McGregor, a renowned figure in mixed martial arts, has been absent from the UFC since his defeat to Dustin Poirier in July 2021 due to a leg injury. This hiatus has only amplified anticipation for his return, with fans eagerly speculating on his next opponent and the nature of his comeback.

A potential blockbuster fight looms with Michael Chandler, a former lightweight title contender who last fought in November of the previous year. This matchup is speculated to be the headliner for UFC 300 in April, a landmark event that demands the star power of athletes like McGregor and Chandler.

And now, White has provided key updates regarding McGregor’s return. “Talked to him [McGregor] yesterday too,” White told Adam Glyn.

“He’s good. He’s ready. He wants the [fight]. He’s gotta sit out the six months to get back into their drug testing pool. Realistically, we could be looking at him next summer.”

Daniel Cormier, a former two-weight champion and Hall of Fame inductee, expressed his expectations for the event. “UFC 300 has to have a name like that,” Cormier said, emphasizing the need for high-profile fighters to mark such a significant event in UFC history.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, the weight class for McGregor’s return has yet to be confirmed. Chael Sonnen, a former MMA fighter and commentator, finds this ambiguity unusual. “Never in history have we had a fight where we don’t have a weight class,” Sonnen remarked, highlighting the irregularity of the current scenario.

McGregor’s motivation for returning to the UFC has been a subject of much debate. Sonnen suggests that financial incentives might be a significant factor, given McGregor’s varied interests and activities outside the Octagon. However, McGregor’s recent statements reaffirm his focus on Chandler as his next opponent. “Yes, it has to be,” McGregor asserted, addressing the speculation surrounding their potential bout.

Despite the uncertainties and speculations, one thing remains clear: Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC is a highly anticipated event, and his potential clash with Michael Chandler at UFC 300 could be a historic moment for the sport.

As Dana White indicated, the MMA community may have to wait until next summer for this epic showdown, but the excitement and speculation will undoubtedly continue to build in the meantime.

The post Dana White breaks silence on Conor McGregor’s return to UFC appeared first on The Body Lock.

“In my 3rd fight I made more money in total pay than any fighter in UFC history,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “Maybe it’s time to pay your fighters their fair share? No wonder they all want to get into boxing. Dana you say you make the fights fans want to see… so hurry up and make Jones vs Ngannou. Pay them their fair share… $10 million purse for each guy plus PPV points.

“Why are UFC fighters so underpaid vs. boxers? Why did I make more in my 3rd fight than all but two (Khabib and Conor) UFC fighters have in history? I know why…”

Paul hit back at Dana White’s comments from Saturday night’s post-fight press conference in which he described Triller as a “freakshow” and “circus.”

In this video, Patrick Auger and Drake Riggs discuss Paul’s comments in detail. What exactly is Jake Paul referencing here? We bring you all the information you need to know about the current state of UFC fighter pay following Paul’s criticism.

Thanks for watching! Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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The post Jake Paul calls out Dana White on UFC fighter pay, Ngannou vs. Jones appeared first on The Body Lock.

In October, Nurmagomedov announced his immediate retirement from mixed martial arts after defeating Justin Gaethje via second-round submission.

“I’m obviously meeting with him because I think that he should fight again,” White told ESPN. “Look at what he did to Justin Gaethje. Look at what he’s done to every opponent he has faced. … I think he should fight again and I’m going to press him as hard as I can for one more.”

When Nurmagomedov announced his retirement, he also revealed that he made a promise to his mother that he wouldn’t compete again.

“She didn’t want me to fight without father, but I promised her it was going to be my last fight, and if I give my word, I have to follow this. It was my last fight here,” Nurmagomedov said following his victory.

But Dana White and the UFC still plan to pressure Nurmagomedov into returning to the UFC for one more fight.

In this video, Patrick Auger, Matthew Wells, and Drake Riggs share their thoughts on Dana White’s recent comments.

Do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov will return to the UFC? Or do you think the UFC should just let the undefeated lightweight retire in peace?

Let us know in the comments section below!

The post Dana White shouldn’t press Khabib Nurmagomedov to return to UFC appeared first on The Body Lock.

Jones — widely regarded as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world as well as the GOAT for many — has one defeat on his professional MMA record but it was only by way of disqualification due to illegal elbows in his 2009 fight against Mark Hamill.

Despite that, many in the combat sports world still view Jones as undefeated with many believing he shouldn’t have been disqualified in the first place, but rather, have the fight be a no contest especially as he was dominating Hamill.

White has tried to do just that by getting the Nevada State Athletic Commission to overturn the defeat. However, it’s been to no avail thus far.

The post Dana White ‘really worked hard’ to get Jon Jones sole defeat overturned to no avail appeared first on The Body Lock.

On Tuesday, Dana White answered questions from fans during a Q&A show that aired on ESPN+. White was asked about what he considers to be the strongest and most exciting divisions in the UFC and he responded by praising the middleweight division.

“The middleweight division has just become absolutely incredible,” White said. “Again, you look at the top twen. #10 is Kevin Holland and then you work your way up to the champ, Israel Adesanya.

“I think right now, it is without a doubt the most stacked division in the UFC.”

