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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw never wanted to call it quits. Unfortunately, a chronically mangled shoulder forced his hand, as well as derailing his final chance at recapturing UFC gold in his doomed 2022 bout versus Aljamain Sterling.

Perhaps there’s still hope?

Just last month, Dillashaw was expressing doubts and second thoughts about his retirement. Now, Dillashaw has a positive update from his latest surgery, and he’s optimistic about his future. “Seem to be healing great from last surgery,” Dillashaw wrote on Instagram. “Will know more in the coming weeks but the future looks bright.”

Prior to all those shoulder surgeries, Dillashaw was the two-time UFC Bantamweight king. He first captured the belt by dethroning Renan Barao then later took the title again by stopping Cody Garbrandt twice. However, his attempt to become a two-division champion ended up costing him 135-pound gold, as he failed a drug test and lost two years of his prime while pursuing Henry Cejudo’s Flyweight belt.

He wouldn’t be the first MMA fighter to return from a brief retirement.

Insomnia

What percentage of serious fight fans are actually demanding Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic? It feels like a fight aimed at the casual fans who don’t realize just how long Miocic has been away.

Darren Till appears to be getting ready for a return to action. Will it be bare knuckle or boxing?

A fun Bantamweight booking with a bonus bit of backstory!

Demetrious Johnson reveals how much he made to be in the UFC video games, as well as on the cover.

Renato Moicano is hilarious.

Khabib is enjoying his hard-earned retirement.

Joaquin Buckley is a deeply unserious person. I love it!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

In case you missed it: One of the most violent men in UFC history retired last weekend. There can be no doubt that Matt Brown “unleashed the animal!”

Count the head kicks in this attempt at a prank:

That’s a full face plant.

Random Land

Incredible talent and mastery.

Midnight Music: I was away from the helm for the best parts of the Kendrick vs. Drake rap beef. My favorite track from each (ideally listened to in the order that they’re posted):

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

Dustin Poirier is always looking to jump guillotine to try to submit his opponent, but “Diamond” has actually never secured one of these finishes in his entire combat career. Reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is looking to extend that streak when the two meet at UFC 302 next month in Newark, New Jersey.

While Poirier is one of the best strikers at 155 pounds today, the perennial contender is a sucker for a tight guillotine. In fact, despite his corner advising against it, Poirier attempted multiple guillotine chokes in his most recent fight against Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 this past March. Poirier was unable to secure any of his attempts, but ultimately found a brutal knockout finish once the action returned to the feet.

Ahead of what is expected to be his last shot at UFC lightweight gold, fight fans are urging Poirier against the guillotine. That’s because he’s facing one of the best grapplers in the history of the division and jumping guillotine on Makhachev is almost like signing your life over. The same thing happened when Poirier fought Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight strap at UFC 242 back in 2019. “Diamond” tried to catch Khabib in a guillotine, but tired himself out and was ultimately submitted later in the fight.

According to Makhachev, who as we know is Khabib’s star pupil, Nurmagomedov allowed Poirier to catch the guillotine in effort to wear him down.

“Before the fight, Khabib told me: Catch me in guillotine, I will give him my neck and make him tired,” said Makhachev during a recent appearance on Good Guy / Bad Guy.

Makhachev, who has won his last 13 trips to the Octagon, is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport today. The UFC lightweight champion is undoubtedly the best grappler at 155 pounds since Nurmagomedov retired back in 2020. He’s ultimately advising Poirier against a guillotine choke attempt at UFC 302, but believes “Diamond” will still try it and spell his own demise.

“We will start and I will try to take him down,” Makhachev told Yahoo Sports. “He will try to get me in a guillotine (choke). I will defend the guillotine. I will give him a couple punches. He will give his back, then I will finish.”

“One day maybe, I hope (Poirier) will finish his guillotine on someone,” added Makhachev. “But it’s not going to be me.”

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For more UFC 302 fight card news and details click HERE.

Heavyweight veteran Derrick Lewis will have his hands full with Brazilian contender Rodrigo Nascimento tomorrow night (Sat., May 11, 2024) at UFC St. Louis live on ESPN from inside Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri, but “Black Beast” is also eying down a potential crossover into professional wrestling.

Lewis, who is one of the most recognizable heavyweights on the UFC roster today, has become quite a favorite among both casual and hardcore fans. His knockout ability and hilarious post-fight interviews have nearly made him a household name. If he’s able to earn another Octagon win in yet another UFC main event this weekend his stock will be on the rise yet again.

With more success comes more opportunities, which could eventually lead Lewis into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ring. Now that UFC and WWE are under the same corporate umbrella, “Black Beast” might find a way to take his talents to pro wrestling. In fact, the UFC heavyweight claims he’s already had talks about a potential WWE crossover.

“We [WWE and Lewis] are actually in talks right now,” said Lewis earlier this week during UFC St. Louis’ media day. “We’ve been talking for a few months. I was supposed to go down there in February to check everything out.”

As far as a potential WWE finishing move, Lewis would like to take a page out of Rikishi’s book and continue to take his shorts off.

“It’d have to be something like Rikishi,” added Lewis, “You might see it. I like taking down my shorts. You might see something like that.”

What do you think, Maniacs? Would you want to see Lewis inside of the WWE ring anytime soon?

Let us know!

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MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC St. Louis fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 7 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC St. Louis news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archives here and here. For the updated and finalized “Lewis vs. Nascimento” fight card and ESPN/ESPN+ lineup click here.

The next big boxing match will go down tomorrow evening (Sat., May 11, 2024) LIVE on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, as Vasyl Lomachenko returns to the ring to fight former lightweight king George Kambosos Jr. for the vacant IBF lightweight title.

Boxing has been hot of late. Mainly due to Ryan Garcia’s recent upset win over Devin Haney, fight fans are itching for more action inside of the squared circle. Saturday’s main event will offer just that, as Lomachenko and Kambosos go toe-to-toe atop a Top Rank Boxing card free for fight fans will access to ESPN.

On Friday, the two fighters will step on stage for official weigh ins. Neither fighter is expected to struggle to make weight, but these things are never a certainty in combat sports. The official weigh-in video stream will air LIVE and FREE in the above player beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET (courtesy of Top Rank Boxing).

As expected, Lomachenko and Kambosos will also come face-to-face for one final staredown ahead of Saturday’s title fight. You can check that out below once the real-time footage rolls in:

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Stick with Mania for more Lomachenko vs. Kambosos fight card news, coverage, and play-by-play results.