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Conor McGregor reignites feud with Paulie Malignaggi ahead of UFC 303: ‘He got battered out of the gym’

Ahead of his return to the Octagon in June, former two-division champion, Conor McGregor has rekindled his rivalry with…

Ahead of his return to the Octagon in June, former two-division champion, Conor McGregor has rekindled his rivalry with former sparring partner, ex-professional boxer, Paulie Malignaggi, claiming the Italian-American was “battered out of the gym” during their infamous sparring sessions back in 2017.

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight champion under the banner of the UFC, has been sidelined since he fractured his left tibia and fibula in a first round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier almost three years ago.

And booking his official return to active competition amid more than a year of speculation linking him with a comeback to the Octagon, McGregor is officially set to headline UFC 303 at the end of June during International Fight Week.

Taking on former lightweight title challenger, Michael Chandler in a heated grudge match between the two, Conor McGregor – who has been backed by his long-time head coach, John Kavanagh to dispatch of the veteran contender inside two rounds, returned to full-time training this month in anticipation of his return.

Conor McGregor hits out at Paulie Maglignaggi years after sparring fiasco

Backed to return with aplomb amid his continued layoff through a nasty injury, McGregor could not help himself but once more aim barbs in the direction of the above-mentioned Malignaggi, claiming the former WBA and IBF gold holder was comfortably “battered” out of their gym and ring during their infamous sparring tussles back in 2017.

Notably stepping into the squared circle with McGregor that year to briefly help the Dubliner prepare for his historic tangle with former world champion star, Floyd Mayweather, footage emerged of Malignaggi finding himself on the receiving end of some heavy strikes from the former – with the argument of an apparent and phantom knockdown still rife.

Going on to himself suffer a tenth round TKO loss to the unbeaten, Mayweather in the Michigan native’s final professional walk to the ring, McGregor and Malignaggi have both continuously weighed up a potential grudge match down the line since 2017, ultimately to no avail.

Do you think Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi will cross paths down the line?

Video – Conor McGregor shows off kick-Heavy sparring in new UFC 303 camp footage: ‘He’s looking smooth with it’

Finally slated to make his return to active competition following an almost three-year hiatus from the Octagon, former undisputed…

Finally slated to make his return to active competition following an almost three-year hiatus from the Octagon, former undisputed two-weight champion, Conor McGregor has been described as looking “smooth” – as he shows off a wide array of kicks in new sparring footage released ahead of his UFC 303 comeback.

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight gold holder under the promotion’s banner, is set to make his return to the Octagon at UFC 303 at the end of June during International Fight Week, taking on Michael Chandler in a long-anticipated pairing at the welterweight limit.

Conor McGregor backed as super slick ahead of UFC 303 fight I would be surprised if we saw two rounds

Sidelined for the last three years, McGregor most recently dropped a first round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to common-foe, Dustin Poirier after fracturing his left tibia and fibula in a gruesome end-of-round injury.

Conor McGregor shows off kick-heavy sparring pre-UFC 303

Ramping up camp at his home base Straight Blast Gym ahead of his anticipated return, Conor McGregor released sparring footage earlier this month, showing off his striking with UFC CEO, Dana White confirming his June return against Chandler.

connor mcgregor road house 65f9aff14b6b3 1

And this week, the 35-year-old released further before unseen footage, with fans noticing a kick-heavy approach to training, which included a bladed stance, as well as a variation of round kicks and lead hook kicks.

Backed to turn in a victory inside two rounds against Chandler by his long-time head coach, John Kavanagh, McGregor has been backed to approach the bout in a similar stylistic manner to his 2015 clash with Chad Mendes.

Conor McGregor backed to fight for 165lbs title at UFC 303 against Michael Chandler — Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger – Zuffa LLC

And while on-looking fans appear impressed with the Dubliner’s striking game, many have picked Chandler to prevail with his own explosive victory.

“That hook kick reminds of the featherweight days,” An X user posted.

“Conor is looking smooth with it.”

“Conor is so back.”

“Chandler will toy McGregor (sic) for 5 rounds.”

“This is how I spar, and I’m 62.”

“Conor’s gonna go for a head kick for sure! And honest it looks pretty fast, there’s a great chance he catches Chandler.”

Who are you picking to win at UFC 303: Conor McGregor or Michael Chandler?

Conor McGregor issued stark warning ahead of fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 303: ‘He’s in for a long night’

UFC welterweight Matt Brown breaks down the upcoming Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight. After much anticipation, UFC 303…

UFC welterweight Matt Brown breaks down the upcoming Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight.

After much anticipation, UFC 303 on June 29 will see the return of McGregor to the UFC cage. In a fight that was expected to happen some months ago, the Irishman will take on former No.7 ranked lightweight, Chandler.

The fight will take place almost three years on since his last fight in which he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier. During this time there has also been public concern over McGregor’s use of both performance enhancing and recreational drugs, so it’s unclear what form of Conor McGregor onlookers can expect.

Conor McGregor issued warning ahead of UFC 303 return

Discussing the fight on the latest episode of ‘The Fighter Vs. The Writer’, UFC vet Brown believes McGregor could be in for a rough night.

If Conor’s not at the top of his game, he’s in for a long f****** night because Michael Chandler is not going to make it a fun time for him,”. (H/T Bloody Elbow)

“It’s a huge risk and I think it’s going to be a great night for Chandler, I don’t think it’s going to be easy for him and I think Conor is going to give him some problems, touch him up, but it’s hard to imagine Conor being at this best and you have to be at your best to beat Michael Chandler.”

“Conor in his prime would have loved to fight Michael Chandler but is Conor still that guy?” questioned ‘The Immortal’, later adding that Chandler “is a lion and he’s going to come at you like a god damn cannonball, so he [Conor McGregor] better be training hard.”

