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Conor McGregor’s massive return to the Octagon has been building up for nearly three years, but you wouldn’t have known it by the lackluster fight poster Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) released for the Irishman’s upcoming clash with Michael Chandler.

McGregor, who has been sidelined since suffering a broken leg at the hands of Dustin Poirier all the way back in July 2021, is scheduled to fight Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29 from inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is expected to be one of the highest grossing gates in UFC history as the biggest MMA superstar of all time returns from a three-year layoff.

All things considered, you would think that the UFC marketing and design team would come up with a better poster for UFC 303 than the garbage that spilled onto social media on Wednesday night. McGregor’s comeback fight will be one of the biggest moments in UFC history, let alone in 2024. It deserves a more memorable fight poster than something you’d see for an Alex Perez vs. Matheus Nicolau UFC Apex card.

The shocking results can be seen above. Let us know what you think of the official McGregor vs. Chandler fight poster.

Insomnia

Ryan Garcia is halfway there!

Sean O’Malley wants all the smoke Conor McGregor can dish out.

This has to be one of the most ridiculous fight posters of all time. Check the bottom right section for Adrien “If I Show Up” Broner.

A huge flyweight clash has been booked for UFC 304. Thoughts?

This is a pretty one-sided breakdown…

Do you think Chael Sonnen was really asked to be the backup fighter for Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz 2?

Anthony Smith continues to callout Alex Pereira to a $50K grappling match.

Is this the next matchup to make in the UFC’s flyweight division?

Fair game?

It’s crazy to think that at one time Frankie Edgar could have fought at the same weight as Islam Makhachev.

Do you think Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson will ever compete in MMA?

Dustin Poirier wasn’t impressed with Islam Makhachev’s punching machine power.

Sean O’Malley won’t let anyone forget that he KO’d Aljamain Sterling.

And Sterling quickly fired back…

Did Mike Perry miss out on a prime opportunity?

Slips, rips, and KO clips

This was a wild KO from the world of boxing.

Here’s another MMA fan edit for the win!

Check out Robelis Despaigne’s last four fights wrapped into a 50-second clip.

Does this count as a slip, rip, or neither?

Random Land

No way this is as good as the original, right?

Take your base!

Until next time, sleep well Maniacs!

Robelis Despaigne might be the most intriguing prospect in the Heavyweight division.

After a lengthy and successful career as a Taekwondo black belt, including the acquisition of an Olympic bronze medal, Cuba’s Despaigne made the transition to mixed martial arts (MMA) in June 2022. “The Big Boy” has had an absurdly quick career thus far, racking up five wins with no losses and his last four fights lasting a combined 37 seconds with knockout finishes.

Despaigne, 35, targets victory No. 6 when he fights Waldo Cortes-Acosta at UFC St. Louis this weekend (Sat., May 11, 2024). The Cuban believes the win will continue his quick momentum and ultimately culminate in a title fight sooner rather than later.

“Look, if all goes according to plan, I think that by the beginning of next year, I’ll be fighting for the UFC Heavyweight title, or at least the interim,” Despaigne told MMA Junkie.

Before Despaigne can challenge for gold, he’ll have to, obviously, get past Cortes-Acosta, but the top of the heap still needs sorting. Undisputed champion, Jon Jones, has yet to defend his title and is expected to do so against former titlist, Stipe Miocic, upon his return later this year. Meanwhile, Tom Aspinall holds the interim strap, which presumably will grant him a shot at the winner.

From Despaigne’s viewpoint, he expects Aspinall to be the one who comes out on top at the end of the day. That’s until he gets his shot, of course.

“That is a close fight, but if it’s a matter of momentum, I think that Aspinall can pull it off and win the crown,” Despaigne said. “But we know the quality that Jon Jones has, so he can always surprise.

“For me, that would be a dream to be champion of the UFC, and it would make me proud,” he concluded.

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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.

Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley have yet to bury the hatchet after their Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight title showdown last year (Aug. 19, 2024).

O’Malley, 29, ended the reign of Sterling at UFC 292 with a picture-perfect second round counterpunch (watch highlights). Had Sterling not been the champion, there’s a good chance his best friend and fellow top contender, Merab Dvalishvili, would have already fought for the title.

Sterling, 34, has since left the Bantamweight ranks for a run at 145 pounds, which he kicked off successfully with a unanimous decision win over Calvin Kattar at UFC 300 last month (April 13, 2024). Meanwhile, Dvalishvili appears to finally be next to challenge for Bantamweight gold. “The Machine” has had fun with the build up to a potential O’Malley fight by making several fun social media videos, and taking verbal shots with predictions. However, O’Malley fired back after the most recent exchange and Sterling wasn’t having any of it.

“I will smash O’Malley inside the cage and then smash his coach outside of the cage,” Dvalishvili tweeted.

“Ima smash your best friend after I beat you. Oh wait nvm already did,” O’Malley responded.

“You’re a sorry ass champion,” Sterling chimed in. “Keep bragging about a handicapped fight to give you the best odds to win. You’re not a real man my guy. Don’t try to duck the number 1 contender again to fight number 15 this time or some other pointless lame fight.”

O’Malley received critique for his first title defense at UFC 299 this past March 2024. Rather than taking on the streaking Dvalishvili, O’Malley rematched his old rival, Marlon “Chito” Vera, who defeated him in their first clash at UFC 252 in August 2020. Vera entered the bout off of only one victory since his split decision loss to Cory Sandhagen one fight prior. O’Malley scored redemption with a shutout unanimous decision win over their five rounds together (watch highlights).

Raphael Assuncao was not pleased with Matt Walsh’s tactics in their International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Atlanta Spring Open match.

The longtime perennial Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight contender officially retired in March 2023. Assuncao, 41, called it a career (28-10) on the heels of a tough third round inverted triangle choke loss to Davey Grant (watch highlights). Unfortunately for the veteran BJJ specialist and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, his latest combat experience didn’t have an ideal result.

Assuncao won his match with the aforementioned Walsh this past weekend (Sun., May 5, 2024). However, the victory came via disqualification after Walsh utilized the lockdown position, popping Assuncao’s knee in the process and causing some post-match turmoil. Assuncao approached his opponent afterward and spit on him multiple times as seen in the embedded player above.

“10th Planet, it has all p—sies,” Assuncao can be heard saying in the video.

“This guy disrespected me on the mats,” he explained in an Instagram story (h/t BJJotter). “He popped my knee illegally. Then I asked him, ‘Hey, man. You guys gotta watch that move.’ He says that his gym are known for doing that type of move so I replied back, and ultimately, he said that he can show me much more than just popping my knee in the parking lot.

“So, I lost my temper,” Assuncao concluded. “I chased him down and I asked him, ‘Hey, you told me that you will show me much more in the parking lot.’ He sissied out. He acted like a sissy, and I just spat on him.”

Assuncao had a fruitful career in MMA as he enjoyed success through his time in World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and UFC. At the height of his success, Assuncao was lined up to challenge Renan Barao for the UFC Bantamweight title at UFC 173 in May 2014. Unfortunately for Assuncao, injury removed him from the equation and led T.J. Dillashaw to fill in. The rest, as they say, was history.

After his run-in with Walsh, Assuncao is set to get a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on his knee in the coming days and hopes the damage isn’t as bad as he fears.

“This guy’s Instagram main quote is, ‘We smoke weed and pop knees,’ and he had told me that on the mat after he got DQ’d,” Assuncao said. “That’s when I replied and then he replied back saying that we can meet at the parking lot and stuff. When I saw him in person face-to-face, he acted like a girl.”