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Michael Chandler has bigger business to attend to than rising UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan . Tsarukyan (19-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) called out Chandler , taking aim at his fight IQ. Tsarukyan entered the top 10 lightweight rankings with his recent win over Damir Ismagulov at UFC Fight Night 216. While Chandler can appreciate a good promo, the former title challenger is focused on netting a mega fight with Conor McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), who’s nearing a return to the octagon for the first time since July 2021. “I didn’t respond, because I haven’t even seen him fight,” Chandler said on the “Believe You Me” podcast with Michael Bisping. “Not disrespecting or whatever. I know he fought (Mateusz) Gamrot; I haven’t really seen Gamrot fight either. I appreciate the callout. That’s exactly what I would do if I was him, but no thanks, man. I’m over here talking about Conor and TUF. You think I’m worried about freaking Arman Tsarukyan with a silent T at the beginning of his name?”

Alejandra Lara made some much-needed changes. Lara, a former Bellator women’s flyweight title challenger, hit the reset button on many things that hindered her professional and personal life. Lara (9-6 MMA, 3-5 BMMA) changed teams and traveled the globe ahead of her return against Diana Avsaragova (5-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) at Saturday’s Bellator 290 . She looks to put an end to a three-fight losing streak and begin the climb back up the divisional ladder. “I’m sure this is a new beginning to my career,” Lara told MMA Junkie in Spanish . “This is a time to re-take and come out different. The title will come whenever it’ll to come. That’s never been my main goal. “Obviously, yes, I know I can be champion, and I have the level to be at the top of the division. I’ve proven that. … A lot of people expect a lot from me, because I have potential, but I needed to believe that and find myself again.” Lara left her long-time coach, Francisco Grasso, in Guadalajara, Mexico and sought training el

Dan Hardy isn’t sure how well Jon Jones will transition to heavyweight. Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) will finally make his heavyweight debut when he meets Ciryl Gane (11-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) for the vacant title in the UFC 285 headliner March 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The former light heavyweight champion has bulked up significantly since he last competed in February 2020, but Hardy questions if all the physical gifts he possessed at 205 pounds will serve him well. “We don’t know how he’s going to perform with the bigger frame,” Hardy told MMA Junkie. “Of course he’s got the height and reach for heavyweight – (6-foot-4), 84.5 inches (reach). He could quite easily grow into heavyweight, but then would he be the same fighter he was at light heavyweight? The times that he struggled at light heavyweight is when he was taking on someone that had similar physical attributes. “Remember the first (Alexander) Gustafsson fight, that was very problematic for him to begin with. Dominick

Ben Askren thinks the UFC forced Jorge Masvidal ’s hand when matching him up with Gilbert Burns . Burns (20-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) claims Masvidal (35-16 MMA, 12-9 UFC)  turned him down on numerous occasions before the pair was finally booked for the UFC 287 co-main event on April 8. Askren, who suffered a record-setting knockout loss to Masvidal in 2019, doesn’t see “Gamebred” beating Burns and thinks he was trying to avoid him before getting pressured into accepting the fight. “No,” Askren answered Daniel Cormier on Masvidal beating Burns. “That’s why he’s been saying no to Burns, because he doesn’t think he’s gonna win either. DC, you know how most of these dudes work. If they think, ‘I can beat that dude up,’ they say yes easy. If they think they can’t then they say no. That’s how they work.” He continued, “Burns is what Jorge wants to be. Burns is like, ‘I’ll fight anyone,’ and he actually will. … Burns has kind of fought everyone. He seems like the guy that’ll say yes no matter

Jake Paul wants to compete in MMA, and that has caught the eye of a few veterans of the sport. Count former UFC contender and current PFL commentator Kenny Florian among the bunch who are not only interested to see how Paul would fare in an MMA cage, but have grown to enjoy his journey in the combat sports world. Paul made some waves on the boxing scene by gradually ramping up his level of competition from YouTuber to former MMA champions, but now he wants more. To prove it, Paul signed a multiyear deal with PFL to test his skills in MMA, which is something that intrigues Florian. “Candidly, I really wasn’t the biggest Jake Paul fan,” Florian said. “You know, when he was doing the boxing thing, I was like, ‘Oh, here’s this guy, he’s trying to take advantage of a situation here. And he’s going to fight once, and he’s going to lose, and we’re never going to see this guy again.’ And lo and behold, he’s continued to have boxing fights, he’s undefeated in boxing making a ton of mon

Check out these photos highlighting the historic UFC flyweight championship quadrilogy between Brandon Moreno and Deivesion Figueiredo . Moreno got the best of the series by winning two fights at UFC 263 and UFC 283 , while Figueiredo won at UFC 270 ; the two men fought to a majority draw in their first encounter at UFC 256 . from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/jhlIbRu via IFTTT

