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Morning Report: Conor McGregor coach takes blame for injury that delayed return

Published

4 months ago

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Morning Report: Conor McGregor coach takes blame for injury that delayed return

Conor McGregor's comeback fight takes place this Saturday at UFC 329 after a five-year hiatus, but he was originally meant to return much sooner.

Two years ago, McGregor was set to fight opposing The Ultimate Fighter 31 coach Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June 2024. However, a toe injury forced McGregor out of that contest, the first time in the former two-division champion's UFC career that he'd ever pulled out of a fight. It was a devestating blow for McGregor and his fans, who were eager to see the fighter make his return to action after breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

In an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, McGregor's longtime coach John Kavanagh took full responsibility for the pre-UFC 303 injury that occurred in training.

â€I'll say it more bluntly than [McGregor] will,†Kavanagh said. “I should have had the protective gear on both guys from the start. The beginning of it was a little bit rushed. It's different when you're sparring for sparring, and sparring for whatever they were, Embedded or Countdown, and it was a bit sort of haphazard.

“‘What are we doing?' ‘OK, you two move around for the cameras, but it's also a spar.' It just wasn't done right.â€

Initially, McGregor and his team were unaware of the severity of the injury, so McGregor pressed on with the sparring session that was both for his preparation and for the UFC's video documentation. McGregor felt something was bothering him after his training partner blocked a kick, but pressed on to finish the spar.

“Look, I'll put my hand up,†Kavanagh said. “I should have had all the gear on them and they didn't and he awkwardly caught Tristan's elbow and that happened very early. … That happened in the first minute or so of Round 1 and he kind of whispered to me in between the rounds that he feels his toe is broke. I'm trying to stop it and he insisted on doing the next four rounds, he did all five rounds, because you can kind of run on adrenaline a little bit. But yeah, it was nasty.â€

McGregor's toe injury left him with no choice but to cancel the Chandler matchup and despite months and months and months of rumors, he wouldn't have another fight announced until he was paired up with past opponent Max Holloway to fill the UFC 329 main event spot.

Ahead of McGregor's comeback fight, Kavanagh didn't take any chances with his fighter's health this time.

“Sick,†Kavanagh said when asked how he felt when McGregor injured his foot. “Really, really sick. … It was my fault. I'm not going to beat around the bush on it. Should have had the gear on them.

“So we've been super careful this training camp. Not a niggle on him, not a bump, not a bruise, 100 percent, and we'll get to see the best version of him.â€

Fury. Conor McGregor isn't chasing a fight with “f*cking bum†Justin Gaethje.

Stubborn. McGregor still isn't giving Khabib Nurmagomedov credit for beating him.

Busy? McGregor's longtime coach John Kavanagh thinks McGregor could fight out his contract this year.

Fight. Paddy Pimblett doesn't care what Arman Tsarukyan thinks he deserves, he needs to fight.

Rejuvenated. Robert Whittaker sees himself fighting a few more times now that he's a light heavyweight.

Stray. Mario Bautista has no idea why the UFC social team tagged him in a video where he was being submitted.

Home. Merab Dvalishvili still waiting for Petr Yan with RAF Georgia match ahead.

UFC 329 media day highlights.

UFC 329 pre-fight presser.

Submission Radio media day reaction.

Ben Askren Road to RAF vlog.

UFC 329 Embedded. (Look, it's Conor!)

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Build a worse fighter, we'll wait.

The Ultimate Fighter 34's latest winner.

Yan Xiaonan (19-5, 1 NC) vs. Denise Gomes (12-3); UFC Shanghai, Aug. 29

Rei Tsuruya (11-1) vs. Kevin Borjas (11-5); UFC Shanghai, Aug. 29

You never forget your first.

My first favorite fighter

With Conor coming back this weekend, he is the one who got me watching UFC and mixed martial arts. He was incredible and I'm hoping he can somehow pull off a win. Which fighter got you into MMA?

Rec 6ReplyRead 44 replies

Two days away from Conor McGregor's return, believe it or not.

Apologies for no Morning Report on Friday, will be back Monday after the UFC 329 dust has settled. Have a great weekend everyone!

If you find something you'd like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKLee of @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and like us on Facebook.

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UFC Vegas 124: 'Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker' Live Results and Highlights

Published

8 hours ago

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November 7, 2026

By

UFC Vegas 124: 'Cortes-Acosta vs. Walker' Live Results and Highlights
Trending:

Dricus du Plessis' move to light heavyweight teased by next potential opponent

The Octagon remains at the Apex for tonight's UFC Vegas 124 event, a 14-bout fight card headlined by Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker.

Cortes-Acosta (17-4 MMA) will enter this evening's main event with hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid. ‘Salsa Boy' is coming off unanimous decision losses to Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov in his most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those setbacks, Waldo had strung together three straight stoppage wins, including a second-round TKO victory over Derrick Lewis.

Meanwhile, Johnny Walker (23-10 MMA) made his return to heavyweight last month and scored first-round knockout victory over Mick Parkin. The 34-year-old Brazilian has gone 2-3 over his past five fights overall.

UFC Vegas 124 is co-headlined by a women's strawweight bout between perennial division contenders Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba.

