Tag: UFC 223

Nate Diaz Says F*** The UFC, Claims He Won’t Fight At UFC 230

Nate Diaz is already claiming he’s not fighting Dustin Poirier in New York.

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The MMA world got a much-needed shot in the arm at today’s 25th Anniversary Press Conference when it was officially confirmed that Nate Diaz would finally return against top lightweight contender Dustin Poirier.

The bout was somewhat of a surprise booking given that many expected Diaz to be holding out hope for a lucrative trilogy fight with Conor McGregor, the MMA superstar with whom he split a pair of record-setting fights with in 2016. Diaz revealed another reason why he’s been on the sidelines for over two years, and simply stated it was “time to go” as the reason for his return.

He faced off with Poirier and things appeared set for his awaited return, but moments after Diaz left the presser when the UFC played a promo for McGregor’s awaited return against Khabib Nurmagomedov, Diaz said he wasn’t actually fighting at UFC 230 anymore on social media:

There’s no telling just why Diaz left the presser early, but it obviously had something to do with McGregor’s return. Perhaps he’s looking to fight Poirier on UFC 229 so he can cash in on more pay-per-view points.

We’ll see how this situation plays out soon.

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Nate Diaz Reveals Why He Hasn’t Fought For Over Two Years

Nate Diaz revealed his reason for staying on the sidelines for over two years.

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Nate Diaz’s awaited UFC return against Dustin Poirier was made official for November’s UFC 230 at today’s (Fri., August 3, 2018) UFC 25th Anniversary Press Conference.

Diaz was inexplicably absent from the presser at first, to which UFC President Dana White was questioned about his whereabouts. The UFC frontman assured the press that he would be showing up soon, but not before Poirier detailed why he had taken the fight with the fan favorite veteran after previously suggesting he’d only answer the phone for a title shot.

For him – a fighter who simply loves to fight – battling Diaz at Madison Square Garden was simply too good to pass up:

“You know man, I’m a fighter, I feel good, I have no injuries. And, Nate’s a guy I’ve been watching for a long time; I’ve been a fan of. If you’re a fan of fighting, you’re a fan of this fight. I’ve always wanted to fight at Madison Square Garden. I just wish we had a few extra rounds, three rounds, I wish it was a five, but I’m excited about this fight, you guys should be too.”

Diaz then did make his first appearance in more than two years, leading to his first faceoff with Poirier in L.A. He was promptly asked why he returned to face Poirier and answered with a short and simple response:

“It’s time to go, so it’s time to go.”

Diaz also offered his view of the fight with Poirier when “The Diamond’s” stance of only wanting a title shot came up:

“This is a championship fight right here.”

While it may not actually be a championship fight, Diaz vs. Poirier obviously brings the likelihood of it being an all-out slugfest that is worth the price of admission for paying customers, something that MMA fans have been complaining has been absent from recent UFC pay cards. Poirier asserted his belief that the bout would deliver, to the point of being one of the best fights of all-time:

“We’re gonna show up and deliver, I promise that. This is going to be one of the most exciting fights you’ve ever seen.”

Finally, Diaz was asked about the timing of his return, and why he would return to face “The Diamond” when it was thought he was holding out for a trilogy fight with Conor McGregor. To that, the younger Diaz brother said he had actually been dealing with a lawsuit since his last match with McGregor and was ineligible to fight:

“Since my last fight, I’ve been in a lawsuit so I wasn’t eligible to fight. I don’t know why nobody told you guys that.”

There’s no telling just what is now allowing Diaz to set foot back into the Octagon, but the good news for fight fans is that he’s going to.

And he has one of the most potentially action-packed match-ups he could hope for.

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He’s Back: Conor McGregor Returns Versus Khabib Nurmagomedov

Conor McGregor will finally return to face Khabib Nurmagomedov!

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The UFC’s biggest possible fight is finally official.

At today’s 25th Anniversary Press Conference from Los Angeles, California, the promotion announced that former lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor will make his awaited UFC return against current lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of October 6’s UFC 229 from Las Vegas, Nevada.

McGregor has been out of action since he won the title with a second-round stoppage of fellow former champ Eddie Alvarez at 2016’s UFC 205, a title he was eventually stripped of due to inactivity, allowing “The Eagle” to swoop in and win it by defeating short-notice foe Al Iaquinta at April’s UFC 223.

