Max Holloway has accomplished a lot already in his UFC career but he’s far from finished when it comes to history making moments.

At UFC 236, the 27-year old Hawaiian will move up to 155 pounds where he faces Dustin Poirier in the main event with the interim lightweight title on the line.

If he’s victorious, Holloway would become the fourth fighter in UFC history — joining Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes — to hold two championships in two separate divisions simultaneously.

Holloway is already a two-time defending featherweight champion with a pair of TKO wins over Jose Aldo, who is arguably the greatest 145-pound fighter in history not to mention his dominant victory against previously undefeated foe Brian Ortega last December.

Now with the fight against Poirier on Saturday night with the winner then expected to unify the title against Khabib Nurmagomedov later this year, Holloway has his sights set on a lot of action in the lightweight division in 2019.

Obviously getting the job done at UFC 236 is paramount but even with a win over Poirier this weekend, Holloway still has no desire to give up his featherweight belt just because he’s got business to handle at lightweight.

“First things first, we’ve got Dustin and then I keep hearing the one after this is maybe Khabib in September,” Holloway told MMAWeekly ahead of UFC 236. “I’m really going to have to sit down and talk to the UFC about that. I want to figure it out. A king defends his throne. We’ll sit down with the UFC after this fight, we’ll see how it goes first. All my attention is on Dustin for sure.

“Everybody is talking about me being the fourth person that might be able to be the simultaneous [two-division champion] but I want to be the champ that holds both and defends both. That’s always the end game.”

As of now, the 145-pound division will move forward attempting to build a new top contender to potentially await Holloway’s return but no decisions will be made by the UFC until at least after Saturday night’s main event is finished.

Former rugby player turned fighter Alexander Volkanovski could be the next person in line to challenge for the title if he can get past Aldo in May. Holloway has never hand-picked any of his past opponents and he certainly wouldn’t start now if Volkanovski ends up as the next No. 1 contender.

Of course as much as the featherweight title means to him, Holloway has to stay focused on the task at hand, which means winning the interim lightweight championship and avenging the first loss of his UFC career.

At just 20-years of age, Holloway accepted a short notice bout against Poirier back in 2014 but ultimately fell by first round submission.

Now five years later, Holloway is regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport and he’s excited to not only win his second divisional title but also get back that loss that started his UFC career.

“Like I said before, all these guys are cupcakes and I got to eat a little bit more cupcakes in this camp. I get to retry a flavor I had seven years ago,” Holloway stated. “Hopefully it tastes better this time around.”

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/max-holloway-addresses-his-future-at-featherweight-ahead-of-ufc-236

Weeks after Conor McGregor was arrested for allegedly snagging a fan’s phone and smashing it, a lawsuit filed stemming from the incident has been dropped.

Though TMZ Sports headlines indicated that McGregor had settled the lawsuit, it’s not yet known if that is certain. Court records show that the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means that it is resolved and can’t be brought back to court. Generally, that indicates that a settlement has been reached.

The incident in question took place in early March when McGregor was arrested by Miami Beach Police after he allegedly destroyed a fan’s phone outside the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel. According to police records, McGregor was arrested and charged with felony robbery/strong-arm and felony criminal mischief.

The arrest report stated that McGregor was leaving the hotel where the LIV nightclub is located around 5 a.m. and a fan was walking alongside him when he attempted to take a photo of the UFC superstar. McGregor allegedly slapped the phone out of the fan’s hand and then stomped on it several times to destroy it.

The report states that McGregor then allegedly picked up the phone and walked away with it.

Though the lawsuit has been dismissed, McGregor still faces legal charges, though they have been downgraded somewhat since the initial arrest. Following a review by prosecutors, the two charges were modified, according to a report by USA Today.

“As a matter of normal procedure, police officers arrest and charge based on probable cause, the lowest evidentiary standard,” Ed Griffith, spokesperson for the Miami-Dade state attorney, told USA TODAY Sports. “Prosecutors must believe that they can prove the potential charges beyond a reasonable doubt, a much higher standard of required evidence.”

After determining the value of the phone to be between $200 and $1,000, the charge of felony criminal mischief was reduced to a misdemeanor. 

