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Dustin Poirier Needs Time Off Before Returning To Alvarez Rematch

Dustin Poirier is willing to run it back against Eddie Alvarez for his next bout, but he needs little time to recover from their initial meeting first. Poirier and Alvarez met on the headliner of the UFC 211 preliminary card on FX which ended with quite a bit of controversy. In the second round Poirier seemed to […]

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Dustin Poirier is willing to run it back against Eddie Alvarez for his next bout, but he needs little time to recover from their initial meeting first.

Poirier and Alvarez met on the headliner of the UFC 211 preliminary card on FX which ended with quite a bit of controversy. In the second round Poirier seemed to have Alvarez in trouble before “The Underground King” countered with a big shot of his own, wobbling “The Diamond” as well.

Although both men were rocked, Alvarez was able to get Poirier on the ground against the cage, but he landed a pair of illegal knees which caused a break in the action. After some discussion, the bout was waived off as a no contest despite many believing that Poirier should’ve won via disqualification.

Both men expressed interest in running the fight back after the call was made, but Poirier is still disgruntled by the entire scenario (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“I’d like to beat him again, unless the UFC moves forward like I beat him and matches me up with the next fight that I would have got,” Poirier said. “That win Saturday night would have put me in talks of the title. (Alvarez) is ranked No. 3 – he was one fight removed from being the champion.

“There was still a lot of fight left for me to shine, and I was just starting to show it. So the whole situation sucks.”

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Initially both men showed great respect for one another after the bout inside the cage, but Alvarez soon took to Twitter to accuse “The Diamond” of wanting a way out regardless of the outcome. Regardless of the former lightweight champ’s words, Poirier knows he was going to get his hand raised if it hadn’t had been for Alvarez’s illegal knees – and he thinks his opponent knew it too:

“I look at it as a win,” Poirier said. “I know, and Eddie knows, that I was going to win that fight. I don’t care what he says by saving face or talking trash on Twitter. Whatever he has to make himself believe to get himself excited about a rematch, or feel good about getting back in there with me, go ahead and do it.”

“I’m not going to rush back into a fight right now and just jump onto the next card, because that was a hard shot,” he said. “I want to recover. I just can’t jump back into training camp right now. That was a good shot I took. I think it was a harder shot because I wasn’t ready for it.”

When it’s all said and done, Poirier has faith that the UFC will get the call right as it pertains to who they’ll pair him up with next:

“Usually, the UFC has a great track record of making something right if they feel it was wrongfully done, so we’ll see what happens,” Poirier said.

MMA Junkie / USA Today Sports

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Report: UFC Considering Romero vs. Whittaker Interim Title Bout

The UFC’s middleweight division is a disaster. Since winning the title with a shocking knockout victory over Luke Rockhold last June at UFC 199 in California, current champion Michael Bisping has only defended his strap once, scoring a decision victory over Dan Henderson in a highly criticized booking last October at UFC 204 in his […]

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The UFC’s middleweight division is a disaster.

Since winning the title with a shocking knockout victory over Luke Rockhold last June at UFC 199 in California, current champion Michael Bisping has only defended his strap once, scoring a decision victory over Dan Henderson in a highly criticized booking last October at UFC 204 in his hometown of Manchester, England.

Earlier this year, UFC President Dana White announced that instead of taking on top contender Yoel Romero, Bisping would next defend his title against returning former welterweight king Georges St. Pierre. St. Pierre hasn’t competed since scoring a controversial decision victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in 2013 and he has never competed at middleweight, although he remains a well-known name in the sport of mixed martial arts.

Recently, however, “Rush” said he wouldn’t be available to fight until next fall, leading White to call off the bout. Bisping then made things even more difficult, revealing that he was still suffering from a knee injury that would keep him on the sidelines for the coming months as well.

Because of these issues, White admitted that the promotion is considering booking an interim title bout between Romero and No. 3-ranked Robert “The Reaper” Whittaker:

“We’re trying to put together that Bisping-Romero fight,” White told ESPN.com. “If [Bisping] can’t fight this summer, we’ll probably create an interim title between Romero and Robert Whittaker.”

It’s currently unclear when a potential interim title fight would take place.