By far the biggest star in MMA, McGregor instead spent the past two years boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr., a fight where he lost but gained a reported $85 million payday. It’s been debatable if that huge windfall of cash was beneficial to his fighting career, as he’s since careened on a concerning downward spiral of entitled and even criminal behavior. First, he stormed the cage at a Bellator event last fall, shoving ref Marc Goddard and slapping a security official, and then he, of course, stormed the Barclays Center prior to UFC 223 to throw a metal dolly through a bus containing Nurmagomedov.

McGregor was arrested on assault charges in Brooklyn but recently cleared his name, so to speak, with a plea deal, paving the path for his long-anticipated title fight with the undefeated champion to be finalized.

So the UFC’s biggest star – and so-called savior – is officially back at the time they need him most. Will he be able to dust the undefeated Dagestani wrecking machine like he has so many other top combatants in the Octagon?

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Video: Nate Diaz & Dustin Poirier Face Off For First Time

Watch Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz’s first UFC 230 staredown here:

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News of an anticipated lightweight showdown between Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier at November’s UFC 230 broke late last night.

The bout was confirmed for the pay-per-view event at today’s UFC 25th Anniversary Press Conference. Poirier was on hand to discuss the bout at the beginning of the presser, but Diaz was noticeably absent.

However, the Stockton slugger soon appeared to face off with Poirier. Check out their first faceoff for the high-profile match-up here:

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UFC 25th Anniversary Press Conference

Watch the UFC’s 25th Anniversary press conference streaming live right here.

The post UFC 25th Anniversary Press Conference appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The UFC will reveal the headlining events for the rest of their upcoming pay-per-view events of 2018 at a special 25th Anniversary Press Conference live from Los Angeles, California today.

Set to happen right before the UFC 227 ceremonial weigh-ins for tomorrow’s (Sat., August 4, 2018) pay-per-view event from the Staples Center, the presser is slated to feature ‘more than a dozen’ fighters from the biggest events of the fall and winter. The conference is expected to be where the upcoming Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier fight announced last night will be officially confirmed.

But the media event could have much, much bigger ramifications than just that. The rumor circulating, of course, is that the UFC will finally announce the anticipated lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor for either UFC 229 in October or November’s UFC 230.

That gives the 25th Anniversary Presser some extra high stakes, and needless to say, the entire MMA world will be tuning in in anticipation. You can do just that starting live at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT right here:

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UFC Rankings Update: Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier Climb On Lightweight List

Conor McGregor continues to rise up the rankings without fighting.

The post UFC Rankings Update: Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier Climb On Lightweight List appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The official UFC ranks have been updated following last weekend’s (Sat., July 28, 2018) UFC on FOX 30 from the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and not surprisingly, Dustin Poirier was one of the main benefactors.

However, an impressive second-round TKO over Eddie Alvarez in the UFC on FOX 30 main event couldn’t push him past former champion Conor McGregor, who somehow overtook former interim champion Tony Ferguson despite not fighting in the UFC for going on two years.

“The Diamond” rose one spot to No. 3 for his win over Alvarez, and McGregor overtook the No. 1 spot at 155 pounds, presumably because of the excitement over his expected return against current champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year. “The Eagle” rose one spot on the pound-for-pound list, overtaking Stipe Miocic at the No. 8 spot.

You can check the fully updated rankings courtesy of UFC.com here:

POUND-FOR-POUND
1 Daniel Cormier
2 Demetrious Johnson
3 Conor McGregor
3 Max Holloway
5 Georges St-Pierre
6 TJ Dillashaw
7 Tyron Woodley
8 Khabib Nurmagomedov +1
9 Stipe Miocic -1
10 Robert Whittaker
11 Cris Cyborg
12 Tony Ferguson
13 Amanda Nunes
14 Cody Garbrandt
15 Rose Namajunas

FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Demetrious Johnson
1 Henry Cejudo
2 Sergio Pettis
3 Joseph Benavidez
4 Ray Borg
5 Jussier Formiga
6 John Moraga
7 Wilson Reis
8 Alexandre Pantoja
9 Dustin Ortiz
10 Brandon Moreno
11 Ben Nguyen
12 Matheus Nicolau
13 Tim Elliott
14 Deiveson Figueiredo
15 Ulka Sasaki

BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: TJ Dillashaw
1 Cody Garbrandt
2 Dominick Cruz
3 Raphael Assuncao
4 Marlon Moraes
5 Jimmie Rivera
6 John Lineker
7 John Dodson
8 Aljamain Sterling
9 Pedro Munhoz
10 Cody Stamann
11 Rob Font
12 Alejandro Perez
13 Thomas Almeida
14 Brett Johns
15 Douglas Silva de Andrade

