Tag: UFC 268

Michael Chandler Calls For 2022 Clash With Conor McGregor In His UFC Return

Michael ChandlerTasked with bringing an end to a two-fight losing skid following UFC 268 last weekend — Michael Chandler has sights firmly planted on welcoming former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor back to the Octagon next year — with the Dubliner sharing the same sentiment it appears. Chandler, who opened the main card of UFC 268 on […]

Michael Chandler

Tasked with bringing an end to a two-fight losing skid following UFC 268 last weekend — Michael Chandler has sights firmly planted on welcoming former two-weight champion, Conor McGregor back to the Octagon next year — with the Dubliner sharing the same sentiment it appears.

Chandler, who opened the main card of UFC 268 on Saturday — turned in a Fight of the Year contender against former interim lightweight titleholder, Justin Gaethje, eventually suffering a unanimous decision loss to the Trevor Wittman student. 

The defeat came as Chandler’s second consecutively since his move from Bellator — where he clinched undisputed lightweight gold on three separate occasions. 

In his promotional bow earlier this year, Chandler made a massive splash — stopping recent UFC 267 feature, Dan Hooker with an explosive first round knockout victory. The win catapulted Chandler into a May vacant lightweight title challenge against Charles Oliveira — who stopped him with a second round rallying knockout effort.

The January debut came beneath a lightweight rematch between McGregor and former interim titleholder, Dustin Poirier, where the Dubliner suffered the first knockout loss of his professional mixed martial arts career — before he would find himself on the receiving end of a July doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Poirier after suffering a first round fracture of his left tibia.

In his time away from the Octagon, McGregor has been limited in regards to his ability to train whilst he recovers from his surgical procedure to address his leg injury. And is slated to feature in a charity wheelchair boxing match next month in his native Ireland.

Conor McGregor welcomes future showdown against Michael Chandler

Posting on his official Twitter account following his defeat to Gaethje — Chandler shared a fanmade picture of himself and the aforenoted, McGregor in a face-off, paired with the caption, “2022“.

In response to Chandler, McGregor praised his performance against Arizona native Gaethje on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, as well as maintaining his interest in eventually meeting with the Missouri native.

“I’m down at some stage for sure,” McGregor tweeted. “Great fight the other night Mike [Michael Chandler], congrats!“

Replying to McGregor soon thereafter, Chandler thanked McGregor for his praise, as well as claiming he would be seeing him in the not too distant future.

“Thank you sir,” Chandler tweeted. “It would be my pleasure. See you soon.“

Francis Ngannou Shades Ciryl Gane In Backstage Encounter At UFC 268

A rivalry is really starting to form between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane.

This is not something that has been the case for long, but Ngannou has gone on record to voice his frustrations with the UFC over the way they handled Gane and Derrick Lew…

Francis Ngannou Ciryl Gane

A rivalry is really starting to form between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane.

This is not something that has been the case for long, but Ngannou has gone on record to voice his frustrations with the UFC over the way they handled Gane and Derrick Lewis fighting for the interim heavyweight title. In their promotion of this fight, they painted a picture of the heavyweight champ choosing not to defend his title because he was on vacation, when he was just looking to fight about a month later.

Now, it seems that Ngannou is beginning to take this out on Gane to a certain extent too, as seen backstage at UFC 268. Video emerged that shows the heavyweight champ and the interim champ having a brief encounter that saw Ngannou give Gane the cold shoulder, walking past him without any acknowledgement, leaving the French fighter stunned and confused.

On the one hand, it is hard to not feel for both Fancis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane in this situation. While Gane has not necessarily done anything wrong, only accepting the opportunities that were gifted him, Ngannou may feel like he is a part of the situation that disrespected him, meaning that he looks as Gane as an enemy.

Either way, the look on the face of Gane was that of surprise, as few expected to see this type of animosity between these two heavyweight behemoths. Surprising or not though, they will have the chance to settle the score when Ngannou steps into the Octagon and attempts to defend his title and get revenge on the UFC for the way he feels they have slighted him, hopefully at UFC 270, early next year.

Continue Reading Francis Ngannou Shades Ciryl Gane In Backstage Encounter At UFC 268 at MMA News.

Justin Gaethje And Michael Chandler Link Up After UFC 268 Classic

UFC lightweight contenders Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler reunited at a New York hospital following their instant classic at UFC 268.

In what was commonly described as the ‘people’s main event’, Gaethje and Chandler exchanged heavy blows from …

Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler

UFC lightweight contenders Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler reunited at a New York hospital following their instant classic at UFC 268.

In what was commonly described as the ‘people’s main event’, Gaethje and Chandler exchanged heavy blows from start to finish throughout three rounds. In the end, Gaethje earned the unanimous decision win over Chandler, but Chandler had plenty of moments and earned the respect of many UFC fans.

Gaethje gained respect for Chandler following their clash at Madison Square Garden, and that carried over after the fight at a nearby hospital.

Justin Gaethje & Michael Chandler Take Hospital Photo Commemorating UFC 268 Battle

https://www.instagram.com/p/CV94ptKr2oQ/

“All glory to God,” Gaethje posted along with a series of fight pictures and a photo with Chandler. “I wasn’t leaving tonight without my chance to put another strap on [coach] Trevor Wittman’s wall.”

With the win over Chandler, Gaethje could get the next lightweight title shot against either Charles Oliveira or Dustin Poirier. Oliveira will make his first title defense against Poirier next month at UFC 269.

The Gaethje vs. Chandler fight also earned ‘Fight Of The Night’ honors, with both men earning an extra $50,000 for their efforts.

There was some minor bad blood between Gaethje and Chandler leading up to their fight at UFC 268, but they have appeared to bury the hatchet after their all-time great scrap. Both will be staples of the UFC lightweight title conversation for years to come, and could potentially meet again down the line.

