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Nick Diaz Aiming for September UFC Return, Per His Coach

It’s been a while since Nick Diaz met with UFC president Dana White to discuss a potential return to the octagon earlier this year, but Diaz’s head coach provided an insight into the latest developments on the return of Stockton’s own. Diaz hasn’t fought since UFC 183 against Anderson Silva in a unanimous decision loss […]

Diaz hasn’t fought since UFC 183 against Anderson Silva in a unanimous decision loss that was overturned to a no-contest following Silva testing positive for PEDs. His brother, Nate fought at UFC 263 this past weekend and fell to top welterweight contender Leon Edwards.

The Diaz brothers’ longtime coach, Cesar Gracie hinted at a Diaz return to the octagon later this year and also says that he’s not 100% sure if his return will be in the UFC.

“We were looking at September,” Gracie told MMA Fighting. “I have to see where he is in his contract. It is possible that his next fight will not be in the UFC.”

Gracie also wouldn’t deny the possibility of Diaz being a free agent and open to signing with other promotions.

Before the no-contest against Silva, Diaz had a troublesome second stint in the UFC; going 1-2 including losses to Georges St-Pierre and Carlos Condit. He tested positive and suspended on multiple occasions in the UFC for testing positive for marijuana while it was deemed as a performance enhancer by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Gracie also alleged that Diaz is considering a move to Boxing later this year in the midst of big pay-per-view numbers from Ben Askren vs. Jake Paul, and Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul. UFC veteran Matt Brown and BMF titleholder Jorge Masvidal have been a few names included as a possible Diaz opponent for his comeback fight.

The Diaz brothers have always garnered the attention of fans since their days on The Ultimate Fighter and in Strikeforce. Nick and Nate competing on the same UFC card before the end of their careers would certainly be electric.

Are you excited for a potential Nick Diaz return to the UFC?

Fury & Ngannou Talk Trash During Informal Agreement To Fight

WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury and UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou have never been more interested in fighting one another.

If Francis Ngannou fails to come to terms with the UFC, it appears he has a big boxing matchup ahead of him on…

WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury and UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou have never been more interested in fighting one another.

If Francis Ngannou fails to come to terms with the UFC, it appears he has a big boxing matchup ahead of him once he becomes a free agent. Ngannou and the UFC are in the middle of tense contract negotiations, with Ngannou’s current deal with the promotion set to expire after his upcoming unification bout against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270. If Ngannou loses, he will be a free agent. If he wins, White recently stated that Ngannou would be contractually obligated to fight with the promotion again.

Ngannou has recently stated that in order for him to re-sign with the UFC, he must be granted the freedom to box. When mentioning potential opponents, Fury was among the names “The Predator” listed as being on his radar.

“Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder. I would like to test myself to that level,” Ngannou said during an interview with TMZ Sports. “It’s not the same sport, although I’m the champion, I’m in the top in this division. At the end of the day, it’s just about like trained hands, trained punches, having a good delivery system to produce bombs, and I’m sure that if I deliver my own punch, it’s pretty good, I can make some damage.”

Fury’s Response Sets Off Trash-Talking Twitter Exchange With Ngannou

Thursday, Tyson Fury took to Twitter to get a very early jump start on promoting the very hypothetical matchup.

Who would like to see me fight this beast boxing rules @ufc gloves?@danawhite @francis_ngannou pic.twitter.com/xONNoT8NzR
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) January 6, 2022

“Who would like to see me fight this beast boxing rules @ufc gloves? @danawhite @francis_ngannou.”

It wasn’t long before the “beast” offered a taunting response to “The Gypsy King.”

How about MMA rules with boxing gloves? I can do you that favor. https://t.co/NpCMOQ3DDu
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) January 6, 2022

“How about MMA rules with boxing gloves? I can do you that favor,” Ngannou wrote.

you want to come in to my world calling me & wilder out to a boxing match. what i can guarantee you would be knocked out & also paid your highest purse to be so! so have a think ? https://t.co/JtOgcydYCJ
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) January 6, 2022

“you want to come in to my world calling me & wilder out to a boxing match. what i can guarantee you would be knocked out & also paid your highest purse to be so! so have a think,” Fury said in his latest retort.

