Michael Chandler: Lengthy Layoff Waiting for McGregor Fight Was Much Needed

While it might appear that Michael Chandler wasted valuable years of his MMA career waiting on a Conor McGregor fight that has yet to materialize, the former Bellator MMA champion has a different perspective on that time away.

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“Having that much time off, I needed it. I really needed it,” Chandler told the New York Post. “Six training camps in a 26-month period, every single fight was do or die — Top 3, Top 5 guy, world title fights, fights of the night, fights of the year. And I love the sport; I am so blessed to do the sport of mixed martial arts as a professional and get paid for it and feed my family with it, but it was taking a toll on me. I needed some time off.”

Chandler hasn’t competed since November 2022, when he suffered a third-round submission loss against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281. He was then booked to coach opposite McGregor on “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” seemingly setting the stage for a big-ticket fight after the show. However, the b…

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UFC 310 Update: Doo Ho Choi vs. Nate Landwehr to Clash in Las Vegas on Dec. 7

A featherweight showdown pittng Doo Ho Choi against Nate Landwehr has been added to the UFC 310 lineup.

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MMA Mania was first to report the booking. UFC 310 takes place on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and features a flyweight championship bout between Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Asakura.

Choi earned his first victory since 2016 at UFC on ESPN 60, where he defeated Bill Algeo via second-round technical knockout on July 20. “The Korean Superboy” began his promotional tenure with three consecutive first-round finishes but went 0-3-1 in his next four Octagon appearances, though his loss against Cub Swanson was eventually inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s “Fight Wing.” The 33-year-old Busan Team Mad representative owns a 15-4-1 career mark, with 12 of those triumphs coming via KO or TKO.

Landwehr, meanwhile, been victorious in four of his last five UFC bouts. In his first appearance of 2024, “The Train” scored a first-round knockout of…

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Coach: Alexander Volkanovski’s Layoff Has Been ‚A Bit Too Long‘

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Joe Lopez can’t wait to see Alexander Volkanovski back in action.

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Volkanovski suffered a brutal knockout loss in a short-notice failed double-champ bid against lightweight champ Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October 2023. “The Great” put his featherweight title on the line soon after against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 this past February, where he suffered another brutal knockout. Many believe Volkanovski knockout loss to Topuria had to do with the quick turnaround from his loss against Makhachev.

Volkanovski has since taken some time off and will seemingly not fight at least before early next year. While Lopez also felt Volkanovski needed some time off, he thinks it’s been too long now.

“I would have said six to eight months was plenty, you know,” the Freestyle MMA Coach told Submission Radio. “Now we’re coming up to nearly 12 months. And it’s a bit too long.”

Meanwhile, Topuria defended his strap by knocking out Max Holl…

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Daniel Cormier at Peace Without ‚Perfect Happy Ending‘ to Jon Jones Rivalry

A fan told Daniel Cormier that he’s “the son of Jon Jones”, and DC replies “F*** you” 😭

He also explains why he’ll never be cool with Jon Jones:

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“People need to stop longing for the perfect happy ending.”

🎥 @SevereMMA #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/TKkwVFBBTW

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 3, 2024 Daniel Cormier thinks it’s fine that he and Jon Jones have never settled their feud.

Cormier and Jones share one of the most iconic rivalries in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, which started with “Bones” saying he could take the former All-American wrestler down. They were supposed to share the Octagon for the first time at UFC 178 but the matchup was postponed when Jones suffered an injury in training. Jones and Cormier finally clashed at UFC 182 in 2015, where “Bones” successfully defended his light heavyweight title via unanimous decision. Jones also tested positive for a cocaine metabolite but wasn’t p…

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Jon Jones’ Coach Sees MMA Championship Potential in Decorated Training Partner

It’s humbling having some of the world’s best athletes supporting me throughout this camp. “Be comfortable being uncomfortable”. pic.twitter.com/q0vqcfiNIF

— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 8, 2024

Jon Jones’ longtime coach Brandon Gibson believes wrestling superstar Gable Steveson could be a future mixed martial arts champion.

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Jones (27-1) will defend his heavyweight title against Stipe Miocic (20-4) in the main event at UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Many, including Gibson believe that this could be the last walk to the Octagon for “Bones,” who has hinted at retirement on multiple occasions leading up to the bout.

In preparation for UFC 309, Jones has assembled a cadre of talented training partners from various discipines of combat sports. Included in that group are multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion Gordon Ryan and wrestling Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson. Gibson sees championship poten…

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From Fan Engagement to Movie Star Roles, Alex Pereira’s Star Continues to Grow

Considered to be one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts today — despite not speaking English — Alex Pereira put his popularity to the test during an autograph session at Shopping Eldorado in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this past Saturday.

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Up arriving at the mall, “Poatan” was gretting by a crowd that had already gathered in the shopping center’s corridors. With shouts of “Chama! Chama! Chama!”, the crowd waited patiently to take a photo or receive an autograph from their idol. In a video published on Instagram, Poatan spoke of the emotion of receiving affection from his hometown fans.

“It was beyond what I expected, to see all these people leaving their home on a holiday to stay in such a long line waiting to take a picture with me. See a small child crying when taking a photo with me. I´m really speechless,” Pereira said.

The UFC light heavyweight champion also recently participated in one of the most popular podcasts in the country, "Podpah…

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