Dana White has revealed the plan for Jon Jones' introduction to the heavyweight division and more — Fightful Fix has you covered with all the news in the combat sports world.
Jon Jones to face the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou II
Dana White has revealed that Jon Jones will make his introduction to the heavyweight division against the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou II at UFC 260. White has alluded in the past of his desire to see Jones compete at heavyweight given his domination in the light-heavyweight division. Jones has been preparing his body for the transition and White has now confirmed his intentions.
“Heavyweight. Jon Jones is going to move to heavyweight. We’re going to have Stipe vs. Francis, and the winner of that will probably fight Jon Jones,” White said in an interview with Sportsnet (h/t BJPenn.com).
Dustin Poirier not worrying about Conor McGregor's KO prediction
Dustin Poirier isn't concerned about Conor McGregor predicting a swift KO within 60 seconds. The pair will clash at UFC 257 and "The Diamond" is confident he will have learned from their previous encounter. "The Notorious" demolished Poirier in under two minutes last time they fought and has earned the nickname "Mystic Mac" due to his remarkable history at predicting how his fights will go.
“When we’re dry early, he has all the pop and the spring still in his step,” Poirier said. “(He’s) very dangerous," admitted Poirier (h/t MMA Junkie). "Good thing it’s a 25-minute fight, and I feel like I’ve matured and developed my skills enough to be in the right moments and take the right chances and not put myself in harm’s way right off the bat.”
Frankie Edgar believes T.J. Dillashaw needs a win before he gets a title shot
Frankie Edgar is happy to see T.J. Dillashaw back in the bantamweight division but believes the former champion must earn a title shot upon his return. Dillashaw was stripped of the bantamweight title after failing a drug test following his loss to Henry Cejudo at flyweight and is only returning now from a suspension issued by USADA. Edgar believes that despite his accomplishments, he shouldn't be allowed to skip the queue.
“Yeah, he’s got to go in there and win. That’s for sure. Does he deserve a title shot right away? No, I don’t think so. There’s still some unknowns — you don’t know how he’s going to react when he’s not able to take steroids," Edgar told The Schmo in a recent interview (h/t The Bodylock MMA). "And who knows how long he’s been taking steroids and whatnot. I’m not one to point fingers and say this and that. If he goes in there and wins a fight then he’s in the mix."
Javier Mendez believes Umar Nurmagomedov will become a world champion
American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez predicts that Umar Nurmagomedov will follow in his cousin Khabib's footsteps and become a world champion in the UFC. (Umar) Nurmagomedov will look to continue his undefeated run as a professional when he takes on Sergey Morozov on UFC Fight Island 8. And Mendez is predicting that ver shortly, another Nurmagomedov will have UFC gold.
"Umar’s awesome, I expect he’s going to be the world champion in five or six fights," Mendez said (h/t RT Sport). "But he’s completely different from Khabib. In the way he fights, he’s more of a striker-type base guy. But he can do it all, he can do everything."
But Mendez has dismissed claims that he said that Umar and Usman Nurmagomedov are better than Khabib Nurmagomedov.
"I’ve never said they (Umar and Usman) are better (than Khabib)," Mendez explained. "When I say gifted, that doesn’t mean better. Khabib’s the best there’s ever been and might be the best there ever was. Being the most gifted doesn’t mean the best ever. I think Khabib’s the best ever."
Carlos Condit unsure what the future holds following his UFC contract expiry
Carlos Condit was victorious against Matt Brown at UFC Fight Island 7 and may have ended his UFC tenure on a high note. That fight was the last on Condit's contract and the former welterweight champion admits his future is uncertain at this moment in time.
“No clue, honestly. I don’t know,” he said. “I have a few things (I’ve) got to get tended to. (I’ve) got to get a few things fixed up, and yeah – I don’t know," claimed Condit (h/t MMA Junkie). "I think there’s a lot of variable with all that. I love the UFC. I’ve had an incredible run. I’ve grown up under Zuffa, WEC, UFC, but we’ll see.”
Shinya Aoki is looking to “fight as long as I can”
Shinya Aoki will return to ONE Championship at ONE: Unbreakable next Friday in Singapore against former LFA welterweight champion James Nakashima. Aoki is one of the most lethal submission specialists in MMA and a legend in Japanese MMA, and at 37 years old, is showing no signs of slowing down.
“I’m not thinking about retirement, period,” Aoki said. “This is a way of life for me. I want to continue being a fighter for as long as I can. A lot of people have intrinsic motivations, be it money or family or something along those lines, but it’s just part of my lifestyle, and I’ll continue for as long as I can. I don’t really see becoming the lightweight champion as a goal," Aoki told BJPenn.com. "I’m sure many people have that goal. I don’t really see the belt as something I need to get once again, as long I can continue training and stay healthy and fight as long as I can. That’s what’s important for me.”