Bellator kicks off its 2023 schedule on Saturday with a landmark event in company history. Bellator 290 , which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., marks the company’s main card network debut on CBS, which follows prelims streamed on MMA Junkie. A championship doubleheader is set to headline the card. In the main event, Ryan Bader (30-7 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) will put his heavyweight title fight against MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko (40-6 MMA, 4-2 BMMA), who is set to retire from MMA competition. The pair previously met at Bellator 214 in January 2019, with Bader scoring a 35-second TKO victory . The co-headliner of the card, meanwhile, will see middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (12-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) attempt to make his first title defense when he welcomes challenger Anatoly Tokov (31-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), who has lost just once over the past 11 years. For more on the numbers behind the event, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for Bellator 290. from MMA Junkie https:

Sean Strickland has fought twice in the last two months, and yet he’s already picking another fight. The UFC middleweight contender is angling to fight former UFC title challenger Paulo Costa for his next outing. Strickland (26-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) called out Costa (14-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) on Monday in a video posted on Instagram . “Yo, Costa, I think we should fight, bro,” Strickland said. “It f*cking makes sense, you know. I don’t know if you’ll be drunk or be able to make weight, eating cookies – let’s make this sh*t happen.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sean Strickland (@strickland_mma_) Related Laura Sanko to make UFC color commentary debut at UFC Fight Night 218 UFC 287 odds: Israel Adesanya the betting favorite over Alex Pereira in title rematch Strickland is coming off a decision win over Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Fight Night 217. He took that fight on short notice the week of the event, and it was contested

Laura Sanko will make history at UFC Fight Night 218 as a part of the commentary team. The promotion announced in a press release that Sanko will make her official UFC color commentary debut at UFC Fight Night 218 , which takes place Feb. 4 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Sanko will become the first female color commentator in the modern UFC era to call an official UFC event. “Taking the next step to join the UFC commentary team has been a goal of mine since I began my broadcast career,” Laura Sanko said in the release. “It is an honor to walk in the footprint of Kathy Long 30 years after her appearance on UFC 1. I consider it a true privilege to be part of the team that is a voice to our incredible fans, communicating the fighting art of each man and woman who steps inside the UFC Octagon.” Since 2016, Sanko has been a part of UFC broadcasts, initially working as a backstage reporter before joining the commentary team on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017. Related UFC broadcaste

Israel Adesanya has the advantage over Alex Pereira heading into their UFC 287 middleweight title rematch, according to oddsmakers. Adesanya (23-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC), the former longtime UFC middleweight champion, will attempt to regain the title in the April 8 pay-per-view headliner when he challenges a familiar foe in Pereira (7-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who took the belt with a come-from-behind fifth-round TKO at UFC 281 in November. It was the third time the pair had met in combat sports competition, and Pereira is up 3-0 with two knockouts. Despite that, Adesanya has won the majority of the rounds overall inside the ring or cage, but has allowed his Brazilian rival to stage multiple comebacks. With the MMA rematch now official, Adesanya is the -155 betting favorite (bet $155 to win $100), while Pereira is listed as the +135 underdog (bet $100 to win $135), according to Draft Kings Sportsbook . Related Spinning Back Clique: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2 official, Conor McGregor makes mul

YouTube stars Behzinga and Wroetoshaw have shared their reactions to some of the best fights in MMA history. The video, posted on the Sidemen Reacts channel, sees the pair watch a fan-made compilation titled ‘the most badass moments in UFC‘. The British duo, who are members of the Sidemen, get increasingly more and more animated as they watch the fights – and their reactions are priceless. Source Sidemen react to the most badass moments in UFC history from UFC – GiveMeSport https://ift.tt/oTfxpB7 via IFTTT

We want your predictions for Saturday’s Bellator 290 event in Las Vegas. Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT). Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 290 main card staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. Bellator 290 takes place Saturday at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on CBS following prelims on MMA Junkie. Make your picks for the fights below. For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 290 . from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/dh3XOiW via IFTTT

An amateur MMA bout Sunday at Fury FC 73 ended with one of the most violent head kicks you’ll ever see. In a flyweight bout on the event’s undercard, Joe Perez (4-1) brutally added a massive knockout to his highlight reel at the expense of opponent Drew Lopez (2-1-1). The event took place at Cowboys Dancehall in San Antonio. A little over a minute into the fight, Lopez tried a high push kick. Perez was briefly put on his back foot, but planted and hurled a high kick at his opposition’s dome. With Lopez out of position, he was met with a conscious-snatching boot to the face. The impact folded Lopez like a lawn chair. He was so crumpled, his own knees almost touched his head. The whiplash effect was a gruesome. To make matters worse, a nail-in-the-coffin punch from Perez knocked him even sillier. Check out the knockout below (via Twitter ) Joe Perez knocks out Drew Lopez!!! (Round 1, 1:26) pic.twitter.com/dTPjbfujYY — Fury FC (@FuryFightingTX) January 29, 2023 The  Blue Co