What do you think should be next for Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler?

Continue Reading Justin Gaethje And Michael Chandler Link Up After UFC 268 Classic at MMA News.

Carla Esparza Congratulates Rose Namajunas, Hopes To Face Her Next

Carla Esparza Dana WhiteCarla Esparza congratulated Rose Namajunas and is hoping to face her next. Namajunas defended her women’s strawweight title last night at UFC 268 after earning a hard-fought and razor-thin split decision victory over Weili Zhang in their rematch. Of course, there was an argument that Esparza — who is on a five-fight winning streak — […]

Carla Esparza Dana White

Carla Esparza congratulated Rose Namajunas and is hoping to face her next.

Namajunas defended her women’s strawweight title last night at UFC 268 after earning a hard-fought and razor-thin split decision victory over Weili Zhang in their rematch.

Of course, there was an argument that Esparza — who is on a five-fight winning streak — should have been the one to face Namajunas. Especially as she also holds a prior win over the current champion.

However, that’s in the past for Esparza who took to Instagram to congratulate Namajunas. She concluded by stating it would be an honor to run things back.

“Congratulations @rosenamajunas on a fantastic victory!” Esparza wrote on her Instagram. “Inspiring to so many and and I am truly happy for you ?? Fate had us cross paths when we created this division and I’m proud that 7 years later we are both still here at the top of it.

“This is not a call out or anything disrespectful… this is genuine respect. You deserve time to celebrate and enjoy this accomplishment. It will be an honor to run this back when you are ready.”

White: We Have An Option Other Than Esparza

Namajunas will need some time to recover before she competes again and so, it would make sense for Esparza to simply wait for her title shot.

UFC president Dana White, however, is not a fan of fighters waiting on the sidelines for a title shot and revealed he had another option for Namajunas to face.

“We have an option,” White said at the UFC 268 post-fight presser (via MMA Fighting). “You don’t sit around and wait for fights, it’s a really bad idea.”

Esparza last competed in May when she TKO’d Yan Xioanan.

Should Carla Esparza get the next title shot?

Frankie Edgar’s UFC Future Uncertain After UFC 268, Per Dana White

UFC President Dana White isn’t sure what’s next for Frankie Edgar following his disappointing loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 268.

Edgar and Vera were trading blows for a majority of the fight before Vera landed a brutal front kick to the face that drop…

Frankie Edgar

UFC President Dana White isn’t sure what’s next for Frankie Edgar following his disappointing loss to Marlon Vera at UFC 268.

Edgar and Vera were trading blows for a majority of the fight before Vera landed a brutal front kick to the face that dropped Edgar in the third round. After landing some hard ground-and-pound, the referee stopped the fight, to the displeasure of Edgar.

Edgar had success in the opening minutes of the bout, using his wrestling to control Vera on the ground and also landing some hard elbows from top mount. However, Vera found his range as the fight went on and ended up getting the late finish.

Edgar immediately protested the stoppage, but White feels it was warranted.

Frankie Edgar Suffered A KO Loss To Marlon Vera At UFC 268

UFC 268: See MMA fighter's face turn to rubber after kick to the face - Bloody Elbow

“I love Frankie Edgar. He’s wrong,” White said during the UFC 268 post-fight presser. “It was a great stoppage. Even when Frankie was on his knees and was arguing with the ref and everything else, when he still stood up, he wasn’t right after. So it was a good stoppage.”

With the loss to Vera, Edgar has now lost four of his last five inside the UFC Octagon. He has accumulated just one win since making the move from featherweight to bantamweight last year.

Despite his recent struggles, White isn’t ruling out a possible return for Edgar in the near future but feels his days may be numbered.

“Frankie was fighting a good fight until he got clipped,” White said. I don’t know. Frankie’s gotta go home, spend some time with his family, think about what he wants to do, and we’ll talk about it.”

Edgar is a former lightweight champion and is widely regarded as a legend of the sport and a future Hall of Famer.

What do you think is next for former UFC champion Frankie Edgar?

Continue Reading Frankie Edgar’s UFC Future Uncertain After UFC 268, Per Dana White at MMA News.

Dillon Danis Claims Michael Bisping Ran From Him At UFC 268, ‘The Count’ Responds

Dillon Danis Michael BispingDillon Danis didn’t have the best night at UFC 268 — and that was confirmed by former middleweight champion Michael Bisping. Both Danis and Bisping were in attendance at New York’s Madison Square Garden last night for the stacked UFC 268 pay-per-view event. Danis — who has sparred with Bisping on social media in recent […]

Dillon Danis Michael Bisping

Dillon Danis didn’t have the best night at UFC 268 — and that was confirmed by former middleweight champion Michael Bisping.

Both Danis and Bisping were in attendance at New York’s Madison Square Garden last night for the stacked UFC 268 pay-per-view event.

Danis — who has sparred with Bisping on social media in recent weeks — continued their rivalry by claiming the latter ran when he saw him.

A number of tweets were since deleted.

“Just ran into @bisping turn around and ran

“hey @bisping we got eye witness you running away don’t ever talk anymore i am your daddy”

Bisping Confirms Danis Slap Story

Bisping responded by corroborating Sunday’s story that Danis was slapped by MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz before getting ejected from the event.

“So pathetic. FYI people, dildo was legit slapped in the face like a b*tch backstage and then ejected and banned from all Ufc events. Haha.” (via @hqtred)

Nobody knows what happened for sure.

But if true, Danis continues to take Ls after Ls — especially after his incident from a couple of months ago when he was choked out by a bouncer.

Should Dillon Danis simply give up his tough guy facade after his latest embarrassment?