Author: Dan Hiergesell

The upcoming Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3 card at UFC 264 is beginning to pick up steam.

According to UFC president Dana White (per ESPN), a welterweight clash between title contenders Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson is in the works for the July 10 card. The matchup will certainly be part of the ESPN+ PPV main card, but it is unknown at this time if the welterweight pairing will serve as the co-main event.

Burns, 34, is coming off a disappointing title fight loss to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 earlier this year. The defeat snapped a six-fight win streak for “Durinho” and put a hold on Burns’ meteoric rise in the 170-pound division. Burns will have his hands full with Thompson’s striking, but possesses the one-punch power, wrestling, and submission game to put “Wonderboy” in serious trouble.

Thompson, 38, has been clawing his way back to the top after dropping back-to-back losses to Darren Till and Anthony Pettis from 2018-2019. “Wonderboy” has rebounded nicely to capture wins over rising contenders Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal, but the veteran striker is going to have to do more if he wants to position himself at the top of the division in 2021. It all starts with defeating Burns this July and getting past one of the hardest tests at welterweight.

Nothing has been made official but if “Wonderboy” is able to decisively beat Burns he may be able to lock up another UFC welterweight title shot. Usman is expected to defend his belt next against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 later this month, but nothing has been finalized beyond that point. If Thompson has a great showing against Burns he could easily jump Leon Edwards and Colby Covington in line for the title.

Stick with Mania for more UFC 264 fight card news.

With less than one week before the debut of ONE Championship on TNT it’s time to look at the updated betting odds for the inaugural event.

ONE on TNT 1, which is set to air live on TNT on Apr. 7 following the conclusion of AEW wrestling, will feature a main event clash between current flyweight champion Adriano Moraes and former UFC titleholder Demetrious Johnson.

As expected, “Mighty Mouse” is a heavy favorite to take care of business and win the ONE flyweight belt off of Moraes. According to our friends over at Bet Online, Johnson is a -700 favorite to defeat Moraes and push his ONE record to 4-0 since his debut back in 2019. That means you will have to bet $700 just to win $100 on Johnson.

Moraes, on the other hand, is a huge underdog for his ninth flyweight title fight under the ONE Championship banner. As of now, Moraes is +450 for his upcoming tilt with Johnson next week. If fight fans are feeling froggy they’ll be able to throw $100 down on the defending flyweight champion with the chance of walking away with $450.

In addition to the flyweight headliner, ONE on TNT 1 will also feature the return of lightweight veteran Eddie Alvarez. The former UFC champion is expected to challenge Iuri Lapicus in main card action. Alvarez, who is coming off a submission win over Eduard Folayang back in Aug. 2019, is currently a -260 favorite. Lapicus, who dropped his first pro loss to current ONE lightweight champion Christian Lee in Oct. 2020, is slated as a +200 underdog.

Check out the full ONE on TNT 1 betting odds below:

Adriano Moraes (+450) vs.
Demetrious Johnson (-700)

Eddie Alvarez (-260) vs.
Iuri Lapicus (+200)

Raimond Magomedaliev (-155) vs.
Tyler McGuire (+125)

Mehdi Barghi (+275) vs.
Oumar Kane (-350)

Stick with Mania for complete ONE on TNT 1 results and coverage.

A featherweight main event between “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and Dan Ige has been booked for UFC’s upcoming event on June 19, per a recent report by ESPN.

The featherweight bout is currently in the works as no official contracts have been signed, but UFC is working towards finalizing matchup. As of now, it is unknown where UFC’s June 19th event will take place.

Jung, 34, is coming off a disappointing decision loss to Brian Ortega in Oct. 2020. The defeat cost “Korean Zombie” another shot at the UFC’s featherweight title. It also ended a two-fight win streak for Jung that included finishes over Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano. Outside of his loss to Ortega, Jung has looked like a straight killer since returning from mandatory military service back in 2017. A win over Ige will help “Korean Zombie” right the ship entering the second half of 2021 and put him right back in the top of the division.

Ige, 29, is coming off a massive 22-second knockout finish over Gavin Tucker back at UFC Vegas 21 (highlights HERE). It helped Ige get back into the featherweight win column after dropping a decision loss to Calvin Kattar back in July 2020. In all, Ige has produced a 7-2 record inside of the Octagon since his debut in 2017 and should launch himself into title contention with a win over “Korean Zombie” this summer.

Stick with Mania for more news on UFC’s upcoming June 19 card.

Conor McGregor has made things official for his trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.

One day after Poirier signed his contract, McGregor took to social media to confirm that the trilogy has been finalized for UFC 264 on July 10. McGregor also promised to show the MMA world what “Mac” is all about when he meets Poirier for a third time this summer.

“The fight is booked! July 10th you’re gonna see what the Mac is about. Adjust and absolutely fucking destroy!”

McGregor, who suffered his first career knockout loss at the hands of Poirier back at UFC 257, is hoping to reclaim his Octagon dominance with a marvelous showing against “Diamond.” McGregor already holds a TKO win over Poirier so he knows what it takes to stop the perennial lightweight contender, but it’s going to be easier said than done. Poirier is a different animal these days and proved that back in January when he kicked McGregor’s leg off and put him down with punches.

