Conor McGregor reignites feud with Paulie Malignaggi ahead of UFC 303: ‘He got battered out of the gym’

Conor McGregor reignites feud with Paulie Malignaggi ahead of UFC 303 he got battered out of the gymAhead of his return to the Octagon in June, former two-division champion, Conor McGregor has rekindled his rivalry with…

Conor McGregor reignites feud with Paulie Malignaggi ahead of UFC 303 he got battered out of the gym

Ahead of his return to the Octagon in June, former two-division champion, Conor McGregor has rekindled his rivalry with former sparring partner, ex-professional boxer, Paulie Malignaggi, claiming the Italian-American was “battered out of the gym” during their infamous sparring sessions back in 2017.

McGregor, a former undisputed lightweight and featherweight champion under the banner of the UFC, has been sidelined since he fractured his left tibia and fibula in a first round doctor’s stoppage TKO loss to Dustin Poirier almost three years ago.

Conor McGregor Proper 12 2

And booking his official return to active competition amid more than a year of speculation linking him with a comeback to the Octagon, McGregor is officially set to headline UFC 303 at the end of June during International Fight Week.

Taking on former lightweight title challenger, Michael Chandler in a heated grudge match between the two, Conor McGregor – who has been backed by his long-time head coach, John Kavanagh to dispatch of the veteran contender inside two rounds, returned to full-time training this month in anticipation of his return.

Conor McGregor hits out at Paulie Maglignaggi years after sparring fiasco

Backed to return with aplomb amid his continued layoff through a nasty injury, McGregor could not help himself but once more aim barbs in the direction of the above-mentioned Malignaggi, claiming the former WBA and IBF gold holder was comfortably “battered” out of their gym and ring during their infamous sparring tussles back in 2017.

Conor Paulie Sparring

Notably stepping into the squared circle with McGregor that year to briefly help the Dubliner prepare for his historic tangle with former world champion star, Floyd Mayweather, footage emerged of Malignaggi finding himself on the receiving end of some heavy strikes from the former – with the argument of an apparent and phantom knockdown still rife. 

Going on to himself suffer a tenth round TKO loss to the unbeaten, Mayweather in the Michigan native’s final professional walk to the ring, McGregor and Malignaggi have both continuously weighed up a potential grudge match down the line since 2017, ultimately to no avail. 

Conor Paulie 2

Do you think Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi will cross paths down the line?

Islam Makhachev calls for Leon Edwards title fight after UFC 302: ‘I already gave a chance to fighters at 145’

Islam Makhachev calls for title fight with Leon Edwards after UFC 302 I've already given a chanceSlated to headline UFC 302 in June, undisputed lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev is hellbent on challenging for a second…

Islam Makhachev calls for title fight with Leon Edwards after UFC 302 I've already given a chance

Slated to headline UFC 302 in June, undisputed lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev is hellbent on challenging for a second title after his comeback this summer, specifically in a showdown with welterweight titleholder, Leon Edwards.

Makhachev, the current lightweight gold holder, is set to make his comeback to the Octagon this summer in New Jersey, taking on former interim champion, Dustin Poirier in the pair’s championship headliner atop UFC 302.

UFC Saudi Arabia postponed until June amid links to Islam Makhachev comeback fight
Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

Sidelined since December, Birmingham native, Edwards himself most recently took main event honors at UFC 296, himself turning in a one-sided unanimous decision victory against former interim champion, Colby Covington in the pair’s heated grudge fight.

Islam Makhachev calls for Leon Edwards clash

And forever staking his claim for a siege at a second title belt, Makhachev, the current pound-for-pound number one, claims his decision to welcome title challenges from Alexander Volkanovski in a featherweight rise, should allow him to challenge for welterweight spoils after UFC 302.

Islam Makhachev calls for division move after UFC 302 I've already beat everyone at lightweight
Mandatory Credit: Giuseppe Cacece

“My dream fight: I have to fight in the next division, 170 [pounds],” Islam Makhachev told The New York Post. “I have to fight Leon Edwards. I already gave a chance to fighters at 145 [pounds]. That’s why I need my chance at a second belt. …Honestly, I don’t have any exciting fights, because Dustin (Poirier) has just one-fight win streak.”