Romero is riding an incredible eight fight win streak, with six of those victories coming by way of stoppage. “The Solider of God” holds notable victories over Tim Kennedy, Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and he’s coming off of a vicious flying knee stoppage of former champion Chris Weidman.

The 26-year-old Whittaker, on the other hand, is riding a seven fight win streak of his own, with four of those victories coming by way of stoppage. “The Reaper” most recently scored an upset victory over “Jacare” at UFC on FOX 24 in Kansas City this past April.

Booking an interim title fight between these two contenders certainly makes quite a bit of sense, especially if Bisping is going to be out of action for the foreseeable future. It will also likely invigorate the disgruntled middleweight division, as numerous contenders have voiced their displeasure with not only the state of the division, but the UFC’s recent matchmaking as well.

As far as St. Pierre goes, his future is a bit a cloudy at the moment. White, however, said that the Canadian star will likely compete for the welterweight title once he makes his long awaited return to the Octagon:

“[St-Pierre] says he will fight whoever the 170-pound champion is when he comes back,” White said.

Do you still expect a bout between Bisping and St. Pierre to take place and are you content with the UFC making an interim 185-pound title?

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Mark Hunt Reveals What He’s Looking To Get Out Of UFC Lawsuit

Mark Hunt’s legal battle with the UFC seems to be far from over. It all began last year in July when “The Super Samoan” and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar co-main evented UFC 200 in Las Vegas. The current WWE Universal Champion defeated Hunt via unanimous decision, however, his win was later overturned after […]

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Mark Hunt’s legal battle with the UFC seems to be far from over.

It all began last year in July when “The Super Samoan” and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar co-main evented UFC 200 in Las Vegas. The current WWE Universal Champion defeated Hunt via unanimous decision, however, his win was later overturned after he was flagged by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

A second test sample confirmed that Lesnar was using a banned substance and he was subsequently fined $250,000 in addition to a one-year ban from competition. He won’t be eligible to return to the Octagon until July of this year, however, “The Beast” announced his second retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition this past February.

In response to all the chaos, Hunt grew outraged that he once again was competing against someone who was ‘juicing’ and demanded to be paid all of Lesnar’s fight purse. He is now suing the UFC and Lesnar for the debacle, while still continuing to compete inside the Octagon simultaneously.

Recently, Hunt joined Submission Radio to discuss the lawsuit and what he’s looking to get out of it. The former K-1 champ says he’s simple looking for an even playing field (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“The reason I fell out with the UFC is because, like I said, all I’m asking for when I sued them was an even playing field. I spoke to Dana before all this shit happened and said, ‘I need you guys to make this right. You promised [Lesnar] was gonna be clean.’ It’s just like I said, me even going on about steroids and everything, it’s illegal and they shouldn’t be doing them.

“All I was doing without suing, I asked first if this could be rectified another way. They wouldn’t. They didn’t want to do it so then I had no choice but to push forward with my legal thing, with my lawyer, because I’ve had no choice. I’m not gonna keep fighting juicers. Why should I? Why should I be fighting juicers my whole career? I’ve done it most of my career.”

Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports Images

Hunt is tired of fighting against men who could potentially put his life in danger, as a bulk of the opponents he has stepped into the cage against have at one point in time abused performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). Hunt previously competed under the PRIDE banner which had a history of turning the other cheek when it came to steroid abuse, as well as having half of his 14 opponents in the UFC failed a drug test at one point in their careers.

“The Super Samoan” is tired of the ‘rubbish’ and is looking to make things right in the courtroom:

“Three times in a row. Three times in a row [I fought fighters who failed drug tests]. I mean, anyone would ask the question. You know, three guys in a row and then it would have been a fourth guy if I fought in Melbourne against Josh Barnett. Why do I keep getting the short end of the stick? Why should I? I shouldn’t have to accept this rubbish.”

While it is likely that some charges in the case will get dropped, there are some charges that are likely to make it to trial. The UFC may attempt to settle with Hunt in order to prevent the case from going to discovery, but it seems the Samoan may not be interested in a settlement:

“Do I want it to go to discovery? Yeah, of course I want it to go to discovery. Like I said, this shit is going all the way. These guys are gonna have to make this right, and not just with me, but with every fighter’s contract. I want the Mark Hunt clause put in their contract. I want every fighter’s contract to put in – if you are juicing, all their money should go to the other guy. If you’re both juicing, none of you guys should get money. People say, well why don’t you take 80 percent, blah blah blah? I say, okay, so me losing my life is 80 percent worth? No. They shouldn’t get anything. Cheaters don’t deserve any sort of money.”

