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Photos – Jon Jones returns to training for first time since injury setback, teases UFC comeback: ‘And so it began’

Expected to make his return to the Octagon before the end of the year amid an injury setback suffered…

Expected to make his return to the Octagon before the end of the year amid an injury setback suffered last November, UFC heavyweight champion, Jon Jones has teased an impending comeback to active competition, returning to training this week.

Jones, the current heavyweight champion and a former two-time titleholder at the light heavyweight limit, was scheduled to headline UFC 295 back in November of last year, before a torn pectoral tendon forced his withdrawal from a title fight against the returning former gold holder, Stipe Miocic.

Jon Jones current betting favorite to headline UFC 300 in title fight return — Mandatory Credit: Chris Graythen

Sidelined in the time since amid surgery to address the injury, Jon Jones also went under the knife to address previous elbow issues – namely the shaving down of bone spurs, with plans in place for him to return in a rescheduled bout with Ohio veteran, Miocic.

Jon Jones shuts down retirement talk ahead of UFC return I can't just walk away — Mandatory Credit: Chris Graythen

With the Rochester native ruled from UFC 295, the promotion instead fielded a makeshift interim heavyweight title bout, with British star, Tom Aspinall minting himself as the champion with a blistering first round knockout wino over Russian finisher, Sergei Pavlovich.

Jon Jones returns to training after pectoral injury

And steadfast in his wish to meet former two-time champion, Miocic later this year in a return, Jones confirmed he had made his way back to training for the first time since undergoing surgery – hinting to a return to action imminently.

“First day back in the gym since my injury, felt amazing,” Jon Jones posted on his official Instagram account. “And so it began.”

Himself winning vacant spoils back in March of last year, Jones dispatched another former interim titleholder, Ciryl Gane with a one-sided opening round guillotine choke in the main event of UFC 285.

Tom Aspinall claims Jon Jones was smart to avoid a face off with him agree to a UFC fight

As for the above-mentioned, Aspinall, the Atherton native confirmed his place on a now-official UFC 304 card at the end of July, booking himself a homecoming bout at a pay-per-view event in Manchester, England.

Justin Gaethje reveals ‘Biggest mistake’ he made in fight with Max Holloway: ‘I think he fought so perfect’

Justin Gaethje says he made a significant mistake against Max Holloway at UFC 300. Gaethje was defending his BMF…

Justin Gaethje says he made a significant mistake against Max Holloway at UFC 300.

Gaethje was defending his BMF belt in the featured bout against Holloway in a very intriguing matchup. It was a fan-friendly fight, but going into the bout, Gaethje says he made a key mistake as he didn’t realize how much danger he was in by fighting the Hawaiian.

gettyimages 2148562866 612x612 1 — Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

“I think if I made a mistake, the biggest mistake was not realizing or understanding through the camp how much danger I was in,” Justin Gaethje said to the Dan LeBatard show (via MMAMania). “I know that was a mistake now. I think it was more difficult for my body to go to a primal state because of my lack of awareness of the danger that that my body was in. Not that I didn’t give Max respect. It was more the fact that I never in my life saw Max as an opponent that I would potentially fight.

“He was always in a different weight class. I never was like, ‘This is a guy I wanna fight.’ There’s never been another fight in my career where I’ve been like, ‘I didn’t expect to fight this guy,’ or ‘I have too much respect for this guy.’ Not that I didn’t wanna hurt him, I was willing to hurt him,” Justin Gaethje clarified. “But the lead up was very different — even Donald Cerrone was my friend back in the day, but he he knocked me out in a practice in, like, 2010. So I was like, I wanna get that back.”

“The competitor of me wants to get that back. There was nothing, that fire wasn’t there. And I think that was probably the biggest mistake that I made going into this fight. It’s something that I that I’m gonna learn from. But again, all credit to Max for for the way that he fought. I think he fought so perfect.”

Justin Gaethje claims he's not done after UFC 300 loss to Max Holloway I will fight in the future

Justin Gaethje ended up suffering a knockout loss to Max Holloway with one second left in the fifth round to lose his BMF title.