FEATHERWEIGHT
Champion: Max Holloway
1 Brian Ortega
2 Jose Aldo
3 Frankie Edgar
4 Jeremy Stephens
5 Cub Swanson
6 Chad Mendes
7 Josh Emmett -1
8 Mirsad Bektic
9 Chan Sung Jung
10 Renato Moicano
11 Alexander Volkanovski
12 Ricardo Lamas
13 Darren Elkins
14 Yair Rodriguez
15 Zabit Magomedsharipov

LIGHTWEIGHT
Champion: Khabib Nurmagomedov
1 Conor McGregor +1
2 Tony Ferguson -1
3 Dustin Poirier +1
4 Eddie Alvarez -1
5 Kevin Lee
6 Edson Barboza
7 Justin Gaethje
8 Anthony Pettis
9 Al Iaquinta +1
10 James Vick +1
10 Nate Diaz -1
12 Michael Chiesa
13 Alexander Hernandez
14 Dan Hooker
15 Francisco Trinaldo

WELTERWEIGHT
Champion: Tyron Woodley
1 Colby Covington (Interim Champion)
2 Darren Till
3 Rafael Dos Anjos
4 Stephen Thompson
5 Robbie Lawler
6 Kamaru Usman
7 Demian Maia
8 Neil Magny
9 Jorge Masvidal
10 Santiago Ponzinibbio
11 Leon Edwards
12 Donald Cerrone
13 Gunnar Nelson
14 Alex Oliveira
15 Dong Hyun Kim

MIDDLEWEIGHT
Champion: Robert Whittaker
1 Yoel Romero
2 Luke Rockhold
3 Chris Weidman
4 Kelvin Gastelum
5 Jacare Souza
6 Derek Brunson
7 David Branch
8 Paulo Costa
9 Israel Adesanya
10 Brad Tavares
11 Antonio Carlos Junior
12 Uriah Hall
13 Thiago Santos
14 Elias Theodorou
15 Krzysztof Jotko

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Alexander Gustafsson
2 Volkan Oezdemir
3 Ilir Latifi
4 Jan Blachowicz
5 Jimi Manuwa
6 Corey Anderson
7 Ovince Saint Preux
8 Glover Teixeira
9 Anthony Smith
10 Misha Cirkunov
11 Mauricio Rua
12 Dominick Reyes
13 Patrick Cummins
14 Tyson Pedro
15 Sam Alvey *NR

HEAVYWEIGHT
Champion: Daniel Cormier
1 Stipe Miocic
2 Derrick Lewis
3 Curtis Blaydes
4 Francis Ngannou
5 Alexander Volkov
6 Alistair Overeem
7 Junior Dos Santos
8 Mark Hunt
9 Marcin Tybura
10 Tai Tuivasa
11 Aleksei Oleinik
12 Andrei Arlovski
13 Stefan Struve
14 Shamil Abdurakhimov
15 Justin Willis

WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHT
Champion: Rose Namajunas
1 Joanna Jedrzejczyk
2 Jessica Andrade
3 Claudia Gadelha
4 Karolina Kowalkiewicz
5 Tecia Torres
6 Carla Esparza
7 Michelle Waterson
8 Felice Herrig
9 Tatiana Suarez
10 Nina Ansaroff +3
11 Cortney Casey -1
12 Alexa Grasso -1
13 Randa Markos -1
14 Angela Hill +1
15 Joanne Calderwood -1

WOMEN’S FLYWEIGHT
Champion: Nicco Montano
1 Valentina Shevchenko
2 Sijara Eubanks
3 Katlyn Chookagian +4
4 Roxanne Modafferi +1
5 Liz Carmouche -1
6 Alexis Davis -3
7 Lauren Murphy -1
8 Jessica Eye
9 Barb Honchak
10 Jessica-Rose Clark
11 Ashlee Evans-Smith
12 Andrea Lee
13 Mara Romero Borella
14 Montana De La Rosa
15 Paige VanZant

WOMEN’S BANTAMWEIGHT
Champion: Amanda Nunes
1 Holly Holm
2 Ketlen Vieira
3 Julianna Pena
4 Raquel Pennington
5 Germaine de Randamie
6 Cat Zingano
7 Marion Reneau
8 Sara McMann
9 Aspen Ladd
10 Bethe Correia
11 Lina Lansberg
12 Irene Aldana
13 Lucie Pudilova
14 Sarah Moras
15 Gina Mazany

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