Jamahal Hill admits a showdown with Jon Jones is on his bucket list for the future. Hill (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), the newly crowned UFC light heavyweight champion, knows a meeting with Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) in the short-term is unrealistic, as they are in different places in their respective careers. Down the line, however, he certainly doesn’t rule it out. Jones was the longtime holder of the 205-pound belt currently in Hill’s possession. He never lost the strap in the cage, but rather vacated it when he decided to move up to heavyweight. It’s been a slow burn to make that move, but Jones will finally return on March 4 when he faces Ciryl Gane for the vacant heavyweight belt in the UFC 285 headliner. Whether Jones wins the belt or not, he is still someone Hill would like to share the octagon with. He’s not sure when or under what circumstances it would materialize, but Hill told the “Believe You Me” podcast that Jones is a key part of why he’s found so much success in MMA. “Y

UFC lightweight contender Damir Ismagulov isn’t retired, after all. In an Instagram post Sunday, Ismagulov (24-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) revealed intentions to fight at least one more time, as his UFC contract has not yet finished out. The post comes 28 days after Ismagulov announced his retirement due to “circumstances and health problems.” Additionally, Ismagulov called for a rematch against fellow contender Arman Tsarukyan (19-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC), whom he lost a competitive unanimous decision against at UFC Fight Night 216 in December. “Recently, (my manager) informed me that I have one more fight left under my contract with @ufc,” Ismagulov wrote Sunday, in Russian. “There were many offers from other leagues where fees were way higher and you could go in there and make money, but I came to @ufc not for the money but for the legacy, to prove to myself that I can compete against the strongest fighters! I finished my career, but after finding out I had another fight under my contract, I decid

Colby Covington is the high profile fight to reach the milestone of 50 clean U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug tests. The UFC announced on Sunday that former interim welterweight titleholder Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) has crossed the testing threshold that warrants an honor (via Twitter ): Congratulations to @ColbyCovMMA for his 5⃣0⃣th clean test under the USADA program pic.twitter.com/uHSO6rUyXO — UFC (@ufc) January 29, 2023 According to the USADA website database , Covington has been tested 52 times total since the UFC partnered with USADA for its testing program nearly eight yers ago. He turned in one test in the launch year of 2015; four in 2016; five in 2017; 12 in 2018; eight in 2019; six in 2020; seven in 2021 and nine in 2022. Covington, 34, hasn’t seen action since March when he earned a dominant unanimous decision win over former teammate-turned-rival Jorge Masvidal. Following the win at UFC 272, Covington was allegedly attacked by Masvidal outside a Miam

The UFC’s first pay-per-view of 2023 was a memorable one, for all different reasons. UFC 283 , which took place Jan. 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, marked the promotion’s return to Brazil after nearly three years. The card featured 10 stoppages out of 15 fights, two new champions crowned, and a pair of high-profile retirements from legends of the sport. In the main event, Jamahal Hill claimed the vacant light heavyweight belt with a lopsided beatdown of Glover Teixeira, who hung up the glover afterward. “Sweet Dreams” dished out a divisional record 232 significant strikes, and badly busted up Teixeira’s face in the process. With the event now in the books, the UFC has released the latest edition of “Fight Motion,” a feature of super-slow motion vide highlights looking back at the event. Check it out above. For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 283 . Gallery Jamahal Hill def. Glover Teixeira at UFC 283: Best photos view 48 images \ List

This time around, Jake Paul has a backup plan. Paul announced Saturday that UFC veteran and current BKFC fighter Mike Perry will serve as a standby fighter in case scheduled opponent Tommy Fury withdraws from their Feb. 26 matchup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “We have Mike Perry on standby,” Paul said at a press conference Saturday (via Seconds Out ). “Let’s go, Mike Perry. He’s ready to jump in in case Tommy pulls out.” Perry, 31, has competed twice in traditional boxing at the professional level and holds a 1-1 record. Since his UFC departure in 2021, Perry is 2-0 in bareknuckle boxing with wins over Julian Lane and Bellator star Michael “Venom” Page. On Jan. 3, Perry shared on Twitter a bout contract with Paul’s name and promotion Most Valuable Promotions on it, but did not reveal any further details. Wya @jakepaul pic.twitter.com/ecNSkD7lva — Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) January 4, 2023 Fury, 23, is the half-brother of heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.