The strong-armed robbery charge was reduced to a charge of robbery by sudden snatching. That lowers the significance of the charge from a second-degree felony to a third-degree felony.

The reduction in charges means that McGregor is facing less severe penalties: six years in jail as opposed to 20 years. It is unlikely that McGregor will serve a prison sentence when all is said and done, but the charges could have an affect on his immigration status as an Irish citizen.

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McGregor is clear to return to the Octagon as of Saturday, April 6, following the completion of a Nevada-imposed suspension for his role in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl with Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team last October.

McGregor recently issued a retirement tweet, but appears to have changed his mind after recently tweeting, “See you in the Octagon.” Still, there is nothing official on tap for his return, although a July date had reportedly been discussed.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/conor-mcgregors-phone-smashing-lawsuit-dismissed

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Though most people thought that Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz 3 last November was likely a one-and-done scenario for both men, it appears that exacting his revenge on Liddell has Ortiz ready to fight again. 

Deciding not to slip back into retirement, Ortiz this week told TMZ Sports that he is expecting to fight again later this year. 

“I’ll probably be fighting in October,” Ortiz said.

“After I fought Chuck last year, I thought it was gonna be my last one. But my body’s intact, everything’s fast, everything’s great. Sparring’s been good. Training’s been great. So let’s do one more for fun. Let’s do one for fun.”

Though he’s now 44 years of age, the UFC Hall of Famer has found success again after leaving the Octagon in the rearview mirror. 

Having lost seven of his last nine fights under the UFC banner, Ortiz went 3-1 while fighting for Bellator, where he defeated Chael Sonnen, Stephan Bonner, and Alexander Shlemenko, losing only to Liam McGeary.

Though he retired after his fourth Bellator bout, Ortiz was coaxed out of retirement by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions for a third bout with Liddell, who had defeated him the first two times they fought. This time was different, as Ortiz appeared in good form, out-gunning Liddell, who looked slow and out of sync. Ortiz knocked Liddell out at 4:24 of the first round.

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That’s got him fired up to continue fighting, at least one more time. Ortiz went on to tell TMZ Sports that he already has an opponent lined up for his likely October return, but wasn’t quite ready to divulge who that opponent might be.

“I have an opponent, so it’s gonna be fun when we announce it,” said Ortiz. “Can’t tell you who it is yet.”

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/tito-ortiz-not-retired-yet-plans-to-fight-in-october

(Video courtesy of TMZSports | Viewing may be limited by broadcast rights restrictions)

Conor McGregor has always been one to do things a little outside the box. Though he followed in the footsteps of fighters like Tito Ortiz and Ronda Rousey before him, he has always amped things up to another level. In short, his public persona goes to 11. 

That and his athletic acumen make him the perfect candidate for professional wrestling, and it’s something that is not lost on WWE executive Stephanie McMahon, who would love to have McGregor perform under her brand.

“Anybody who has a really big personality. I’d love to have Gronk in the ring. Conor McGregor, huge personality,” McMahon told TMZ Sports ahead of Sunday’s WrestleMania 35.

“It’s really about bringing in the biggest personalities with the best athletic ability. Whoever can entertain and connect with our audience.”

But beyond wanting to have personalities like McGregor and Gronkowski crossover, are there actually wheels in motion to make that happen? 

You never know. McMahon said, “We are always having conversations,” when asked specifically about McGregor and Gronkowski, but also had a bit of a cheshire smile on her face while saying it. But it is possible.

McGregor has often talked about the WWE and someday making the crossover. 

Fellow former UFC champion Ronda Rousey has bridged the gap with tremendous success, already landing a spot in the main event of the WWE’s biggest annual event, WrestleMania. McGregor has a similar personality and would likely have any easy time following in her footsteps if he ever decides to truly walk away from the Octagon.

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Or perhaps he could pull off the same sort of situation as Brock Lesnar, who is a former UFC heavyweight champion that has the clout to shift back and forth between fighting for the UFC and performing for the WWE without having to give up one for the other.

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/conor-mcgregor-and-rob-gronkowski-are-welcome-in-the-wwe-ring

Judging by the attention that Artem Lobov and Paulie Malignaggi received over the past few days, you’d think they were fighting in a bare knuckle boxing match on Saturday night.