In a video posted to The Body Lock’s YouTube Channel, Patrick Auger and Drake Riggs react to White’s comments and share their verdict on whether the middleweight division is one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC today.

Interestingly, Auger and Riggs believe there’s more to this than meets the eye and state that this may just be one way of promoting a certain champion.

What’s your take? Is White right to say that middleweight is one of the most exciting and best divisions in the UFC? Or is he completely wrong on this one?

The post Dana White rates middleweight division as ‘most stacked’ in UFC appeared first on The Body Lock.

https://twitter.com/danawhite/status/1341096578174517249

“I’m not afraid of the media. Why should anybody listen to the media? Who are these people? What makes them experts? What have they ever accomplished?” White says during the video.

In this video, Ant Walker and Matthew Wells respond to White’s anti-media propaganda.

Walker labels it as hilarious, disturbing and troubling, and states that nothing says 2020 more to him than this video.

Wells says that the UFC really had a chance here to create a great thank you video and tribute to the many fighters, staff, and fans that helped to keep the show running in 2020. But instead, the UFC chose to target the media and merely congratulate White’s defiance.

Video summary (watch the full video here):

Wells: This is just a huge middle finger to all the journalists. We finally get a few weeks off, we’re ready to relax, and then Dana drops a big F you guys, F all you people who cover this sport and make it interesting with all the work and coverage and all the interviews you do with the fighters.

Walker: Seriously, one of the funniest things I’ve seen in my life but there’s a whole lot of problems here.

Wells: The NBA got one case and shut the whole thing down immediately. At the time, UFC was still going forward with an event in Brazil with no protocols whatsoever. UFC’s approach was basically ‘screw you, you’re not going to shut us down.’ It was a strange defiance.

Walker: That was a terrifying time. But at that time, UFC was already there. I’m a little more forgiving at this stage. But remember how Marc Raimondi asked Dana White about COVID-19 impacting events and White laughed it off? UFC was still running ads for UFC 249. Woodley vs. Edwards was going on next week in London and they weren’t worried.

Wells: All of this was so very strange to me. We’ve often been critical of the UFC and I remember White being reckless with a lot of things, but this is the time not to be that guy. This is the time to listen to science and go along with everyone else. It’s not the time to stick your neck out and try and be different. It wasn’t the time.

Walker: UFC then proceeded to blatantly skirt regulation. What did he think the media was going to do? Journalism is not PR. We are reporters, media, journalists, we are outsiders to the UFC and therefore we speak as outsiders. Therefore, we criticize if that’s the truth that we see.

Anyone with half a brain and a fourth of an eye saw the UFC acting recklessly, being defiant for the sake of defiance, for the sake of money and to preserve their broadcasting contracts that are very lucrative for Endeavor. We saw this because we’re not stupid and because we’re not held by any sort of employee or employer arrangements. We saw something wrong and we called them out.

Wells: Their primary objective was merely to find a location to host their fights. They tried Florida, couldn’t get one there, and then they tried Tachi Palace.

Walker: And then the UFC wanted to run everything out of the APEX until Nevada State Athletic Commission shut that down. They ended up in Jacksonville, where Jacare Souza tested positive for COVID-19. UFC knew that his wife had previously tested positive. Then photos/video emerged of Jacare mingling with others at the hotel during fight week.

And then it was the Fight Island announcement.

Wells: You’re going way out of your way to secure an island and hold fights while everyone else is trying to abide by government regulations?

Walker: At this point, most media members weren’t overly critical of the process. We saw that it could work. We had reports that it was safe and it was ok. Then the media turned its attention back to the fights.

But the UFC never really did enforce an actual bubble when they got back to Vegas. Just look at how many fights were canceled recently.

And how about the video? Were there any tributes to Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov? Rose Namajunas’ family? A get well message for Cody Garbrandt? Anything for Leon Edwards who lost a concerning amount of weight due to COVID-19?

Wells: Why does this have to be about Dana White and the defiant leader? What about the staff? Everyone who makes the UFC what it is? What about the fighters? It was just Dana White. It’s crazy that this was the message they went with.

The post ‘Hilarious and disturbing’ – Our response to UFC’s anti-media propaganda video appeared first on The Body Lock.

Many in the combat sports world were shocked when on Wednesday, BT Sport made a social media post hyping up some of the big fights taking place in the UFC in 2021.

One of them which caught everyone’s attention was a women’s strawweight title fight between current champion Weili Zhang and former title-holder Carla Esparza.

Holloway 𝕧 Kattar
Poirier 𝕧 McGregor
Edwards 𝕧 Chimaev
Blachowicz 𝕧 Adesanya
Shevchenko 𝕧 Andrade
Miocic 𝕧 Ngannou
Nunes 𝕧 Anderson
Volkanovski 𝕧 Ortega
Zhang 𝕧 Esparza

Dana White has got some big plans for 2021.

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) December 16, 2020

Of course, Rose Namajunas was expected to get the next crack at Zhang. However, as White would later reveal, it turns out the former champion wasn’t interested in a title shot.

“What I’m hearing is that Rose doesn’t want a title shot,” White told BT Sport. “Rose doesn’t want to fight for a title. I don’t think she did. She doesn’t want to fight for the title, so we’ll see how it all plays out.

