Joe Rogan: Is Conor McGregor still a UFC title contender?

Following Conor McGregor’s UFC 257 headlining loss to Dustin Poirier, everyone has been speculating about what is next for the Irish megastar.

Does McGregor return for an immediate rematch with Poirier? They are now 1 to 1 after two fights, although Poirier finished McGregor in spectacular fashion at UFC 257.

Is McGregor still in the mix with fighters like Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler, and Justin Gaethje for a shot at the UFC lightweight title?

Or maybe McGregor explores a trilogy bout with Nate Diaz, while the UFC lightweight championship dust settles with the expectation that Khabib Nurmagomedov will remain retired?

Joe Rogan and UFC veteran Brendan Schaub weighed in on what’s next for Conor McGregor following his loss to Dustin Poirier.

(Video courtesy of PowerfulJRE)

TRENDING Video: YouTube boxer Jake Paul training with Jorge Masvidal to knock out Ben Askren

UFC 257: Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier Recap

(Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube)


Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/joe-rogan-is-conor-mcgregor-still-a-ufc-title-contender

 

UFC 257: The Thrill and Agony of Conor McGregor’s loss to Dustin Poirier

Go behind the scenes of UFC 257: Poirier vs McGregor 2 for a closer look at the thrill of victory and agony of defeat for the athletes on fight night. Watch the full episode exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.

(Video courtesy of UFC)

TRENDING Video: YouTube boxer Jake Paul training with Jorge Masvidal to knock out Ben Askren

UFC 257: Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier Recap

(Subscribe to MMAWeekly.com on YouTube)


Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-257-the-thrill-and-agony-of-conor-mcgregors-loss-to-dustin-poirier

 

KSW 58 results: Daniel Torres claims featherweight title with first-round upset of Salahdine Parnasse

Daniel Torres became the new KSW featherweight champion on Saturday, when he stopped Salahdine Parnasse less than two minutes into the first round.

Torres’ (12-4) awkward right hook caught Parnasse (14-1-1) on the top of the head and put him down to spell an end to the contest, forcing a change of ownership with the 145-pound belt at the 1:49 mark of Round 1 in the KSW 58 main event.

KSW 58 took place at an undisclosed venue in Lodz, Poland and streamed via online pay-per-view.

After exchanging some blows early in the fight, Parnasse got slightly too aggressive coming in on Torres with a combination, and it cost him.

Torres looked to counter with a right hook, and as Parnasse ducked, the lower part of Torres’ bicep caught him on the side of the head and dropped Parnasse face-first to the canvas.

Parnasse, despite not being out cold, was unquestionably hurt by the glancing blow, and it was enough for the referee to jump in and stop the fight.

With that, Torres, who closed as a high as a +500 betting underdog, was deemed the new KSW featherweight champ, while Parnasse was stunned after taking his first career loss.

Complete KSW 58 results included:

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ksw-58-results-daniel-torres-upset-salahdine-parnasse-knockout-featherweight-title

 

Video: Egyptian Olympic wrestler Mahmoud Sebie mauls opponent in MMA debut

Mahmoud Sebie has arrived.

On Saturday, Sebie (1-0) partook in an athletic competition for the first time since a 2018 wrestling grand prix in Bulgaria. This time, it was in MMA instead of wrestling.

Sebie finished Jarell Murry (0-2) with ground-and-pound from the mount at 1:52 of Round 1. The fight took place on the prelims of XMMA in Palm Beach, Fla.

From the opening bell, Sebie came out aggressive. He tossed Murry to the mat on multiple occasions, displaying his suplex abilities. From there, Sebie moved to the mount and resorted to a flurry of punches to finish the fight.

The performance was flawless for a professional debutant, but his post-fight celebrations will need work. When stomping the mat after his victory, Sebie appeared to injure his left knee.

The 28-year-old Egyptian Olympian enters mixed martial arts with a decorated wrestling background including participation in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the honors of being a four-time Arab wrestling champion, a five-time African wrestling champion, and earning a handful of other medals in international tournaments.