Justin Gaethje plans to take time off after UFC 300 loss

Following the knockout loss at UFC 300, Justin Gaethje says he will be taking some much-needed time off to heal up his brain and make sure he’s healthy.

Max Holloway Justin Gaethje KO UFC 300 Pros react UFC 1024x587 1

Gaethje says he will be taking 180 days off of taking contact, as he wants to make sure he is 100 percent healthy for his next fight.

“I do want to take care of myself. I do think that repeated concussions with me going to sleep like that, me receiving that shot, it would be foolish for me to to jump back into training anytime before 180 days,” Gaethje said. “I could do cardio. I could stay in shape. That’s what I wanna try to do, especially the older I get, the harder it is to get back to the best shape of my life. So I wanna stay active. But obviously, the physical contact is gonna be limited for quite some time, just because I wanna preserve preserve myself. I think six months at least before I get back to taking shots.”

When and who Gaethje will fight in his return is uncertain.

UFC’s Jon Jones Confirms Return to Training in Instagram Photo amid Injury Rehab

UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is back in the gym. Jones posted a picture of himself training on Instagram as he continues rehabbing a pectoral injury.…

Mike Perry still confident of future BKFC fight with UFC icon Conor McGregor: ‘He likes to throw hands’

Former UFC welterweight Mike Perry is hopeful of a future bare knuckle fight against Conor McGregor. Since leaving the…

Former UFC welterweight Mike Perry is hopeful of a future bare knuckle fight against Conor McGregor.

Since leaving the UFC following his loss to Daniel Rodriguez in 2021, Mike Perry has managed to carve out a successful, and well-paying, second half of his career. The 32-year-old is now 5-0 since leaving the promotion, and 4-0 since signing with the BKFC – a move which has proven to be his best so far.

Luis Palomino no fight with Mike Perry he hasn't earned it BKFC David Feldman

Perry seems to have a flexible contract that allows him to take part in fights outside the BKFC and when he does compete under their banner pay him very handsomely.

His last three wins consist of Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Luke Rockhold, and Eddie Alvarez and Perry is currently booked to face Thiago Alves this Saturday. Perry’s star continues to grow and has proven to attract fighters to enter his world.

MIke Perry confident of luring Conor McGregor to the BKFC

Perry even envisions a future fight against McGregor, who recently expressed his interest in fighting into his 40s and willingness to test the boxing waters. McGregor had also previously jumped in the ring following one of Perry’s fights for an intense face-off.

Joe Rogan describes BKFC fight Mike Perry and Conor McGregor as f*cking bananas — Mandatory Credit: Phil Lambert

“I think it could be a possibility,” Perry told MMA Fighting. “When my manager shared it and [he was like], ‘This will happen,’ I was like, whoa, that’s cool.

“Look, Conor likes to throw hands. He’s a great boxer. Fought Floyd Mayweather. He got a front row seat to watch my show with Luke [Rockhold] and he gave me respect by coming into the ring and giving me some of his time there. I think it would be fun and incredible.”

Conor McGregor vows to quit drinking ahead of UFC 303 five more nights then that's that

In today’s age of combat sports, it;s now hard to rule out any fight from ever taking place, but McGregor ever taking this fight, particularly in bare knuckle is highly unlikely.

Who wins in bareknuckle, Conor McGregor or Mike Perry?

Ex-UFC star Darren Till reveals losing six-Figure sponsorship due to Venum kit deal: ‘There was no way around it’

Former UFC welterweight Darren Till reveals an eye-watering amount of money that he was forced to walk away from…

Former UFC welterweight Darren Till reveals an eye-watering amount of money that he was forced to walk away from during his UFC career.

While Till never reached the heights in the UFC that was hoped for, even now the 31-year-old’s name still holds value. Always funny and outspoken, Darren Till garnered a following quickly during his time with the promotion – something that any normal athlete would be to fully cash in on.