After I handle business on Jan. 22 I'll fight you under any special rule set you want. In a ring, an octagon or a phone booth. https://t.co/twRhBnFwwH
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) January 6, 2022

“After I handle business on Jan. 22 I’ll fight you under any special rule set you want. In a ring, an octagon or a phone booth,” Ngannou assured.

Today isn’t the first time Fury expressed interest in boxing Ngannou with MMA gloves. Last summer, prior to Tyson Fury’s victory over Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight, “The Gypsy King” went back-and-forth with Ngannou in the media in a similar fashion as they did today. Speaking to Michael Bisping for BT Sport, Fury said that he’d have a boxing match with Ngannou inside a cage with MMA gloves on (via MMA.uno).

“Yeah, I would fight one of those guys, I would fight Ngannou with the little gloves on in a cage, but no grappling and all that, just boxing. Cage boxing. That will be good, right? I would fight these guys, but you know it’s a totally different sport. It is like cricket and tennis. They both have bats or rackets but it is something totally different. If I fight Ngannou in a wrestling match, I am not a fighter, so they are going to take me to the ground like James Toney and they are going to tear me to pieces.”

MMA News will keep you posted if there is any progress made on this fight ever becoming a reality or if these two behemoths continue to trade barbs on Twitter.

Who do you think would win in a boxing match with MMA gloves between Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury?

Continue Reading Fury & Ngannou Talk Trash During Informal Agreement To Fight at MMA News.

Michael Bisping Reveals His Son Callum Wants MMA Fights

UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping has made an extraordinary impact on the world of MMA. From his incredible UFC career that included a middleweight title reign, to his current occupation as one of the main voices of the UFC; Bisping has made an impact that only a few in the combat sports community can […]

Now, as a retired fighter and current broadcaster, his offspring is allegedly ready to take the reigns.

Bisping’s son, Callum is currently a college wrestler at San Francisco State University as a sophomore on the team. During a recent “Believe You Me” podcast sit-down with Ariel Helwani, Bisping gave some insight as to what his son’s athletic aspirations are; including a possible run in MMA.

“Father’s Day, he calls me up and says ‘I cornered my buddy in an MMA match on Saturday night, and I know I can beat that guy. So Dad, will you train me for a fight?” Bisping said about his son Callum.

If this is true, Callum sure has genetics on his side when it comes to athletic ability in the UFC octagon. His father, Michael holds the record with 29 total fights in the UFC, became the first British champion after upsetting Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, and recorded 20 wins over his career in the cage.

Imagine. pic.twitter.com/2sSJa9kil9

— DarrenRawDogTill (@raw_till) June 22, 2021

Callum is also a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner to go along with his already decorated career in wrestling. He earned a silver medal at the SJJIF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Long Beach, California, and even helped his father Michael for his title fight against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217.

Michael retired following a loss to Kelvin Gastelum back at UFC Fight Night 122 and has become one of the most notorious voices in MMA broadcasting today. He’s provided color commentary for major pay-per-view events in the UFC along with post-fight interviews with the athletes.

If DNA is any indication, Callum could find a lot of success in MMA. Whether or not he actually competes in a professional manner in MMA remains to be seen, but he already has the advantage of having his Hall of Fame dad assisting him with this venture.

Do you think Callum Bisping could potentially be a future star in MMA?

Karolina Kowalkiewicz Makes Comeback Against Jessica Penne At UFC 265 On August 7

Former UFC strawweight championship challenger, Karolina Kowalkiewicz is in line to make her first Octagon walk since February 2020 as she draws fellow former title chaser, Jessica Penne at UFC 265 on August 7. A location or venue for the event has yet to be determined by the promotion, however, rumblings suggest the card is […]

For Lodz native, Kowalkiewicz the August date will mark her first Octagon appearance since UFC Fight Night Auckland in February of last year, where she suffered a unanimous decision loss to recent feature, Yan Xiaonan. The defeat came the Pole’s fourth consecutively.