“If we’re looking at rankings and how it plays out, it would play out Weili vs. Carla Esparza.”

Not according to Namajunas, however. She would post a GIF of “fake news” on her Instagram story soon after.

Meanwhile, coach and fiance Pat Barry refuted White’s comments as well in a statement.

“That is absolutely not true,” Barry told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. “We absolutely want the title fight. Who would turn down a title fight? We just don’t want to air this out publicly. If there was some confusion, they can call us to clear it up.”

Past history would indicate that this is a case of a fighter not coming to terms with the contract the UFC is offering which usually results in White claiming they’re not interested in a title.

However, nothing is for sure and we’ll have to await more details in the coming days.

Namajunas is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jessica Andrade in their rematch at UFC 251 in July.

The post Dana White says Rose Namajunas doesn’t want title shot, Namajunas labels it ‘fake news’ appeared first on The Body Lock.

Punk is one of the few to have worked under both promoters along with names such as Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey. Both organizations have also received major criticism over athlete pay as well as the lack of unionization efforts.

And while Punk certainly believes fighters need to be paid more, he also believes White goes out of his way much more to help his roster than McMahon.

“I think there’s levels to it,” Punk said on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette when asked to compare the two. “Obviously you can draw that they’re both right wing, the word I’ll use is weirdo, because obviously they vote based on what’s good for their pocketbook.

“If I really had to compare and contrast, I would say Dana is more generous. Dana does a lot of stuff for the fighters behind the scenes. I think there’s a lot of locker room money that people don’t know about and he gets a lot of flak for [not paying fighters enough]. That being said, I do also think fighters need to get paid a whole hell of a lot more.

“But a lot of that time when he lashes out when people are complaining about pay and unionization, it’s because he knows, ‘hey, I just gave that guy $250,000 under the table’ but you can’t talk about it. But he should still pay people more and fighters need to get together and unionize anyway.”

Locker room bonuses are a common feature within the UFC despite some observers previously stating otherwise.

Former UFC featherweight Myles Jury revealed he even earned one in his promotional debut while Daniel Cormier recently stated that he earned a locker room bonus of $1 million after his defeat to Jon Jones back in 2015.

DC says after he lost to Jon Jones, Lorenzo and Dana gave him $1M. #DCandHelwani pic.twitter.com/PKXEfPlwzZ

— Jed I. Goodman (@jedigoodman) August 31, 2020

But as Punk stated, fighters should still be paid a lot more. Especially when one considers the roster was only paid 16% of the revenue the UFC made in 2019.

You can watch the full snippet below:

The post CM Punk says Dana White more generous than Vince McMahon, hands out lots of ‘locker room money’ appeared first on The Body Lock.

Silva suffered a fourth-round TKO defeat to Uriah Hall in their UFC Vegas 12 middleweight headliner on Saturday. Despite a promising start, Silva was dropped twice en route to getting finished for the second fight in a row.

Regardless of the result, it was a big occasion as it was expected to be Silva’s last outing with the Las Vegas-based promotion. And as far as UFC president Dana White is concerned, he shouldn’t have even allowed the 45-year-old to compete again after seeing his performance against Hall.

“I made a big mistake,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “I shouldn’t have let him fight this fight tonight.

“But out of respect to him — he’s a legend of this sport, he’s a legend of this company — I did something that I disagreed with and I knew I was right and tonight proved I was right and Anderson Silva should never fight again.”

White pointed to how Hall was one of the most gun-shy fighters in the UFC and was still able to drop Silva twice.

Add in the fact that “The Spider” couldn’t even stand for his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping and White believes it’s beyond time for him to retire.

The post Dana White will ‘never’ let Anderson Silva fight in the UFC again, wants him to retire appeared first on The Body Lock.

Miocic and Ngannou have been slated to collide again ever since the former defeated Daniel Cormier in their trilogy fight at UFC 252 in August.

Earlier this month, Ngannou claimed he had asked the promotion for the fight to take place at UFC 256 on December 12 in what would have been an explosive way to end the calendar year.

However, that didn’t come to fruition as Ngannou would later express his frustration on social media, revealing that Miocic supposedly couldn’t compete until March.

Apparently Stipe is out until March. If I have to wait until then it'll be almost another year between fights.

— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) October 20, 2020

That seems to be the official word following recent comments from White who revealed the rematch won’t be happening before March at the very least.

“That fight won’t be ready till March,” White told TMZ. “… It could (happen in March). Yeah, that’s the goal. We’ll see what happens.”

As mentioned by Ngannou, that would mean almost a year — 10 months to be precise — of him being inactive before an upcoming fight in addition to having just three fights since the start of 2019.

However, it’s better late than never for “The Predator” who will be looking to exact revenge on Miocic in their eventual sequel meeting.

Miocic used his wrestling to win a lopsided decision over Ngannou in their UFC 220 meeting back in January 2018. Ngannou is currently on a four-fight winning streak with four first-round knockouts in all those outings.

The post Dana White: Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou rematch won’t happen until March 2021 appeared first on The Body Lock.