“Like I said, this didn’t even need to happen. It could have been sorted out way before. Like I said, three cheaters in a row. I want something done about it. And the last straw was Brock Lesnar. . . The bottom line is, the guy’s done wrong, the company’s done wrong and he needs to pay for that shit. Why should I go in there and fucking lose my eyeballs when I’ve done nothing wrong.

“All I’m fighting for is an even playing ground.”

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DC: Conor McGregor Will Get Slept

After last night’s revelation that Dana White had worked out Conor McGregor’s side of the deal and the follow-up news that McGregor had applied for a boxing license in Nevada, the mixed martial arts (MMA) universe is awash in the distinct possibility that the the infamous “Notorious” could actually be boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr. If

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After last night’s revelation that Dana White had worked out Conor McGregor’s side of the deal and the follow-up news that McGregor had applied for a boxing license in Nevada, the mixed martial arts (MMA) universe is awash in the distinct possibility that the the infamous “Notorious” could actually be boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr.

If it actually does – and it’s far from being anything closely resembling a done deal – the majority of those familiar with combat sports still believe that Mayweather, a boxer whom many consider one of if not the best to ever compete, is going to wipe the floor with the UFC’s biggest star, who has no professional boxing experience.

One high-profile subscriber of the theory is UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who pulled no “Bones” about McGregor’s chances against the legendary pugilist in addition to any of the other rumored UFC vs. boxing bouts during today’s episode of UFC Tonight:

“He can actually go and fight Mayweather. He will lose. But the rest of these guys, they will get no money, and they will get slept.

“Look, James Toney fought in the UFC, and we had no problem showing the footage over and over again of James Toney getting beat by Randy Couture. These boxing promoters will constantly video of the heavyweight champion of the world getting slept by Anthony Joshua, or Jimi Manuwa, c’mon Jimi! Getting slept by David Haye.

These dudes will get slept, it’s going to be embarrassing, so no, it is not good for the UFC. Conor, hat’s off to you, make your money, but don’t get slept! Which might happen to ’em”

Cormier is currently set for his oft-scheduled (and oft-canceled) grudge match with former champion Jon Jones at July 29’s UFC 214, and as we’ve seen in the past, that fight is anything but a certainty to happen despite its high-profile nature. The current champion seems to be the heel in the eye of the fans, and perhaps that’s because he tells the facts how they are in a blunt manner, as he has with his recent back-and-forth with the embattled all-time legend.

And while he may be a public persona for the UFC as a co-host of UFC Tonight, Cormier told it like it is here with the cold truth that most if not all professional MMA fighters would stand little chance in the boxing ring against the sport’s top athletes, just like the top boxers would have no chance in the cage.

McGregor most likely isn’t concerned with that, however, as the possibility of an absolutely unparalleled payday is much more than enough to get past the probability that he may lose. That’s the current mindset of MMA’s biggest star, and he could be headed for a bout that does anything but make the UFC look good in any way.

But with big-money bouts few and far between in 2017, the promotion is looking for the biggest payday it can get. Is this one worth it?

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Jon Jones Thinks Daniel Cormier “Wants What I Have”

Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier continue to let the verbal shots fly ahead of their meeting at UFC 214 in Anaheim, California this July. Cormier will attempt to make his third light heavyweight title defense against “Bones”, who will return to Octagon action just in time as he is set to come off a United

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Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier continue to let the verbal shots fly ahead of their meeting at UFC 214 in Anaheim, California this July.

Cormier will attempt to make his third light heavyweight title defense against “Bones”, who will return to Octagon action just in time as he is set to come off a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) suspension which stems to a failed drug test prior to UFC 200. Jones and Cormier were initially scheduled to rematch at last summer’s event, however, Jones was flagged days out from the event and was removed.