California native, Penne recently snapped a four year hiatus from active competition in April of this year — nabbing a close split decision win over short-notice opponent, former LFA strawweight best, Lupita Godinez at UFC Vegas 24 at the UFC Apex facility. The victory came as Penne’s first since December of 2014. The promotion officially announced the bout at strawweight this afternoon.

Following her decision shutout loss to Xiaonan, Kowalkiewicz required a surgical procedure in New Zealand, after she had suffered multiple breaks of “small bones” surrounding her eye during the defeat, which left her with double vision momentarily.

The former KSW flyweight champion has competed 11 times under the UFC’s scrutiny, lodged a 5-6 promotional record.

Kowalkiewicz, 33, challenged fellow Polish striker, former undisputed 115lbs champion, Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the championship at UFC 205 in November of 2016 — dropping a unanimous decision in the first of a championship triple-header at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Muay Thai practitioner has managed to take home notable professional wins against the likes of Felice Herrig, Heather Jo Clark, Randa Markos, Kalindra Faria, Mizuki Inoue, Jasminka Civa, and holds a split judging triumph against two-time strawweight best, the recently-minted gold holder, Rose Namajunas back at UFC 201 in July of 2016.

Penne, an alum of The Ultimate Fighter 20 — made it to the semi-final bracket via a pair of decision triumphs opposite both Lisa Ellis and Ashling Daly, however, suffered a judging loss of her own against inaugural strawweight champion, eventual tournament winner, Carla Esparza.

The California native is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Lucas Leite and has managed to notch an impressive seven submission victories across her 18-fight professional career.

The 38-year-old is a former Invicta FC atomweight champion, taking the title with a second round triangle win over Naho Sugiyama back in October of 2012, before dropping the undisputed championship in her next outing against common-opposition, Michelle Waterson.

UFC 265 is yet to nail down an official venue or location, however, a bantamweight championship fight between current two-weight gold holder, Amanda Nunes to the #6 rated 135lbs challenger, Julianna Pena has been booked for the event.

Khabib Nurmagomedov Questions Russian Government Over Dagestan’s Drug Problem

Former UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov has questioned Russian government officials, why cheap drugs have become prevalent in Dagestan — claiming he believes it’s coordinated to introduce narcotics to “break” the youth of the region. Nurmagomedov, a former undisputed UFC lightweight champion, called time on his professional mixed martial arts career back in October of […]

Nurmagomedov, a former undisputed UFC lightweight champion, called time on his professional mixed martial arts career back in October of last year on ‘Fight Island’ — immediately following a second round triangle win against then-interim lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje, successfully unifying the championships.

Despite much speculation regarding his fighting future, as well as numerous transparent bids from UFC president, Dana White to entice the 29-0 back to active competition, Nurmagomedov was officially removed from the lightweight rankings earlier this year, before vacating his championship — which is now currently held by Brazilian grappler, Charles Oliveira.

In the time since, Nurmagomedov has launched his own professional mixed martial arts promotion, Eagle FC — and ahead of the organization’s 37. event — the 32-year-old spoke with media assembled at a press event.

When questioned by Nedelva Sporta reporter, Timur Tilman during his appearance at the press conference in Kazakhstan, Nurmagomedov was asked for some words of guidance to young people who are suffering from substance abuse issues, before himself questioning why cheap drugs from Russia have found their way into society in Dagestan so prevalently.

“How can there be young people at the country’s largest economic forum?” Khabib asked the reporter when probed for his thoughts on claims that cleaners found drug residue in toilets at an economic forum in Russia. “Young people don’t go (to the forum), it’s just people in power. What do the toilets in the economic forum have to do with it?” Khabib responded when asked for his advice to young people.