Meng Bo claims "I can definitely defeat Weili Zhang again"
Meng Bo is the only fighter to defeat Weili Zhang after clashing with “Magnum” under the CMMAL banner in 2013. Zhang has since gone on to defeat some of the biggest names in MMA and former champions Jessica Andrade and Joanna Jedrzejczyk along the way. Bo believes that despite both fighters improving since the original bout, the outcome would be the same if they ever rematch.
“No doubt I’m still confident that I can definitely defeat her again. I’ve been improving my skills day by day. We are both stand-up fighters, so I think we’d showcase our stand-up fighting skills to entertain our fans," Bo said (h/t MMA Mania). "Though I beat her in that fight, I also learned a lot from her. We both changed a lot since then and improved our skills as well.”
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You can make your Spain League prediction now. Real Valladolid will welcome Elche for matchday 19 at the Jose Zorrilla Stadium. Their last match against each other was back in 2017, which ended with a 2-1 victory to Valladolid.
Warrley Alves blames himself for recent losses
Warrley Alves was 10-0 as a professional and then went 3-4 in fights since 2016. Alves is hoping that having switched gyms to train with Pedro Rizzo's team and also training with former wrestler and coral belt in jiu-jitsu Laerte Barcelos, father of UFC bantamweight prospect Raoni Barcelos can change his luck around and get him back on track to target the top 15.
“I’m extremely competitive. I compete with my own shadows. I allowed people to have that feeling dormant inside of me for some time, and I made it dormant, too. I started accepting defeats in training, accepting defeats in life, and that made me an ordinary person, a mediocre person. I see myself as a median athlete, a mediocre athlete, without the pejorative side of that word," (h/t MMA Fighting). "I’m average now, I’m just like 70 percent of the fighters in my weight class. That’s what I wanna change. I wanna go to the top. I wanna get there and fight. I wanna get wins together and work towards becoming champion because I’m a competitive person and I know this belt will be mine one day.”
UFC Betting odds for Fight island 8
The latest odds for the upcoming UFC Fight Island 8. The odds have been provided by MMA odds breaker.
Neil Magny -150
Michael Chiesa +130Mounir Lazzez -115
Warlley Alves -115Isaac Villanueva -150
Vinicius Moreira +130Viviane Araujo -225
Roxanne Modafferi +190Lerone Murphy -225
Douglas Silva de Andrade +190Tyson Nam -135
Matt Schnell +105Ricky Simon -285
Gaetano Pirrello +225Su Mudaerji -265
Zarrukh Adashev +205Dalcha Lungiambula -350
Markus Perez +260Jerome Rivera -125
Francisco Figueiredo +105Mike Davis -300
Mason Jones +250Manon Fiorot -110
Victoria Leonardo -110Tom Breese -140
Omari Akhmedov +120Umar Nurmagomedov -625
Sergey Morozov +450
Jerome Rivera looking to defeat Francisco Figueiredo’s to get to brother Deiveson
Jerome Rivera is hoping that a win over Francisco Figueiredo will help lead him to a UFC flyweight championship fight with his brother Deiveson Figueiredo. Rivera will take on Figueiredo at UFC Fight Island 8 and if he has his way, it won't be the only Figueiredo he will compete with inside the Octagon.
“What better way to send the champ a message than fighting his brother and beating him up. Whenever I see teammates lose, it puts a bad taste in my mouth and I want to fight that guy so this will stir the pot up a little bit. The other thing that makes me excited is, he is hard to find tape on. I’m just preparing to fight Deiveson Figueiredo," Rivera said (h/t BJPenn.com).
Rivera is worried Figueiredo will not make flyweight, given he usually fights at bantamweight and even featherweight. But if the Brazilian misses weight, Rivera says he will still accept the bout.
"It will be nice if I can get the extra 20 percent. I was thinking about it, he’s 31-years-old and as far as I can tell he’s never fought at flyweight. He hasn’t also been very active so it is a questionable move to make the move to flyweight. He will have worries about cardio and will be focusing on the cut more than the fight.”
‘The Mountain’ Thor Bjornsson fights Steven Ward in an exhibition bout
Thor "The Mountain" Bjornsson has faced off in an exhibition bout with Steven Ward. "The Mountain" is preparing for a fight with fellow strongman Eddie Hall. Ward and Bjornsson contested a draw and before the contest, The Game Of Thrones star warned Eddie Hall he better be ready for their fight.
“I hope Eddie does this as well as I want him to be at his best,” Björnsson said before his draw with Steven Ward (H/T The Sun). “I don’t want him making excuses that he didn’t have the preparation I had. I believe if he doesn’t do this then I’ll knock him out in the first round.”
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