Michael Bisping, former UFC champion and current commentator and analyst, called out the mistake that cost Justin Gaethje a win in his fight with Max Holloway.
"I think Gaethje was a victim of his own success. When he knocked out Dustin Porier, he believed in his own invincibility. He probably thought he would run over Holloway without too much trouble. But Gaethje bet on the knockout - he was looking for the right moment the whole fight. That's not the way to do it. When you're chasing a knockout, you can see your punches and intentions better. He put 100% into every punch. He didn't use his combinations wisely. Sometimes he threw hooks, plus he used leg kicks. Other than that, he was predictable. So Max Holloway taught him a valuable lesson. On the other hand, even without this fight, he could have qualified for a fight against Islam Makhachev. He was supposed to go for a title shot and now it's all gone," TNT Sports quoted Bisping as saying.
Michael Chandler, UFC lightweight division fighter, revealed in which division limit he will fight Conor McGregor, the former champion of the promotion in two weight categories.
"I think my performance is going to be phenomenal. I'm still going to have the exact same camp. I'm still going to go down to 70 pounds the same way, only I'm not going to dehydrate myself at the end. I want to stay big, strong, explosive. So I think a welterweight fight will be right up my alley," The MAClife quotes Chandler as saying.
Recall that the confrontation between Chandler and McGregor was announced officially, and will take place on June 30 as part of UFC 303.
Dmitry Bivol, the current WBA light heavyweight champion of the world, used to not believe that he could become a professional boxer.
"I always had a goal and a dream to become an Olympic champion. It didn't materialize, that's when we decided to go pro. Even a little earlier looked at professional boxers. But I always thought it's not my thing a little bit. It's a little different sport. And when I went pro, there were challenges. We took it with a cold calculation," - said the boxer in a recent interview.
Recall, June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Bivol will fight Artur Beterbiev for the title of absolute world champion in the light heavyweight division.
Jorge Masvidal, former UFC fighter, reacted to Justin Gaethje's loss to Max Holloway.
"Gaethje always finds a way to come back and put on a great show and keep winning. But that knockout was luteous. He was out for quite a long time, about two minutes, and when they put him in the chair he still wasn't here. I hope he makes a full recovery and comes back to the sport stronger than before, but with a knockout like that, nothing can be ruled out. It's not just him, he took a lot of damage as well. This fight could take many years off of Gatji's career," Masvidal said on the Morning Kombat podcast.
Recall, Holloway sent Gaethje to a muffled knockout seconds before the end of the fight.
UFC lightweightMichael Chandler believes the promotion should introduce a new belt for his bout with Conor McGregor.
"That was one of the rumors too, a belt for 165 pounds, but obviously that didn't happen. But I wouldn't be surprised if the fight agreement is signed and it says a title in the 165-pound weight class. You never know for sure because the UFC has to keep a lot of things secret. Even us, right? They keep a lot of different information secret. We knew the date. I knew what the weight class was probably going to be. But this fight is supposed to be for the belt, but we'll see if we can come up with one," Chandler told TheMacLife.
UFC welterweight Ian Harry revealed in a recent interview when and who he wants his next bouts to be against.
"Let's make the fight against Colby Covington in the summer. Because I don't like to fight when it's cold. I wouldn't fight in New York in November just because it's freezing cold. Unless I would be offered a fight against Kamaru Usman or Shavkat Rakhmonov in the co-main event of the night. Yes, it would interest me," Harry said in an interview with MMA Fighting.
Earlier Harry said that he had already signed a contract to fight Covington, but Colby, according to the Irishman, is in no hurry to do the same.
UFC heavyweight Alexander Volkov talked about how his sparring sessions with Sergey Pavlovich went. Volkov noted the power of Sergey's punching.
"Well you saw these sparring sessions yourself, he hits like a hoof - very hard. It was very hard to work with him. I think I didn't win a single round against him. Of course, after every punch. My legs were shaking. To be honest, when he came to sparring, I tried to stand with him less, because I realized that every time he hit, some injury could happen. I stood up for the very first rounds with him and tried not to stand up anymore. Because when Sergey was warming up, he could hit very hard", - said the fighter.
Former UFC fighter and current commentator and analyst Chael Sonnen has spoken out on who he wants to see Max Holloway fight next.
"There's one thing that Max Holloway has been asking for a long time and that's a rematch against Conor McGregor. I don't want Max to fight Elijah Topuria, I don't want him to fight Islam Makhachev. I have a lot of respect for the BMF title. I believe that if McGregor performs well in the fight against Chandler, we could see a rematch of Conor against Holloway for the belt of "The Most Dangerous Bastard", - said Sonnen on ESPN.
Recall, in the framework of UFC 300 Max Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje at the last second of the fight.
Eddie Hearn, promoter of WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, said at the expense of what his ward will win against Artur Beterbiev, the world champion in this weight by versions WBC, WBO, IBF.
"Skills, footwork, thinking in the ring and composure. If you don't know how to move, stop when necessary and engage in exchanges, if you don't have a strong jaw and stamina, Arthur will walk right through you. It takes someone special to defeat him. Fortunately, we have someone very, very special," said the functionary.
Recall, the confrontation between Bivol and Beterbiev will take place on June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. At stake will be the title of absolute world champion in the light-heavyweight division.
UFC lightweightArman Tsarukian explained why he hugged Charles Oliveira before every round.
"I like the guy. Charles is a very good person. And with that gesture we showed that we respect each other. Even though we said different shit before the fight. Oliveira is one of the most respectful guys. But it's a sport, it's not war. You just go out there and do what you know how to do. And it doesn't matter if you like your opponent or not. You just go out there and do your job. I want to knock out my opponent, even if he's a good, respectful guy," Tsarukyan said in an interview with The MMA Hour.
Recall, Tsarukyan defeated Oliveira by split decision of judges at the UFC 300 anniversary event.
