UFC president Dana White wants to see what Conor McGregor can accomplish being fully dedicated to mixed martial arts in 2021, but it appears the Irish superstar may not be ready to commit wholly to MMA this year.

McGregor in 2020 teased a boxing match opposite Manny Pacquiao. Having done the same with Floyd Mayweather and basically willing that bout into existence, people took him seriously.

White is certainly taking him seriously, but still hopes to convince his top star to dedicate himself to the Octagon in 2021, saying of the boxing bouts, “those will always be there” for McGregor.

Though he’s non-committal to either route, McGregor believes that his return to boxing is likely to happen this year.

“I know the talks are intensifying for this year. I am excited for a Manny Pacquiao bout. It’s looking like it will take place this year. What time this year, I’m not sure,” McGregor said in a TheMacLife.com interview.

“We’re gonna have to have some good discussions with Dana and with the guys and the UFC after and see where it goes. What’s there; what do we want? I am open to it all. I am ready for it all.”

If Conor McGregor returns to boxing, he could quickly get a title shot

There has even been recent chatter from the boxing world that McGregor could quickly find his way into a championship boxing bout.

Mauricio Sulaiman, president of boxing’s WBC sanctioning body, recently told SunSport how McGregor could get ranked and a subsequent title fight.

“I would say he needs to face and defeat a ranked fighter, then he would be eligible to be ranked and to compete for a title,” said Sulaiman.

“Because we have plenty of examples of Muay Thai fighters who turn professional in international boxing and they are eligible to fight for the title.

“We also have amateur superstars like Vasiliy Lomachenko, they come into professional boxing and fight for the title and it’s proven it works.”

That, of course, is something that piques McGregor’s interest. Having been a two-division champion first under the Cage Warriors banner and then in the UFC, he would build on his claims of greatness by adding a world championship in boxing to his resume.

It’s something that he promises to do before he calls it a career as a competitive combat sports athlete.

“I appreciate them comments by Sulaiman,” said McGregor.

“I will certainly attain a boxing world title before I call it a day and I’d be very excited to do that again Emmanuel Pacquiao.”

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/conor-mcgregor-believes-manny-pacquiao-boxing-match-likely-in-2021

Marlon Vera blames only one person for his recent loss: himself.

A UFC bantamweight contender, Vera (16-7-1 MMA, 10-6 UFC) dropped a unanimous decision to former featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19 and has since accepted full responsibility.

“I believe, when you lose, there are a million things you can make up. You can make up a million excuses,” Vera told MMA Junkie on Monday. “I tried just to see the realistic (reasons) why I (lost) or what I could’ve done better. I believe coming into the third round, I was too excited. I was so sure I was about to finish him in a really spectacular way that I came in too heavy.”

“Chito” is disappointed in his decision-making during the fight. In fact, Vera said he isn’t interested in erasing the memory of his loss, as he believes there’s a lesson to be learned. Vera thinks a few small mental adjustments will be the key going forward.

“It’s my fault,” Vera said. “There is no coach to blame. There are no teammates to blame. … I don’t want to erase this memory because that’s what’s going to get me through the next things. I’m going to use that chip on my shoulder to not overcommit or get too excited. I went for the kill and got stuck in a weird position. (Expletive) happens.”

In the days following his loss, Vera turned his attention to what’s next when he called out former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon Moraes on Twitter. Moraes (23-8-1 MMA, 5-4 UFC) responded rather quickly, but his reply leaves Vera doubtful the matchup will be made next.

“Honestly, I really believe it just makes sense,” Vera said of the matchup. “We both lost on the same night. Let’s just find a date in the next couple of weeks or whenever to make it happen. But he already (has) found a way out. He answered with a pretty dumb thing like, ‘You should go fight (Sean) O’Malley, and then by the time I come back, if you’re still around, we can do something.’

“Just (expletive) say no. If you just say no, I’m not going to harass you. I’m not going to be sending you more messages. This was weird. It was a weird answer. … Looks like that won’t happen, so I was thinking maybe if Jimmie Rivera finally has the balls to do it, I would love to kick his ass. … Just send me a contract with a name on it and we’ll rock and roll.”

Well I guess it’s me and @MMARLONMORAES next ? @ufc

— Chito Vera (@chitoveraUFC) December 31, 2020

Give o’Maley his well deserved rematch. 😂 By the time I will be back n we meet 🤝

— Marlon Moraes (@MMARLONMORAES) December 31, 2020

Another fighter Vera said he would also be open to meeting next is Sean O’Malley, whom he defeated by TKO last summer. O’Malley (12-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) took to Twitter and talked smack to Vera following the Dec. 19 defeat.

12-0. Chito sucks. 🖕🏽

— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) December 20, 2020

Vera insisted he isn’t worried about what O’Malley had to say, though he certainly wouldn’t mind trying to beat him again.

“Everybody’s always got something to say,” Vera said. “What can we do about it? There’s nothing you can do about it. I won’t lose time arguing with a (expletive)(expletive). What I can do for sure is kick his ass – again. I’m not looking to fight nobody. I’m just looking to fight whoever the (expletive) UFC puts in front of me.”

