill and recently invited ‘Sweet Dreams’ to have a conversation. After Hill put Helwani on blast for things he said during his interview with Jiri Prochazka, the veteran journalist responded by inviting ‘Sweet Dreams’ to his studio for a “man-to-man” chat on his popular The MMA Hour show. Helwani also offered to talk to the former light heavyweight champion via a Zoom call if in-person wasn’t possible. During the latest episode of The MMA Hour, Helwani stated that he wished to hash out their differences and said: “I would like to extend an invitation to you, Jamahal Hill, whom I have nothing but respect for and I think that your thoughts on the way that I think about you are very wrong. I’d like to extend an invitation to you to come in the studio on my program and we can hash it out, Mano-a-Mano, man to man.” He continued: “We can talk about the issues, and hopefully we can squash the beef… I know you just got injured. If you’d like to come on via Zoom, I would love to have you on… I would love to have you on to figure this out, to settle this, because I think there’s a lot of misinterpretation.”
Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje seemingly agree to fight following Twitter back and forth
Conor McGregor could make his long-awaited UFC return against Justin Gaethje. McGregor and Gaethje recently engaged in a heated back-and-forth on Twitter that resulted in the two seemingly agreeing to fight each other in the octagon. ‘The Highlight’ recently won the BMF title win against Dustin Poirier at UFC 291, and the Irishman wasn’t happy. Soon after Gaethje’s win, McGregor posted a series of nasty tweets calling the new BMF champion out. However, in his post-fight presser, Justin Gaethje made it clear that he wasn’t interested in facing ‘The Notorious.’ Despite the refusal, Conor McGregor persisted in his efforts to engage Gaethje, and it seems to have paid off. During a recent back-and-forth on Twitter, the two apparently agreed to a fight. During their exchange, McGregor brashly promised: “I KO him one shot. Guarantee it.” To which Gaethje surprisingly replied: “Sign the contract big boy.” While fans weren’t expecting any further development on the matter, Conor McGregor sent shockwaves across the MMA community by quote-tweeting his iconic cage-top image, stating: “Signed.” While it’s unclear if the McGregor-Gaethje fight will materialize, fans are undeniably hyped by the idea of the two explosive strikers going head-to-head in the cage. It remains to be seen if the UFC sanctions the potential showdown or sticks to the original plan of pitching Conor McGregor against Michael Chandler. Henry Cejudo on Conor McGregor vs. Justin Gaethje Henry Cejudo recently weighed in on a potential matchup between Conor McGregor and Justin Gaethje. The former two-division champion urged ‘The Highlight’ to take the fight against the Irishman and predicted an early finish for Gaethje in case the fight materialized. ‘The Notorious’ is undoubtedly MMA’s biggest superstar and has headlined five of the UFC’s highest-selling pay-per-view events. Given McGregor’s massive stardom, it’s unsurprising that fighters often yearn for a life-changing payday by going up against him. However, Justin Gaethje recently iterated that he wasn’t interested considering McGregor turned him down multiple times in the past. In a recent video uploaded to Twitter, Henry Cejudo urged the new BMF champion to put his ego aside and secure the bag by fighting Conor McGregor. Stating that the undisputed lightweight title wasn’t going anywhere, he said: “Justin Gaethje has two options. We all want the world title, we’re all chasing for that. In this situation, I think Conor McGregor is a great matchup for Justin Gaethje. You got millions and millions of dollars on the line if you fight Conor McGregor.” He continued: “Justin, if I had to choose something, whether I want a UFC title or about $10 million, guess what? I’m going for the $10 million… Either way, you’ll beat him… At 155 pounds, I can see you stopping Conor McGregor within the first two minutes.”