Darren Till appears in court pleads not guilty to driving charges UFC — Mandatory Credit: Liverpool Echo

However, the UFC has strict advertising rules which means that fighters are restricted in terms of what products they can promote, and when they are able to promote them. For example, fighters are no longer allowed to have sponsors on custom shorts with Venum being the uniform of the UFC.

Darren Till talks missing out on pay through UFC’s deal with Venum

Sponsorships on fight night shorts had proved to be valuable to fighters when they were permitted.

Talking on the Ben Heath Podcast, Till revealed that he was forced to turn down sponsorship offers during the height of his career.

“I know in the past when I was fighting I had massive, massive offers for sponsorship to go on shorts, but I’ve had to turn it down because of Venum, so that’s the only thing where it’s been a bit annoying,” said Darren Till. “This was in the past. They were a construction company, and they were like ‘We want to pay Till this much,’ and I was like ‘what!?’ I was saying to my friend, ‘Is there no way around this? Like I can’t put them on my shorts.’ I had to turn the offer down. That left a little bit of bitterness in my mouth.

Continuing, Till revealed that missed out on six-figure paycheques.

“About $150,000. I was just thinking like UFC pay, and $150,000 on top. I need to do this. There was no way around it,” Till said. “Because talking with the UFC they have that deal in place with Venum. There are no ifs, buts, maybes. You’re in Venum, you’re in Monster, the shoes are Reebok and I just had to turn the deal down.

Venum were paying a main event fighter something like $20,000 or something like that, which I’m not going to turn my nose at that. And at the time my social media was banging, I could have probably gathered three or four more sponsors as well,” Till continued. “So I could’ve walked away with just sponsorship, with, I don’t know, $300,000-$400,000, I know I could’ve gained that. But If I could ever be so critical, which I don’t like being critical, it’d be along that side.”

Who do you think Darren Till should fight in his return to competition?

Islam Makhachev calls for division move after UFC 302 return: ‘I already beat everyone at lightweight’

Booked to make his return at UFC 302 at the beginning of June, Islam Makhachev claims if he dispatches…

Booked to make his return at UFC 302 at the beginning of June, Islam Makhachev claims if he dispatches incoming foe, Dustin Poirier in Newark, he immediately wants to test welterweight waters, claiming he’s already cleared out the lightweight division.

Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight titleholder and current pound-for-pound number one, is slated to make his first outing of the year in June, headlining UFC 302 in a title defense against former interim gold holder, Poirier.

Islam Makhachev set to fight twice this year ahead of expected UFC return — Mandatory Credit: Giuseppe Cacece

Most recently headlining UFC 294, Russian standout, Makhachev dispatched ex-featherweight kingpin, Alexander Volkanovski in the pair’s title rematch, landing a first round high-kick and strikes KO win.

Islam Makhachev eyes welterweight move after UFC 302

And despite finding himself linked with a whole slew of potential future fights at 155lbs, namely a rematch with Arman Tsarukyan, a clash with fellow European talent, Mateusz Gamrot – or a bout with recent BMF title winner, Max Holloway, Makhachev insists he wants a welterweight move after UFC 302.

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

“Honestly, I don’t have any exciting fights, because Dustin (Poirier) has just [a] one fight winning streak,” Islam Makhachev told The New York Post. “And, we have Arman (Tsarukyan) – but I’ve already beat this guy.”

“I don’t have some job in my division, in my opinion, honestly,” Islam Makhachev explained. “And I think I have chance, they [the UFC] have to give me the chance for a second belt. Because I’ve already beat all the all (sic) guys.”

As for incoming foe, Poirier, the Lousiana native will look to finally capture undisputed lightweight spoils at the third time of trying – earning his title tilt with a second round knockout win over French contender, Benoit Saint Denis in the co-main event of UFC 299 back in March.

Islam Makhachev backed to retire from the UFC by end of next year he's cleared out 155 pounds — Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

Winning vacant lightweight gold back in 2022, Makhachev snapped the division-record winning run of former champion, Charles Oliveira in the pair’s long-anticipated showcase, locking up an arm-triangle submission win.

Would you like to see Islam Makhachev fight for welterweight gold after UFC 302?