It was announced during the UFC’s Summer Kickoff press conference last week that the hated rivals will finally get their opportunity to settle their differences once and for all. Jones recent joined UFC Tonight to discuss his upcoming bout with Cormier, and stated that although he may not be champ anymore, “DC” still wants what Jones has (quotes via FOX Sports):

“Daniel’s a guy, he wants what I have and I know that sounds weird cause he has the belt, but he wants what I have,” Jones said. “He wants to be known as the guy and he’s simply not no matter what he tries to tell himself. I can only imagine being in his position. He lost to me and I’m sure he’s a prideful guy, I know he’s a prideful guy and he considers himself a champion but the truth is you’re not a champion.

“You never won the NCAA’s. You never won at the Olympics. You never won the UFC light heavyweight championship and Strikeforce, I mean who can’t win that belt?”

Cormier immediately responded by stating that while he may have never won any of the prestigious tournaments he competed in, he at least got the opportunity to experience them – unlike Jones:

“He talks about I’m not the man. I didn’t win the NCAA tournament, I didn’t win the Olympics. I went to the NCAA tournament. I went to the Olympics. All these things he wished to have done in his life, I actually did and got to experience,” Cormier said. “When he talks about I want what he has, I believe his life would be good if it was the way that I did. Going to college, finishing school, having all these other things that I have accomplished. That’s your issue Jon Jones. You want what I got.

“July 29, you get to try to take it back. It ain’t happening. It’s not happening. I will beat Jon Jones down in Anaheim.”

In what may be quite possibly the most long-winded trash talk battle in UFC history, the smack talk continues between the two top light heavyweights in the world, and will do so until lte July 29 – if the fight even happens.

It’s been scheduled many times before, of course, and Jones is still yet to be cleared from his suspension, after all. The fight will almost certainly be one of the top drawing events of 2017, but fans will understandably be cautiously optimistic about the bout until the cage door is shut.

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Conor McGregor Applies For Boxing License In Nevada

Late last night (May 17, 2017), it was announced that Conor McGregor had struck a deal with the UFC in order to make his often discussed mega fight with the legendary Floyd Mayweather a reality. “It is an honour to sign this record breaking deal alongside my partners Zuffa LLC, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and

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Late last night (May 17, 2017), it was announced that Conor McGregor had struck a deal with the UFC in order to make his often discussed mega fight with the legendary Floyd Mayweather a reality.

“It is an honour to sign this record breaking deal alongside my partners Zuffa LLC, The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Paradigm Sports Management,” McGregor told TheMacLife.com.

“The first, and most important part of this historic contract has now officially been signed off on. Congratulations to all parties involved. We now await Al Haymon and his boxer’s signature in the coming days.”

UFC President Dana White also confirmed the news:

“The McGregor side is done,” White said on TNT following game one of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. “I’m starting to work on the Mayweather side now.”

“I’m not saying the fight will happen but I got one side done and it’s time to work on the other,” White added.

Today (May 18, 2017), it appears as if another crucial step has been taken in regards to making the fight, as McGregor has applied for a boxing license in the state of Nevada.

Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) executive director Bob Bennet confirmed the news to Boxing News Online:

“Conor McGregor has submitted an application to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for a boxing license,” he said. “We are currently awaiting additional documents from him in support of his application.”

Late last year, McGregor was granted a boxing license in the state of California, which added more fuel to the fire regarding speculation that he may actually take on Mayweather in a boxing match. Mayweather, however, has spent the majority of his lengthy career competing in Las Vegas, making it a likely landing spot for a potential showdown between him and McGregor.

With McGregor and the UFC taking these recent steps, the ball most certainly seems to be in the court of the man dubbed “Money”. The 41-year-old undefeated Mayweather hasn’t competed since Sept. 2015 when he scored a unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto. He announced his retirement after the bout, but revealed earlier this year that he was coming out of retirement solely for a bout with the brash and outspoken Irish knockout artist.

Many have refused to give McGregor a chance against Mayweather and for good reason, as the “Notorious” one has never competed in a professional boxing match. To no surprise, however, McGregor has appeared to be nothing but confident heading into what would likely be the most lucrative bout in the history of combat sports.

The Irishman has been out of action since knocking out Eddie Alvarez last November at UFC 205 in New York City to become the promotion’s lightweight champion. Prior to that, he had set promotional pay-per-view records in back-to-back grudge matches with Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in March 2016 and at UFC 202 in August 2016. He and his longtime girlfriend, Dee Devlin, also recently gave birth to their first child, Conor Jr.

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