Nate Diaz abruptly walks out of face to face interview with Jake Paul ahead of boxing bout
Nate Diaz clearly isn’t keen on helping Jake Paul promote their highly-anticipated boxing match. The former UFC star is booked to face the YouTuber-turned-boxer at the American Airlines Center on August 5 in Dallas, Texas. ‘The Problem Child’ has made a name for himself in the combat sports realm over recent years. Known for his over-the-top style of promoting fights, Paul was expecting similar fireworks to erupt in the build-up to his fight against Diaz. However, the Stockton slugger has been least interested in engaging with Paul and has avoided any confrontation. This led to Jake Paul expressing his frustration over Diaz’s lack of contribution in promoting their fight. With their fight just days away, the two recently sat for a face-to-face interview, moderated by MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, designed to draw last-minute trash-talking. Once again, Diaz threw water over Paul’s expectations and abruptly left the interview, leaving Paul frustrated. Helwani recently tweeted a clip of the incident which shows Nate Diaz hilariously walking away while Jake Paul praised his achievements over the years. While Diaz stated that he’d be right back, the video showed him getting into an SUV and driving away. Nate Diaz claims Justin Gaethje isn’t worthy of being the ‘BMF’ champion Nate Diaz recently weighed in on Justin Gaethje’s recent BMF title win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 291. The Stockton slugger stated that ‘The Highlight’ didn’t fit the description of ‘Baddest Motherf**ker’ and dismissed Gaethje’s claim to the revered title. The BMF title came out of Diaz calling out Jorge Masvidal to decide who the UFC’s ‘Baddest Motherf**ker’ was. This resulted in the promotion sanctioning a one-off black-and-grey belt that would be given to the winner. After an entertaining fight at UFC 244, Masvidal managed to secure a third-round TKO to become the first BMF champion. In a recent interview with All Out Fighting, Nate Diaz shared his thoughts on Justin Gaethje succeeding Jorge Masvidal as the BMF titleholder. Blasting Gaethje and Dustin Poirier for their lack of superstardom, he said: “Him [Gaethje] and Poirier are dorks, they don’t fit the description anyway, Masvidal, too. The champions are all kind of lame right now. There is Adesanya and Jon Jones, besides that everybody is kind of, there is nobody that entertaining to watch. So, what happens? I make something to entertain people and I’m not even in there?” Watch the full video below:
BREAKING: Kelvin Gastelum pulls out of bout with Shavkat Rakhmonov due to injury
Kelvin Gastelum will not be competing against Shavkat Rakhmonov at the UFC Fight Night event on September 16. The former middleweight interim title challenger recently announced that he suffered a facial fracture during training. Gastelum was slated to face Rakhmonov in a welterweight contest at UFC’s Mexican Independence Day event. He would have been making his first outing at welterweight since July 2016, when he beat Johny Hendricks at UFC 200. In a recent video posted to his socials, Kelvin Gastelum announced the unfortunate news and revealed that he is trying to move his welterweight return to November 11. He said: “Unfortunate news, my fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov is off. I received an elbow that resulted in an open fracture, and a few bones came out fractured… I apologize to Shavkat Rakhmonov and his team… And I asked to move it up to November. Hopefully, they will grant me this wish. That will be Nov. 11 in Madison Square Garden.” While Shavkat Rakhmonov is unlikely to stay on the September 16 card, the promotion will attempt rebooking the matchup for UFC 294 on October 21 in Abu Dhabi. However, it’s unclear if Gastelum will be ready by then. Shavkat Rakhmonov reacts to Kelvin Gastelum pulling out of their scheduled bout Shavkat Rakhmonov isn’t happy about Kelvin Gastelum pulling out of their fight. The undefeated phenom recently blasted the Mexican-American and called him out for a fight on October 21 instead. Rakhmonov is undoubtedly among the most exciting fighters to watch in the UFC today and the Uzbekistan native has an impressive record of 17-0. He last beat Geoff Neal at UFC 285 via third-round submission. His fight against Gastelum was to be his toughest test to date and would give him a chance to prove himself against a veteran of the sport. In a recent tweet, Rakhmonov blasted Kelvin Gastelum for pulling out and labeled him a “Pinata” while attempting to rebook their bout for UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. He wrote: “Pinata, I agreed to fight you on your territory on Mexican Independence Day in an arena full of your supporters and it’s not my problem you can’t do it now. It’s your turn to accept to fight me on my territory in Abu Dhabi at UFC 294! Or did you realize it was a bad idea just now?” He followed up with another tweet, stating: “You forgot to mention you are struggling with diet too.” Kelvin Gastelum is coming off a decision win against Chris Curtis at UFC 287, which stopped a two-fight losing slide against Robert Whittaker and Jared Cannonier.
Chael Sonnen urges Dana White to re-sign Derrick Lewis to the UFC after stunning TKO win
Chael Sonnen doesn’t want to see Derrick Lewis leave the UFC. Claiming that he wanted to see more of ‘The Black Beast,’ Sonnen recently urged Dana White to re-sign the perennial heavyweight contender. Lewis recently fought the last fight of his current contract and dispatched Rogerio De Lima via first-round KO. The hard-hitting heavyweight contender barraged his opponent with punches and forced the referee to intervene just 33 seconds after the opening bell. Lewis reclaimed his top spot for most knockouts in UFC history with the win. After the fight, Derrick Lewis iterated that he’d love to re-sign with the promotion and fight for the title. Given his status as a fan-favorite fighter and his entertaining fighting style, many called for Dana White to bring him back. Speaking at the post-fight ESPN MMA show, Chael Sonnen urged the UFC supremo to strongly consider keeping Derrick Lewis on the roster. He said: “Look, Dana, I’ve asked you for things before, but not in a while. I feel like I’m owed one. Please re-sign this guy. I’m not done with Derrick. I want to see more of Derrick Lewis. I’ll leave it at that.” Watch the full video below: Dana White shares update on Conor McGregor’s return Earlier this month, Dana White shared an update on Conor McGregor’s highly-anticipated return to action. The UFC frontman revealed that while the Irishman hasn’t entered the USADA testing pool yet, he’s confident about McGregor fighting before the year ends. After suffering a nasty leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021, McGregor went through a long process of recovery and physical therapy. The Irishman made his UFC return by taking on a coaching role on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) opposite Michael Chandler earlier this year. The two men were highly touted to face off in the octagon after their season concluded. However, McGregor’s absence from the USADA testing pool has proven to be a significant hurdle to his return. While he’s hinted at submitting his samples several times in the past, he is still not registered by the drug-testing agency. In an interview with Aaron Bronsteter for TSN, Dana White shared an update on Conor McGregor’s future plans and said: “He’s not [back in the USADA testing pool]. 100 percent [there’s a chance Conor McGregor fights this year]. We’ll see how that plays out. They’re saying that now, but who knows… Who cares what USADA says, we’ll see what happens when it happens so I don’t know.”