Following a viral video he posted on Facebook, in which he called out corruption in the Egyptian wrestling program, Sebie moved to the U.S. After deciding to end his pursuit of representing the U.S. in the next summer Olympics, he began training MMA in late 2020 at MMA Masters in Miami.

XMMA took place Saturday at the Palm Beach Convention Center. The event streamed on the promotion’s website.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/mma-video-news-olympian-mahmoud-sebie-egypt-wins-mma-debut

 

Champ Kamaru Usman explains why ‘that chip is still heavy on my shoulder’ ahead of UFC 258

At this point in his career, Kamaru Usman has clearly established himself as the top welterweight on the planet, but the reigning UFC champion says he’s no less driven to keep proving his doubters wrong.

“It’s funny, actually – I’ve still got that chip on my shoulder,” Usman told MMA Junkie. “It’s actually almost even bigger now, and it’s because even with all of that, for some reason, people still don’t want to give you the respect that you deserve because of maybe their personal preference. But it is what it is.”

Usman’s rise to the top of the UFC’s 170-pound division wasn’t a quick one. After serving as the winning fighter in the finals of the team-based “The Ultimate Fighter 21,” Usman would have to earn another eight consecutive victories before getting a crack at the title. While his win streak was impressive, his grinding, wrestling-based style didn’t necessarily make Usman a fan-favorite.

But even the most cynical of critics would certainly struggle to find fault in any of his recent wins over the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington, Tyron Woodley, Rafael dos Anjos and Demian Maia – many of which were rather one-sided affairs.

But “The Nigerian Nightmare” said even he becomes a the most loved athlete in the game, he’s always going to have a little edge.

“That chip is still on my shoulder because when I got into this, it wasn’t for legacy,” Usman said. “It wasn’t for fame or money or anything of that nature. It was just simply to compete and prove that I am the best, that I can be the best at my time. And so that was my mindset, and it’s still my mindset. That’s the biggest thing that drives me, is competition. So as long as there’s competition out there, and as long as I’m – and that’s the biggest thing: I have to be honest with myself. As long as I’m honest with myself, and still capable and able to do it, I want to be the best. So that chip is still heavy on my shoulder.”

Usman has already earned two successful defenses of his title, and he’ll get a chance at a third at UFC 258, which takes place Feb. 13 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Usman (17-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) faces former training partner Gilbert Burns (19-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in the night’s main event. Stylistically, it’s an intriguing matchup, with “Durinho” providing power on the feet but also very dangerous jiu-jitsu that could prove problematic for a grappling-heavy attack.

But Usman has found a way to absolutely shut down opponents in recent years, and he believes his mental strength has fueled that success and can do it again.

“My mind is better than all these guys in the division right now, to where it depends on him,” Usman said. “Those guys dictate how this thing is going to go. If they’ve done their homework the appropriate way and they come prepared, then they might be able to pull out a different fight out of me, like you saw in the Covington fight. He came prepared, and he pulled out that kind of fight from me. But if you don’t come prepared, it’s going to be one-sided, like every last one of my fights. It’s going to be a one-sided beating, so I’ll leave that up to him.

“We haven’t trained together in quite some time, so I’ve added some new wrinkles to my game that I’m pretty sure they don’t see coming, so we’ll see how it goes, but I’m sitting at the top.”

Check out the full interview with Usman in the video below.

 

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/kamaru-usman-that-chip-is-still-heavy-on-my-shoulder-ufc-258

 

 

House of Nutrition

 

WELCOME


*** READ ME ***

Welcome to FightFan.net. Your home for local combat sports news and info. Be sure to set up your account for full access. Its EASY. Click the “register” link above. Fill in your name and email. We’ll send a funky password to your email. You log in to your account and set up something not so funky. Oh yeah, and when you’re ready to come back and start checking everything out, just click the “Your home for local combat sports” link at the top of the page. That's it, you’re a member! Tons of stuff to check out, so get after it.