“And we have Arman (Tsarukyan), but I already beat this guy,” Islam Makhachev explained. “I don’t have some job in my division, in my opinion, honestly. And I think I have a chance. They have to give me the chance for a second belt because I already beat the old guys.” 

Leon Edwards confirms he will fight at UFC 300 I will defend my title in April in Las Vegas
Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

Himself linked with a comeback fight at the end of July in Manchester, Edwards has been touted as a shoo-in to feature at UFC 304 in a home soil return – amid links to a title fight rematch with the streaking, Belal Muhammad.

Who wins in a future title ‘super fight’: Leon Edwards or Islam Makhachev?

Chris Weidman unsure of Alex Pereira’s ability to keep UFC title: ‘I see such an opening with the wrestling’

Chris Weidman unsure of Alex Pereira's ability to keep UFC title I see such an open with the wrestlingWhilst appearing to sell the majority of the mixed martial arts community on his dominance off the back of…

Chris Weidman unsure of Alex Pereira's ability to keep UFC title I see such an open with the wrestling

Whilst appearing to sell the majority of the mixed martial arts community on his dominance off the back of his stunning first round win over Jamahal Hill at UFC 300 earlier this month, Alex Pereira’s apparent wrestling shortcomings have caught the eye of former middleweight kingpin, Chris Weidman. 

Pereira, a former undisputed middleweight titleholder and the current undisputed light heavyweight champion, headlined UFC 300 earlier this month in a title fight return against ex-champion, Hill, turning in a dominant first round knockout win over the Illinois native.

Alex Pereira rejects UFC 308 clash with Magomed Ankalaev in Abu Dhabi I want to fight sooner
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari – Zuffa LLC

As for Weidman, the former middleweight champion returned to the winner’s enclosure for the first time since his gruesome compound leg fracture back in 2021 with a controversial decision win over Bruno Silva at UFC Atlantic City last month.

Chris Weidman admits he’s not sold on Alex Pereira

And linked with a title fight against surging Russian contender, Magomed Ankalaev as well as a heavyweight division leap in his return, Alex Pereira – as per Weidman, is likely there for the taking against a proficient wrestler and grappler, despite his thunderous knockout power.

Chris Weidman lands egregious decision win over Bruno Silva after multiple eye pokes UFC Atlantic City
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari – Zuffa LLC

“It’s hard for me to get fully behind (Alex) Pereira, because I do see such an opening with the wrestling, and he hasn’t really fought wrestlers who will take advantage of that,” Chris Weidman said during an appearance on Believe You Me. “It’s hard to deal with, but it’s so crazy and it’s such a deficiency in what we’ve seen so far.”

Alex Pereira tipped for success at heavyweight everybody is in trouble against him UFC
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports

“It’s almost like Ben Askren coming into the UFC and being able to just become a multiple-time champion with no hands [striking],” Weidman explained. “It’s like a striker looking at Ben Askren and thinking, ‘How the hell is this guy the world champion?’ He was able to do it in Bellator, he was able to do it in ONE FC. The guy had an unbelievable MMA career and had no striking at all. It looked awful but he was so good at wrestling he was able to do it.”

Do you agree with Chris Weidman’s take on Alex Pereira’s ability?

Ronda Rousey’s coaching staff blamed for ruining ex-UFC star’s career: ‘They had a Lamborghini and wrecked it’

Ronda Rousey's team blamed for ruining her UFC career they had a Lamborghini and wrecked itFormer UFC bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey’s team have been hit with the blame for the Riverside native’s career downturn…

Ronda Rousey's team blamed for ruining her UFC career they had a Lamborghini and wrecked it

Former UFC bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey’s team have been hit with the blame for the Riverside native’s career downturn back in 2015, with veteran coach, Louis Taylor comparing her talents to a “Lamborghini” – which he team eventually “wrecked”. 