Jorge Masvidal claims he lost $100k betting on Dustin Poirier at UFC 291
Jorge Masvidal recently opened up about last weekend’s Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje BMF title fight. ‘Gamebred’ revealed that while he recognizes Gaethje’s impressive performance, he was salty about losing $100,000 in wager money. It’s no secret that Masvidal and Poirier are close friends and train together at the famed American Top Team gym (ATT) in Florida. Unsurprisingly, the former BMF champion chose to bet a significant amount of money on his teammate to win. While Poirier succeeding Masvidal as the BMF titleholder would be an exceptional honor for both men and the ATT gym, Justin Gaethje’s devastating head kick splashed water all over that possibility. ‘The Highlight’ ended the blockbuster fight by unexpectedly knocking Poirier out early on in the second round. In the aftermath, Jorge Masvidal graciously handed over the coveted black-and-grey belt to Gaethje. In an interview with TNT Sports after the event, Masvidal revealed that he suffered a personal loss after Dustin Poirier lost and said: “I’m making wagers that I probably shouldn’t. I put $100,000 on D.P, on Dustin Poirier. Kids I’m sorry, you’ve got to go to public school now…I’m just hurt. I wanted my boy to get that belt.” Watch the full interview below: Jorge Masvidal dares Conor McGregor to call him out Jorge Masvidal has had enough of Conor McGregor’s empty callouts. ‘Gamebred’ recently sounded off on the Irishman and dared McGregor to try calling him out for a fight. McGregor hasn’t stepped inside the octagon since suffering a nasty leg fracture against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021. Since then, ‘The Notorious’ has gone through extensive physical therapy and medical rehabilitation. He made his return to the UFC by reprising his role as a coach on the ongoing season of The Ultimate Fighter opposite Michael Chandler. The two explosive strikers are expected to face off after their season concludes. Despite the hype, there seems to be no official movement regarding the McGregor-Chandler fight. Masvidal could be prepared to change that. Almost immediately after Justin Gaethje’s BMF title win, Conor McGregor called him out via a series of explicit tweets. However, ‘The Highlight’ was neither impressed nor interested in the Irishman’s rants. It seems Jorge Masvidal wasn’t too pleased either. In a recent tweet, the Miami native wrote: “Conor McGregor shut ur mouth you pissing hot midget ur not cleared to fight. Talking about fighters going thru the grind and process. I bet you never say my name you scared.”
Stephen Thompson reveals he still hasn’t been given his show money for UFC 291
Stephen Thompson is still waiting to be compensated for making weight and showing up to the UFC 291 weigh-ins. Thompson was booked to face Michel Pereira at last weekend’s UFC 291 event. However, the fight was scrapped after the Brazilian failed to make the welterweight limit by three pounds. He weighed in at 174 pounds, while the non-title limit is 171 pounds. ‘Wonderboy,’ who weighed in successfully at 170.5 pounds, chose not to go ahead with the fight at catchweight. Despite Stephen Thompson completing an entire training camp, he isn’t sure if he’ll get paid for all the blood, sweat, and tears he put into making weight. However, the welterweight mainstay remains optimistic about the UFC doing right by him. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Thompson shared an update about the status of his payment and said: “At this point, my management is talking to the UFC, nothing yet. I know Dana White is on vacation. The guy is a workaholic, so well deserved, but I feel like the UFC is going to do right by me. I’ve done everything that I’m supposed to do… I’ve done what they wanted of me, and I feel like they’re going to do right by me. Things are still in talks. I think they’re waiting for Dana White to come back from his vacation, and we’ll go from there.” Watch the full video below: Chael Sonnen calls for the UFC to pay Stephen Thompson his dues Former UFC middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on the Stephen Thompson pay issue and called for the promotion to make the welterweight striking maestro whole. As mentioned above, ‘Wonderboy’ hasn’t received payment for going through a whole training camp and successfully making weight. While fighter pay is typically segregated into ‘show’ money and ‘win’ money, the UFC reserves the right to decide if a fighter who makes weight and is ready to fight gets the show money if the bout falls through. While it’s unclear if Stephen Thompson will get paid, Chael Sonnen recently voiced his support for the welterweight striker. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, he said: “I stand with Stephen. I stand with Thompson on this one… This was about an honor and a respect that goes deeper than just this organization, you and I both know the deal and you and I both know you can’t [miss weight]… Why should Thompson be punished?” Watch the full video below: