Tag: UFC 230

Dana White Addresses Nate Diaz & Dustin Poirier’s Claims About 165-Pound Title Fight

White has cleared up speculation about this happening.

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Dana White addresses Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier claiming on social media that they will be fighting for a newly created 165-pound title at the UFC 230 pay-per-view. This has been a hot topic since the top fights were announced for the show.

The UFC President has been telling fans for several weeks now that they are working on a main event for the show but has yet to announce it. Most of the UFC champions are locked up right now either due to injury or fight commitments.

Nate Diaz & Dustin Poirier’s Claims

One fight has been put into the spotlight as a logical fight that could serve as a headliner. It’s Diaz vs. Poirier, which makes sense considering that they are fan favorites and put on exciting fights. Whether this was due to what they were told by the promotion or trying to force the UFC to do it, Diaz and Poirier got people talking.

In case you missed it, on Tuesday, Diaz said he was “happy to be bringing a new weight ‘division’ to the UFC” with the 165-pound “superfighter division” at the show. This led to Poirier claiming he had finally made it to his coveted UFC title fight.

Dana White Addresses

Welp, no so fast. MMAjunkie’s John Morgan was told by a UFC official that this is absolutely false. Also, ESPN’s Brett Okamoto spoke to White, who shot down Poirier and Diaz’s tweets.

The UFC 230 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, November 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York City with the main card airing on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass. Here is how the card looks as of now:

Nate Diaz vs. Dustin Poirier
David Branch vs. Ronaldo Souza
Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman
Israel Adesanya vs. Derek Brunson
Sultan Aliev vs. Lyman Good
Matt Frevola vs. Lando Vannata
Brian Kelleher vs. Domingo Pilarte
Karl Roberson vs. Jack Marshman
Shane Burgos vs. Kurt Holobaugh
Julio Arce vs. Sheymon Moraes
Jason Knight vs. Jordan Rinaldi

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Nate Diaz Says He’s Fighting Dustin Poirier For 165-Pound Title

It’s only five weeks away, but November 3’s UFC 230 from New York still doesn’t have a main event. Nate Diaz says he has that taken care of. Diaz will return from an over two-year absence to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 230. The fight has been billed as the co-main event, but no champions […]

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It’s only five weeks away, but November 3’s UFC 230 from New York still doesn’t have a main event. Nate Diaz says he has that taken care of.

Diaz will return from an over two-year absence to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 230. The fight has been billed as the co-main event, but no champions appear available to fight on the card.

Diaz believes that the answer is simple, however. He just announced on social media tonight (Tues., September 25, 2018) that he was “happy to be bringing a new weight ‘devision’ to the UFC” with the 165-pound “superfighter devision”:

Poirier soon chimed in with a similar statement. He claimed he had finally made it to his coveted UFC title fight:

Ariel Helwani said earlier tonight that the UFC was considering an interim title fight with no champions available for UFC 230:

In Diaz vs. Poirier, the UFC could have an official title for the oft-discussed 165-pound division. In reality, forced interim title fights have not performed well on pay-per-view due to their perceived devaluation of UFC titles.

UFC President Dana White has been lukewarm on the new division, to say the least. We’ll have to wait and see if what Diaz and Poirier claimed comes true.

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UFC 230 Ticketing Information Released

The UFC will be returning to New York City from Madison Square Garden for their UFC 230 pay-per-view (PPV). While the main event has yet to be announced for the card, several high-profile bouts are confirmed. The co-main event will be a lightweight bou…

The UFC will be returning to New York City from Madison Square Garden for their UFC 230 pay-per-view (PPV). While the main event has yet to be announced for the card, several high-profile bouts are confirmed. The co-main event will be a lightweight bout between Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier. Also, a rematch between former […]

The post UFC 230 Ticketing Information Released appeared first on MMA News.

Malki Kawa Hints At Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier III

Jon Jones manager Malki Kawa hints at two logical opponents for “Bones” return. Former two-time light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones is cleared to fight in early October following the completion of his 15-month anti-doping suspension. So who gets to welcome Jones back to the octagon? Or better yet, what weight class will “Bones” be […]

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Jon Jones manager Malki Kawa hints at two logical opponents for “Bones” return.

Former two-time light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones is cleared to fight in early October following the completion of his 15-month anti-doping suspension.

So who gets to welcome Jones back to the octagon? Or better yet, what weight class will “Bones” be competing upon his return?

Speaking with Luke Thomas on the most recent episode of The MMA Hour, Jones longtime agent Kawa believes there are only two fights that make sense for Jones. Either a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson or a third fight with bitter rival Daniel Cormier.

“I think Jon would have a claim to fight for that light heavyweight belt,” Kawa said. “If he doesn’t, if DC decides to fight at light heavyweight before he fights Brock, then I think you see Jon versus DC. I think those are the two logical options, I just don’t know for sure which route they go.”

“[Jones] wants his light heavyweight belt back. Daniel has both of them. Daniel is saying he’s going to wait until he fights Brock, so I don’t know what’s gonna happen.”

“Bones” could return to action as soon as October, although Kawa would be happy if Jones fights before years end. There has been much speculation that Jones would step right into the vacant main event slot of UFC 230 on Nov. 30 in New York. However, Kawa said that is unlikely to happen at this point.

“There’s some things we’re working out with the UFC,” Kawa said. “So there’s some factors going into that. It has nothing to do with anyone telling us we can’t. There’s just some things we’ve got to come to an agreement on. And I just don’t think that UFC 230 is going to happen.”

Cormier previously stated last week on UFC Tonight that he has moved past the feud with Jones. Although he would not rule out a third fight with Jones.

At 31 years old Jones seems likely to fight at light heavyweight in his first fight back. He has been fighting at 205 pounds his entire career, though he has considered moving up to heavyweight. Jones held the UFC’s 205-pound title from 2011 to 2015 and Kawa said that gold is what he’d like to obtain again. It’s just a matter of who the opponent will be and what timeframe.

“Cormier is either gonna fight him at light heavyweight or Cormier is gonna fight at heavyweight and wait for Brock,” Kawa said. “I don’t know what route he’s gonna go.”

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Jon Jones’ Manager Says His Fighter Likely Won’t Fight at UFC 230

Jon Jones’ manager may have put the final nail in the coffin on the possibility of his fighter competing at UFC 230. Jones finally received a decision from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last week. Jones is eligible to return to action on Oc…

Jon Jones’ manager may have put the final nail in the coffin on the possibility of his fighter competing at UFC 230. Jones finally received a decision from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) last week. Jones is eligible to return to action on Oct. 28. “Bones” has been serving a suspension for his second anti-doping […]

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Manager Shoots Down Jon Jones Return At UFC 230

The stage seems to be set for one of MMA’s most anticipated rematches. But all early indications point to a Jon Jones return at November 3’s UFC 230 not happening. Last week Jones was cleared to return to action as early as October 28, 2018, by USADA. His PED-related suspension was greatly discounted for snitching […]

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The stage seems to be set for one of MMA’s most anticipated rematches. But all early indications point to a Jon Jones return at November 3’s UFC 230 not happening.

Last week Jones was cleared to return to action as early as October 28, 2018, by USADA. His PED-related suspension was greatly discounted for snitching on other fighters. The return was a shocking reveal for many fighters in the sport of MMA.

Jones has yet another life in the UFC. The timing of his 15-month suspension with USADA seemed all too curious as well. It gave him just a few days of eligibility before the lucrative UFC 230 pay-per-view from his home state of New York in November. Most predicted he would rematch longtime rival Alexander Gustafsson on the card.

Gustafsson continues to lobby for the bout, but others aren’t so sure. UFC President Dana White claimed Jones would return in early 2019 and now his longtime manager Malki Kawa insists Jones won’t return at UFC 230. Kawa appeared on today’s edition of “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” (via ESPN’s Greg Rosenstein) to shoot down the possibility of Jones fighting at UFC 230 for the time being:

“Malki Kawa, the manager of former UFC champion Jon Jones, told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani his client likely would not be fighting at UFC 230 in New York in November. The event, taking place at Madison Square Garden, still has yet to announce a main event.”

“Gus” Won’t Give Up

Gustafsson was also on Helwani’s show today.

He agreed that the booking was a no-brainer. It’s also the only fight that makes sense for him in his opinion. The UFC has not yet reached out to him in an effort to book it, however:

UFC 230 is currently without a main event as of this writing. Nate Diaz will make his long-awaited return versus Dustin Poirier at the event. It’s a huge fight, yet the return of New York native “Bones” is the biggest possible spectacle they can book for the card.

We’ve seen and heard White and the UFC do one thing and claiming it would never happen. Is Kawa playing the same game?

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