Dana White trashes Scott Coker in antitrust lawsuit deposition I turned Ronda Rousey into a star UFC

Rousey, the promotion’s inaugural bantamweight champion having struck gold under the banner of the now-defunct, Strikeforce promotion, called time on her decorated career in mixed martial arts after consecutive knockout losses to Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm back in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Ronda Rousey claims she was destined to lose Holly Holm fight I got touched and my bottom teeth got knocked loose
Mandatory Credit: Pat Scala

Enjoying a stunning unbeaten run up until her title fight with Holm in Australia, Rousey’s dominant reign was ended courtesy of a savage second round high-kick KO loss, before returning the following year in a blistering first round TKO defeat against the above-mentioned Brazilian star, Nunes. 

Ronda Rousey described as Lamborghini which had been “wrecked” by coaching staff

Revealing a bleak history of neurological issues as well as consecutive concussions suffered during her tenure with the UFC, which limited her ability to engage with fighters, and ultimately attributed to her decision to call time on her career, Rousey’s coaches did no benefit to her in the long run, according to the previously noted, Taylor.

Ronda Rousey reveals concussion secret let to her exit from the UFC that's why I had to retire
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari – Zuffa LLC

“Her (Ronda Rousey) coaching is – I would still slap her entire coaching staff – like, bro, they had a Lamborgini and just wrecked it,” Taylor said during an appearance on the Money, Loyalty, Legacy podcast. “But, you know again, if you coaches – and Belal (Muhammaed) will tell you, too, I’m a good friend, ‘cause I’m the one that’s going to tell you you’re f*cking up, you know what I’m saying?”

“There’s not a fight, whether we win or lose, that I’m just like, you did great,” Taylor explained. “No because I’m there to look for the mistakes, I’m there to look for what the next coach is looking for.” (H/T MMA News)

Do you think Ronda Rousey’s coaching staff are to blame for her career downfall?

UFC star Amanda Ribas reveals ‘Crazy’ encounter with creepy stalker: ‘He told people I was his wife’

Amanda Ribas reveals creep encounter with crazy stalker he tried to tell people I was his wife UFCUFC fighter Amanda Ribas had a recent encounter with a stalker. Ribas says before her UFC Vegas 89 main…

Amanda Ribas reveals creep encounter with crazy stalker he tried to tell people I was his wife UFC

UFC fighter Amanda Ribas had a recent encounter with a stalker.

Ribas says before her UFC Vegas 89 main event against Rose Namajunas, a Ukrainian man reportedly tried to meet Ribas multiple times. The Brazilian says she met the man during her UFC 251 fight week against Paige VanZant.

Since then, Ribas says the man has been trying to meet her and contact him, which has creeped her out.

Amanda Ribas

“I don’t remember his name, but he was a bit of a crazy guy,” Amanda Ribas told Ag. Fight (via MMAFighting). “On the first day, I arrived at the hotel — usually the fans are there for us to sign something, take a picture — but this citizen was a little crazy. He kept screaming, ‘Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.’ That same day, the guy at the front desk called my room and said, ‘Amanda, Alex is here wanting to go upstairs.’ Except that Alex is the name of my manager. I said, ‘Hey, the sensei is here now’. He went and said a crazy last name, I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I thought that was kind of weird.

“The next day, when we arrived again at the reception, the young man was waiting. But he said he wanted to talk to me, and I said I couldn’t at the moment. He spoke to my father, handed him a letter, a bracelet and a teddy bear. So far, so normal, because it’s something that happens. I even like it, I love to get gifts. Then I read in the letter that he was in love with me as a man since 2020, that he met me in Abu Dhabi.”

“We went to do some research. This young man, on his social network, it was written that I was his wife, that he lived in such and such a country and was going to move to [my hometown] Varginha [Minas Gerais, Brazil]. There was a picture of a teddy bear, everyone in my family, saying, ‘This is Marcelo, this is Arthur, this is Mirelly, this is Amanda, my wife’. I had some crazy business.”

Amanda Ribas

Along with the gifts, the fighter reportedly got into the UFC PI and told people he was Amanda Ribas’ wife.

“The other day, this citizen managed to get into the P.I., I don’t know how, and he was telling people that I was his wife,” Ribas laughed. “[My manager] Alex [Davis] found out about it first, then he told me. Then he notified the UFC and they left a security guard with me 24 hours a day to be even more protected. It seems that they found out that he is a fighter, and he couldn’t fight in an event because he had taken a sword (laughs).”

Amanda Ribas Coming Off Loss To Rose Namajunas

In her last fight at UFC Vegas 91, Amanda Ribas suffered a five-round decision loss to Rose Namajuans.

Ribas has alternated wins and losses in seven fights, as she’s 3-4 during that stretch and is 7-4 overall in the UFC. Before the loss to Namajunas, Ribas scored a knockout win over Luana Pinheiro. In her UFC career, Amanda Ribas has notable wins over Paige VanZant, Mackenzie Dern, and Viviane Araujo.

Amanda Ribas reveals creep encounter with crazy stalker he tried to tell people I was his wife UFC
Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell – USA TODAY Sports

Ribas is currently ranked eighth at strawweight and ninth at flyweight as she’s been competing in both weight classes. She does not have her next fight booked.

UFC veteran Donald Cerrone ‘Rushed to surgery’ after nasty bull riding accident: ‘I ain’t going out like this’

Donald Cerrone rushed to surgery after nasty bull riding accident UFC Dana WhiteUFC veteran Donald Cerrone had surgery after a bull riding accident. Cerrone had agreed to ride Dana White’s bull,…

Donald Cerrone rushed to surgery after nasty bull riding accident UFC Dana White

UFC veteran Donald Cerrone had surgery after a bull riding accident.

Cerrone had agreed to ride Dana White’s bull, “Twisted Steel,” at the upcoming Professional Bull Riders (PBR) “Unleash The Beast” event on May 18 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. With that, Cerrone was practising bull riding, but he suffered an injury tearing his biceps completely off the bone and had to have surgery, which White hooked up for him.

Donald Cerrone
Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

“Well if y’all want to see what happened to the one-arm man, this is it. Now if you’re thinkin’ this is it, and ol’ cowboy is down and out— no sir. @danawhite hooked me up with one of the best surgeons for a full bicep tear and give it six-eight weeks and with help from @transcendHrt and I’ll be back at it. Ain’t going out like this!!,” Cerrone wrote.

After Cerrone announced the injury, White released a statement saying it was a bad idea from the start for ‘Cowboy’ to try and ride his bull.

Dana White confirms post-fight bonus winners will receive $300,000 checks at UFC 300 It's done
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari – Zuffa LLC

“I thought this was a bad idea for Cowboy from the start,” White said in a statement provided to MMAmania.com. “Twisted Steel is the nastiest bull in the PBR. He’s bucked 90-percent of his riders. Let’s leave it to the pros at the PBR World Finals in Arlington.”

Dana White Accepted Donald Cerrone’s challenge

UFC CEO Dana White has been promoting his bull for quite some time, and because of that Donald Cerrone requested to ride it.

After Cerrone publicly called to ride the bull, White accepted ‘Cowboy’s’ challenge and even offered him a cash reward depending on how long he lasted.

Donald Cerrone receives UFC Hall of Fame induction
Mandatory Credit: Carmen Mandato

“Cowboy Cerrone called [Twisted Steel] out saying that he wants to ride my bull,” White said on X. “Now, my bull is a legit badass. The last PBR guy that rode him, a professional bull rider, lasted 2.5 seconds. So, Cowboy Cerrone, I accept your challenge. I will donate $50,000 to the charity of your choice for you to ride him. If you last eight seconds, I will give you $100,000.”

Donald Cerrone last competed in MMA at UFC 276 in July of 2022 when he lost to Jim Miller by submission. He announced his retirement from MMA following the loss.