Poirier, who passed up a lightweight title fight with Charles Oliveira in favor of the McGregor trilogy bout, is about to cash in on the biggest payday of his career. Poirier saw record numbers roll in for his rematch with McGregor, but the trilogy bout is going to be even bigger, especially if it takes place in Las Vegas in front of fans.

In addition to ultimate bragging rights, the winner of Poirier vs. McGregor 3 will likely get the next shot at the UFC lightweight title. That belt was recently vacated by Khabib Nurmagomedov and will now be up for grabs between Oliveira and Michael Chandler next month at UFC 262 (details HERE).

UFC 264 will air exclusively on ESPN+ PPV with Poirier vs. McGregor 3 serving as the main event. The card is still a work in progress but a welterweight clash between top contenders Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson was just added to the mix.

Stick with Mania for more UFC 264 fight card news.

Colby Covington has declared himself the official backup for the upcoming welterweight title fight rematch between champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 later this month.

Seeing as Covington is the No. 1-ranked welterweight in the world this isn’t that far of a stretch. UFC hasn’t made anything official, but if something was to happen to either Usman or “Gamebred” it makes sense to bring Covington in and keep the show rolling.

“I’m going to evaluate things when that fight happens,” Covington said in an interview with “The Schmo.” “Everybody knows: The UFC hasn’t told me, but I think it’s pretty self-explanatory that I’m the backup guy. If anything happens, anybody gets COVID, anybody gets cold feet and pulls out of that fight, I’m showing up. That’s right down the road from me.

“We’re in Miami, Fla., right now. That’s a three-and-a-half hour, four-hour ride. I’ll take a bus over to Jacksonville, and I’ll be showing up for the fight. I’ll be there. So if anybody pulls out, I’ll be stepping in and we’ll evaluate from there. I just want to put on good fights and capitalize on the prime of my career, which is what I’m in. So we’ll see what happens in a couple of weeks.”

Covington, 33, is coming off a dominant TKO win over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in Sept. 2020. While “Chaos” was defeated by Usman via TKO back at UFC 245 in 2019 it was arguably the toughest fight to date for Usman. Covington is undoubtedly one of the best 170-pound fighters in the world today and a contender who is likely to fight his way back to a title shot anyways. Having Covington on queue for UFC 261 couldn’t be a better situation for the promotion, especially since the brash welterweight has history with both Usman and Masvidal.

“That’s up to Dana White and Hunter Campbell,” Covington said about being named the official backup. “That’s their decision. That’s their business and what they want. But I’m staying ready. I have my weight ready to go. I’m training, preparing like I’m fighting April 24 for the world title. So if they want me to weigh in, I’d love to weigh in. If not, it’s OK. I’ll be there in attendance, and I’ll be ready to go in case anybody pulls out last minute.”

What say you, Maniacs? Should UFC name Covington the official backup for Usman vs. Masvidal 2?

Sound off!

For more UFC 261 fight card news click here.

Michael Chandler still has much to prove heading into his lightweight title fight with Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 this coming May and the former Bellator champion is looking to put all doubt to rest with one single punch.

Chandler, who made a huge Octagon debut at UFC 257 with a co-main event knockout finish over Dan Hooker, was in the right place at the right time to land his first official UFC title shot. Following the retirement of Khabib Nurmagomedov the promotion tried to book an interim lightweight title fight between Oliveira and perennial contender Dustin Poirier, but “Diamond” passed in favor of a trilogy bout with Conor McGregor this July. That left Oliveira without an opponent and Chandler was slotted in.

Heading into the biggest fight of his storied career Chandler is confident that he can get past Oliveira with flying colors. Not only does Chandler believe that Oliveira won’t be able to submit him on the ground, but the veteran lightweight is counting on earning another knockout stoppage in his second UFC appearance.

“Charles Oliveira poses a lot of threats on the ground, but I’ve never even come close to getting submitted,” Chandler told TMZ Sports (shown above). “I’ve got kind of a sixth sense when it comes to the ground game to not be submitted. The best way I would like to go out there and finish him is just to hit him as hard as I can numerous times on the feet. Keep the fight standing, put him in panic mode, knock him out in the first round. If not the first round, dig a little deeper and go into the second, go into the third. He’s a guy who starts to slow down, especially once you start putting the pressure on him. I’m very good at keeping my foot on the gas for 25 minutes, I’ve done it a dozen times now. So man, go out there and knock him out in the first or second round, get my hand raised in front of a huge Houston crowd on May 15th, collect my paycheck, kiss my wife, and figure out what’s next.”

Chandler, 34, has never been submitted throughout his professional MMA career and sports the wrestling to keep things standing against Oliveira. If the fight remains on the feet that will certainly favor Chandler, who has finished his last three pro fights by way of first-round knockout.

That said, Oliveira is not your average lightweight contender and has all the ingredients to become champion. The Brazilian veteran has won his last eight trips to the Octagon and is coming off a suffocating win over Tony Ferguson. Oliveira has also shown improved striking over his past few outings so he could be ready to exchange with Chandler on the feet.

UFC 262 will go down on May 15 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Toyota Center in Houston, Tex., and will feature a co-main event clash between welterweight contender Leon Edwards and MMA superstar Nate Diaz.