Suarez (12-1 MMA) will enter the contest on a two-fight winning streak, this after scoring victories over Amanda Lemos and Loopy Godinez in her most recent Octagon appearances. Prior to those triumphs, Tatiana had suffered her first career loss at the hands of Weili Zhang in a bout for the women's strawweight title.

Meanwhile, Virna Jandiroba (23-4 MMA) most previously competed this past April, where she scored a unanimous decision victory over Tabatha Ricci. Prior to that, ‘Carcará' dropped a decision to Mackenzie Dern in a fight for the promotion's then vacant strawweight title at UFC 321.

Get all of tonight's live results and highlights below (refresh for updates):

UFC Vegas 124 Main Card (8pm EST on Paramount+)

265 lbs: Waldo Cortes-Acosta vs. Johnny Walker – Walker def. Cortes-Acosta via TKO at 2:27 of Round 3

115 lbs: Tatiana Suarez vs. Virna Jandiroba – Suarez def. Jandiroba by unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)

135 lbs: Davey Grant vs. Elijah Smith – Smith def. Grant via KO (punches) at 1:00 of Round 1

205 lbs: Billy Elekana vs. Lucas Fernando – Fernando def. Elekana by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

135 lbs: Priscila Cachoeira vs. Nina Milosevic – Milosevic def. Cachoeira via TKO (elbows and punches) at 3:40 of Round 2

125 lbs: Mitch Raposo vs. Marcos Degli – Raposo def. Degli by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

UFC Vegas 124 Prelims (5pm EST on Paramount+)

145 lbs: Ollie Schmid vs. Keiichiro Nakamura – Schmid def. Nakamura by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

265 lbs: Thomas Petersen vs. Gabriel Lorenco – Peterson def. via TKO (punches) at 4:47 of Round 3

125 lbs: Karine Silva vs. Gabriella Fernandes – Silva def. Fernandes by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

145 lbs: Murtazali Magomedov vs. Jose Delano – Magomedov def. Delano by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

145 lbs: Austin Bashi vs. Carlos Calderon – Bashi def. Calderon via submission (rear naked choke) at 1:07 of Round 1

185 lbs: Andre Petroski vs. Mantas Kondratavicius – Petroski def. Kondratavicius via TKO (ground and pound) at 4:39 of Round 2

170 lbs: Seokhyeon Ko vs. Wellington Turman – Ko def. Turman by unanimous decision (30-27 x3)

170 lbs: Jose Souza vs. Jonny Parsons – Souza def. Parsons via KO (punches) at 4:16 of Round 2

Who are you picking to emerge victorious in tonight's heavyweight main event between Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Johnny Walker? Share your predictions in the comment section Penn Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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Video: Mo Deen’s vicious knockout sparks all-out brawl with chairs, steel barricades flying at Unhinged 3

Published

11 hours ago

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November 7, 2026

By

Video: Mo Deen’s vicious knockout sparks all-out brawl with chairs, steel barricades flying at Unhinged 3

The influencer boxing scene had a tough night, with a card getting cancelled before the Unhinged 3 main event.

On Saturday, influencer HSTikkyTokky put on a boxing event in Ireland, and in one of the featured contests featured winless Misfits Boxing fighter Mo Deen taking on MrTikTokUK. At long last, Mo Deen got a win, knocking down is overmatched opponent multiple times before delivering a fight-ending knockout.

After the win, Mo Deen leaped into the crowd towards the commentary table, where he attempted to get his hands on English Defence League co-founder and controversial U.K. political activist Tommy Robinson.

From there, Robinson is shown on camera holding a book, and Mo Deen attacked him in the ring, and all hell broke loose. Check out the footage below.

Chairs and even steel barricades were seen being lifted and thrown throughout the melee that took place in and around the ring, and the crowd. A few minutes later, the promotion called the event then and there.

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MMA

Khamzat Chimaevs undefeated teammate reportedly lands UFC 335 fight

Published

13 hours ago

on

November 7, 2026

By

Khamzat Chimaev's undefeated teammate reportedly lands UFC 335 fight
A bitter feud will reportedly come to a head at the
Ultimate Fighting Championship's final numbered event of
2026.

Damian
Pinas (11-1) and Baisangur
Susurkaev (12-0) are reportedly scheduled to clash at UFC
335 on Dec. 12 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. VestnikMMA first reported the matchup.

Damian Pinas and Baisangur Susurkaev’s feud leads to reported
UFC 335 fight

Both Pinas and Susurkaev have traded barbs online. Susurkaev
started the feud by claiming to not know who Pinas is. Pinas then
called out Susurkaev after his win over Cesar
Almeida in July. Pinas doubled down on his criticism of
Susurkaev after finishing Andrey
Pulyaev in October.

Pinas has secured stoppage victories in all his professional wins,
with his lone loss coming via disqualification for an illegal kick
on the Brazilian regional scene back in 2024. “The Baba Yaga†has
finished all three of his UFC fights inside the first round since
earning a contract on
Dana White's Contender Series last year.

Meanwhile, Susurkaev, Khamzat
Chimaev's training partner, has also stopped all three of his
UFC opponents. The undefeated Chechen has only seen the judges'
scorecards once in 12 professional wins. While Susurkaev was
originally scheduled to fight Donte
Johnson at UFC
334 in November, he withdrew for undisclosed reasons.

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