“So other toilets have drug residue too?” Khabib asked. “You could’ve mentioned school toilets. It’s (drugs) a real problem, especially here in Dagestan. I don’t know how or why it happened — why Russia’s cheapest drugs ended up in Dagestan. I think it’s the work of very coordinated people. They introduce these drugs: weed, pills, salts into certain regions to break the youth there.“

Nurmagomedov then explained how he believes the issue with drug and substance abuse in Dagestan needs to begin with the government of Russia.

“I think the fight has to start with the government,” Khabib said. “If they want to, they can end it (the drug problem) in a day. They’re good at collecting taxes, right? But they can’t stop the flow of drugs?“

“Someone comes, leaves a package, and young people go find it,” Khabib continued. “That’s all done on the internet — they order drugs in one place, then go find them and use them. I think, first of all, the government has to tighten their controls. Secondly, parents have to watch their kids to ensure total control at home. Only after that, people like me who have a large following should tell kids what’s right and wrong. It’s not something that can be fixed with one message. This should be handled at the government level. There should be less cocaine in the economic forum toilets because they’re the ones ruling the country.

Stephen Thompson: Conor McGregor Must ‘Move Like A Karate Guy’ At UFC 264

Stephen Thompson thinks Conor McGregor has to get back his karate style movement if he stands any chance of beating Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10. McGregor famously beat Poirier in super-quick fashion when they first fought at featherweight in 2014. Earlier this year, ‘The Diamond’ avenged that defeat as he knocked out […]

Stephen Thompson thinks Conor McGregor has to get back his karate style movement if he stands any chance of beating Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on July 10.

McGregor famously beat Poirier in super-quick fashion when they first fought at featherweight in 2014.

Earlier this year, ‘The Diamond’ avenged that defeat as he knocked out the Irishman inside two rounds at UFC 257.

Ahead of the trilogy fight, ‘Wonderboy’ thinks McGregor is the one who has a lot of work to do if he wants to emerge victorious.

In an interview with Submission Radio, Thompson advised the former dual-weight champion to get back to what got him to the highest level of MMA.

“I think the person that has to do more changing of the fighters is definitely Conor,” Thompson said. “I mean, Dustin Poirier has been fighting pretty much the same way for the longest time. He’s got great boxing, good timing, he’s tough as nails, he likes to sit in the pocket and he’s intelligent. I think he [Conor] kind of lost something in his last fight. I think it was all the boxing that he was doing. He doesn’t have that movement anymore that you normally saw. Like when he fought Jose Aldo. It was the movement that won him that fight. And he was kind of standing there in front of Dustin Poirier and he took a lot of low calf kicks, and that’s what settled it, sealed the deal. So, he’s got to get back into moving like a Karate guy. He’s got to get back into getting on his bike, using that in and out movement, switching sides, playing that game, if he’s going to go out there and beat him again. Cause he can draw out Dustin Poirier’s strikes with his movement. And him being such a good counter puncher, can counter off of that. So out of the two, Conor’s got to get back to that. So, don’t know how hard that is and how long he’s been doing the boxing stuff, but he’s got to get out of that and get back to his movement. If he can do that, Conor can win.”

‘Wonderboy’ says McGregor shouldn’t have any issue making the necessary changes ahead of UFC 264.

“For a lifelong martial artist such as Conor McGregor, I think it should be fairly easy for him,” Thompson said. “I think he can get back to that fairly easy. And as long as he’s been doing that directly after the fight. After his last fight he should have gone back to the gym and started working on it. I mean, he knew then they’re going to have a rematch. He’s won one, Poirier has won one. It’s bound to happen. It’s meant to be, have a third fight. So, hopefully he’s doing that and hopefully he’s got good coaches to get him back, making him do that movement. So, I don’t think it should be that hard for him.”

Do you agree with Stephen Thompson? Will using a karate stance help Conor McGregor defeat Dustin Poirier at UFC 264?