In reality, Lobov is competing in the main event at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships (BKFC) 5 against fellow UFC veteran Jason Knight while Malignaggi is preparing to return from retirement for an opportunity to compete in the fledgling fight promotion.

A few days ago, Lobov and Malignaggi nearly started a brawl at a BKFC media event after jawing back and forth to each other in a heated exchange of trash talk.

The origins of this rivalry stretch back nearly two years after Malignaggi was brought in as a sparring partner for Lobov’s teammate and close friend Conor McGregor as he prepared to face Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match.

In the aftermath of that sparring session, McGregor and Malignaggi have blasted each other publicly over what really happened behind closed doors when they trained together for 12 rounds. McGregor contends that he battered the veteran boxer while Malignaggi explains that even out of shape and unprepared, he dished out a ton of punishment to the former two-division champion.

As much as Malignaggi wanted to settle his beef with McGregor in the ring, it’s highly unlikely he’ll ever get the chance. McGregor is under exclusive contract to the UFC and Malignaggi won’t likely try his hand at mixed martial arts any time soon.

So the alternative is facing one of McGregor’s closest allies and that’s why Malignaggi has targeted Lobov instead.

“Conor McGregor is going to be responsible for the blood of Artem Lobov,” Malignaggi told MMAWeekly this week. “Cause he’s the only one I’m going to get my hands on. I’m going to hurt this guy. I’m going to use his head as a pinball. I’m going use Lobov’s head as my own pinball machine. I’m going to hurt this guy. If I don’t come out of this fight permanently hurting this guy, it’s a disappointment for me.

“It’s not about winning or losing this fight. I should easily beat a guy like this. He’s a chump. He’s a punching bag even in the world of MMA, which is where he comes from. I’m going to devastatingly hurt him.”

For Lobov, he believes that Malignaggi was chasing the McGregor fight the same reason why he’s been asking to face him after signing with BKFC.

“He’s out of money,” Lobov claimed when asked about the former boxing champion. “He never really made crazy money in boxing because when the big, big fights came, he lost. So he never made that much money. He didn’t live a good lifestyle. That’s why he’s coming back at 38 years of age. That’s why he’s commentating every weekend because he needs the money.

“He used to be in L.A., now he moved back in with his parents in New York. I just hope he has enough money to order the pay-per-view this weekend so he can see what’s about to happen to him.”

Obviously, Lobov stands to make more money building on a rivalry fight against Malignaggi as well and that’s why he knows he has to get the job done on Saturday night before he can even contemplate a showdown with the 38-year old veteran.

“It’s very important. I have to win but for me, the situation I’m in here, I need to win but I need to win impressively,” Lobov stated. “I want to impress my new employer. I want to impress the fans. This is the first time the fans are going to see me box and I want to put on a good show and show why I want to mix in with the best boxers out there.

“ This is the next step towards the Paulie Malignaggi fight and the Paulie Malignaggi fight is my step into my professional boxing. Because I really do want to move into professional boxing eventually.”

Malignaggi makes no bones about his desire to cave in Lobov’s face based partly on his disdain for McGregor but also because of the perceived disrespect towards his sport that he’s heard from the former UFC featherweight in recent months.

“He had the balls to say we fight with pillows on our hands and we don’t take real damage,” Malignaggi said. “How many mixed martial artists have been permanently damaged? I’ve known personally in my 20 years in boxing, boxers that have died, been permanently damaged, their families changed, hurt, for that disrespect, I’m going to make sure I do some real, real damage to him.”

First things first, Lobov has to win against Knight this weekend or the entire altercation with Malignaggi could end up being nothing more than a commercial that fades away in a matter of days.

Lobov is confident that he’ll get the job done and then he’ll get the opportunity to settle the score with Malignaggi once and for all.

“He’s been talking about Conor for how many years because he wanted that payday. He knew that he was going to get smacked. He got smacked twice by Conor already but he’s pushing for it cause he needs the money,” Lobov said

“Now he knows he can’t get that fight so this is his next best thing so he can finally get a payday and pay off some of his f—king debt that he has.”

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/artem-lobov-paulie-malignaggi-promise-violent-encounter-if-fight-is-made-for-june