Conor McGregor MIchael Chandler TUF UFC Slice — Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

Whatever McGregor doe show up to fight, it promises to be a show – just like any McGregor event. Recent social media posts do show that McGregor looking trim and training hard in preparation for an always game Chandler.

Do you agree with Matt Brown?

Conor McGregor issued stark warning ahead of fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 303: ‘He’s in for a long night’

UFC welterweight Matt Brown breaks down the upcoming Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight. After much anticipation, UFC 303…

UFC welterweight Matt Brown breaks down the upcoming Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight.

Conor McGregor issued warning ahead of UFC 303 return

Discussing the fight on the latest episode of ‘The Fighter Vs. The Writer’, UFC vet Brown believes McGregor could be in for a rough night.

If Conor’s not at the top of his game, he’s in for a long f****** night because Michael Chandler is not going to make it a fun time for him,”. (H/T Bloody Elbow)

Do you agree with Matt Brown?

Jose Aldo rooting for Conor McGregor win against Michael Chandler at UFC 303: ‘I expect great things’

Jose Aldo will be rooting for Conor McGregor to have a successful comeback when he faces Michael Chandler at…

Jose Aldo will be rooting for Conor McGregor to have a successful comeback when he faces Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29.

jose aldo conor mcgregor ufc — Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

McGregor will be ending his three-year-long layoff due to a broken leg when he faces Chandler in a highly-anticipated fight. It’s a bout that has been in the works for quite some time and despite Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo being former rivals, the Brazilian says he will be rooting for the Irishman.

Jose Aldo is rooting for Conor McGregor in his comeback fight against Michael Chandler at #UFC303:

"I always root for the guys who I fought and the guys who have beat me because that just proves that I lost to the best.

I hope that he can go in there and be the Conor of old and… pic.twitter.com/oCPbmYsTHT

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 25, 2024

“I always root for the guys who I fought and the guys who have beat me because that just proves that I lost to the best. I hope that he can go in there and be the Conor of old and be aggressive, and go in there to finish the fight… I expect great things from that fight,” Jose Aldo said to MMAJunkie.

Despite McGregor knocking Aldo out in 13 seconds at UFC 194 in 2015 to win the featherweight title, the Brazilian will be cheering him on and thinks he can finish the Irishman.

Jose Aldo confirms UFC 301 fight is the last on his deal

Jose Aldo will be returning to the UFC on Saturday, May 4 when he takes on Jonathan Martinez.

Aldo had left the UFC after his loss to Merab Dvalishvili as he wanted to explore boxing options. He ended up having three boxing matches, as he will return to MMA to fight out his UFC deal as he says he will then explore more boxing options, including the match against Floyd Mayweather.

“That’s basically what I told the UFC a couple months ago: I want to do this fight, see where I’m at, see how I do, see how I perform and then I can make a decision,” Aldo said to MMAJunkie. “I’m looking at maybe a big boxing fight maybe somewhere down the line later this year. But we’ll revisit that with the UFC once this fight is done with Jonathan Martinez.

Conor McGregor confirms return fight is set for UFC 303 in June against Michael Chandler — Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger – Zuffa LLC

“That fight with Floyd Mayweather was basically all set and done. Ali (Abdelaziz) was the one that was negotiating that and I don’t really know what happened and it ended up not panning out for us to fight in Saudi Arabia. But there’s a big event on Netflix later this year (with Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson), and hopefully, I can get on that. But we’ll have to see. There’s a lot of options floating.”

Before that can happen, Aldo is focused on his return fight in MMA against Martinez in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Mike Perry still confident of future BKFC fight with UFC icon Conor McGregor: ‘He likes to throw hands’

Former UFC welterweight Mike Perry is hopeful of a future bare knuckle fight against Conor McGregor. Since leaving the…

Former UFC welterweight Mike Perry is hopeful of a future bare knuckle fight against Conor McGregor.

Since leaving the UFC following his loss to Daniel Rodriguez in 2021, Mike Perry has managed to carve out a successful, and well-paying, second half of his career. The 32-year-old is now 5-0 since leaving the promotion, and 4-0 since signing with the BKFC – a move which has proven to be his best so far.

Luis Palomino no fight with Mike Perry he hasn't earned it BKFC David Feldman

Perry seems to have a flexible contract that allows him to take part in fights outside the BKFC and when he does compete under their banner pay him very handsomely.

His last three wins consist of Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Luke Rockhold, and Eddie Alvarez and Perry is currently booked to face Thiago Alves this Saturday. Perry’s star continues to grow and has proven to attract fighters to enter his world.

MIke Perry confident of luring Conor McGregor to the BKFC

Perry even envisions a future fight against McGregor, who recently expressed his interest in fighting into his 40s and willingness to test the boxing waters. McGregor had also previously jumped in the ring following one of Perry’s fights for an intense face-off.

Joe Rogan describes BKFC fight Mike Perry and Conor McGregor as f*cking bananas — Mandatory Credit: Phil Lambert

“I think it could be a possibility,” Perry told MMA Fighting. “When my manager shared it and [he was like], ‘This will happen,’ I was like, whoa, that’s cool.

“Look, Conor likes to throw hands. He’s a great boxer. Fought Floyd Mayweather. He got a front row seat to watch my show with Luke [Rockhold] and he gave me respect by coming into the ring and giving me some of his time there. I think it would be fun and incredible.”

Conor McGregor vows to quit drinking ahead of UFC 303 five more nights then that's that

In today’s age of combat sports, it;s now hard to rule out any fight from ever taking place, but McGregor ever taking this fight, particularly in bare knuckle is highly unlikely.

Who wins in bareknuckle, Conor McGregor or Mike Perry?