To hear the complete interview with Vera, check out the video below.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-news-marlon-chito-vera-marlon-moares-sean-omalley-callout-recent-loss

ABU DHABI – The UFC’s anti-doping policy will no longer punish athletes for positive tests for carboxy-THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

UFC and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officials on Thursday announced significant modifications “in the handling of cannabis and its naturally occurring cannabinoid compounds.”

In short, positive tests for carboxy-THC, regardless of levels, will no longer be considered violations to the policy “unless additional evidence exists that an athlete used it intentionally for performance-enhancing purposes.”

“While we want to continue to prevent athletes from competing under the influence of marijuana, we have learned that blood and/or urine levels of carboxy-THC have little-to-no scientific correlation to impairment,” UFC senior vice president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitzky said in a statement. “THC is fat soluble, meaning that once ingested, it is stored in fatty tissues and organs in the body and can be released back into the blood or urine, sometimes long after ingestion.”

Novitzky said athletes will still not be allowed to compete under the influence of marijuana, but that the UFC and USADA will rely on visual evidence of impairment and cognitive behavioral tests to make such determinations rather that any sort of blood level detection, which can often indicate usage well outside of the competition window.

“The bottom line is that in regards to marijuana, we care about what an athlete consumed the day of a fight, not days or weeks before a fight, which has often been the case in our historic positive THC cases,” Novitzky said.

Novitzky said he believes the change in policy is simply the latest by the promotion to maintain anti-doping guidelines that are thorough but maintain a sense of fairness for the athletes who must abide by the policy, which was first instituted in 2015.

“Based on my informal discussion with athletes, there’s a significant number of percentage of athletes that choose to use marijuana, many for legitimate reasons outside of recreational,” Novitzky said. “Many use it for pain control, anti-anxiety, to sleep, in lieu of more dangerous, more addictive drugs, so hopefully this being the first step to opening that up so that an athlete on Wednesday night of fight week instead of going to a Vicodin because their knee hurts and they can’t sleep can use a little bit of cannabis and get to sleep and have that pain control. It has no affect whatsoever on a competition on Saturday night, so it’s the right move, and I’m really excited about this revision and that specific policy change.”

It is important to note that the change in USADA policy does not directly affect regulations by state athletic commissions, so athletes do not have carte blanche with marijuana use following the announcement. However, Novitzky is hopeful that the change to UFC policy can ultimately pave the way for similar moves at the state level.

“I would caution everybody to temper their enthusiasm about this because we still have the commission factor here, but we are actively working on that,” Novitzky told MMA Junkie. “We are educating, informing, lobbying them, and I hope not too far in the near future that we can get uniformity across all the rules as it relates to marijuana because I think it would certainly be a benefit to the athletes.”

Additional changes to the UFC’s anti-doping Policy announced include the removal of “phyto” cannabinoids often found in various CBD products, as well as the addition of Informed Choice as an approved dietary supplement certifier for UFC athletes.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-usada-declare-marijuana-no-longer-violates-anti-doping-policy

If you’ve had any doubts about Jon Jones’ commitment to heavyweight, forget about them. He’s all in.

On Wednesday, the former UFC light heavyweight champion shared photos on social media highlighting his physical transformation as he prepares to move up a division. And let’s just say you’ve never seen him like this:

250lbs moving like a Jones pic.twitter.com/4SzcpDCEpR

— BONY (@JonnyBones) January 13, 2021

Since relinquishing the UFC light heavyweight title last year, Jones (25-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) has been hard at work for several months trying to add muscle mass to his lanky frame. Whatever he’s been doing, mission accomplished. He looks ready to fight the biggest and baddest.

Of course, since Jones never has fought while this heavy, it’ll be interesting to see how he performs – which an opponent and date for his heavyweight debut have yet to be determined. Whenever it happens this year, though, Jones says he’s feeling pretty good at the moment.

I feel ready to take on any challenge, this is the first time in my career that I can say that. I finally have the size to be ready for anyone https://t.co/o6L69dwuKf

— BONY (@JonnyBones) January 14, 2021

I feel ready to take on any challenge, this is the first time in my career that I can say that. I finally have the size to be ready for anyone

No I’m not worried about cardio, I hold myself to a very high standard,A light heavyweight standard. Some of these guys may be stronger, but they can’t possibly push as hard as I can. I’ve been able to outwork literally every LHW, i’ll do the same at heavy.. It’s called heart https://t.co/xZYvCvA8qQ

— BONY (@JonnyBones) January 14, 2021

No I’m not worried about cardio, I hold myself to a very high standard,A light heavyweight standard. Some of these guys may be stronger, but they can’t possibly push as hard as I can. I’ve been able to outwork literally every LHW, i’ll do the same at heavy.. It’s called heart

Can’t wait to see it.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-jon-jones-heavyweight-photos-250-pounds

Former featherweight champion Max Holloway spoke to the media about his upcoming UFC Fight Island 7 main event bout against Calvin Kattar.

Holloway looks to rebound from back-to-back losses to current champion Alexander Volkanovski and get back in the win column. UFC Fight Island 7 marks the fight promotion’s first event of 2021 and kicks off the first of three events in eight days.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/max-holloways-excited-to-fight-in-front-of-fans-ufc-fight-island-7