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Max Holloway reveals what Conor McGregor said to him after injuring knee at UFC 329

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Max Holloway reveals what Conor McGregor said to him after injuring knee at UFC 329

Max Holloway didn't get to exchange too many strikes with Conor McGregor at UFC 329, but they did exchange words during their fight.

Saturday's main event ended in disappointment for McGregor, who was fighting for the first time since breaking his leg in a loss to Dustin Poirier in July 2021. Again, a McGregor leg injury proved to be his downfall, as he struggled to find his footing after throwing an opening flying kick, and never recovered. With McGregor obviously having suffered another injury, referee Mike Beltran called the fight off a little over a minute into Round 1.

In his post-fight interview, Holloway praised McGregor for wanting the fight to continue and he elaborated on the conversation speaking to reporters after the event.

“I had the man weak in the knees, I guess,†Holloway said. “All jokes aside, I just hope he's good. I know Conor's been battling some stuff. Looked like he'd really been changing. He found God, he had his kids in there, so during the fight you could obviously tell his demeanor changed. Shout out to the ref, I was trying to tell the ref sooner.

“This guy's kids are front row, I don't to see him take unnecessary damage, try and stop the fight, but this is how crazy Conor is: The first time he's on the ground, I was punching him and he's like, ‘Fight! Fight!' I was like, ‘OK.' That's why I backed up, I said, ‘Stand up then, let's fight.' He fell back down and then the fight was called.â€

In the lead-up to the fight, McGregor did dozens of interviews, claiming he was a changed man who had dedicated himself to religion and rededicated himself to training, following years of questionable public behavior, including numerous legal issues.

Holloway appreciates McGregor approaching their matchup with a more positive approach to fight promotion, but admitted something felt off with the former two-division champion.

“Even with him walking into the octagon, it just didn't seem like the same Conor,†Holloway said. “He was still there to fight, but I thought he would be a little bit more rowdy, a little bit more crazy. He looked, like, really, really calm, like super calm, so I was just kind of like, ‘Oh wow, let's see how this goes.' Of course, I knew he was going to attack me with something and it was that kick, so it sucks.â€

Holloway also used his post-fight microphone time to suggest he and McGregor meet in a trilogy, though when such a bout would take place is unclear with the severity of McGregor's injury unknown.

One thing Holloway is confident about is that he's unlikely to compete again in 2026.

“He was talking about this ‘170 domain,'†Holloway said, referring their fight taking place at welterweight. “I put in this 170 work. We worked our assess off here, especially after turning around so fast after that March fight and to come back. I want to feel this domain that he's talking about, this 170 Conor that he's talking about, this different world. That's what I want.

“I want to see what his injury is and, as for me, I'm down to come back 2027. With that March fight and this fight, I know I came out unscathed, but I owe my family some time. I owe my wife and my son some time, some family time, so that's what I'm focused on. You guys are going to see ‘Blessed' return back in 2027.â€

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Noche UFC weigh-in video: Silva vs. Delgado

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Noche UFC weigh-in video: Silva vs. Delgado

At the Noche UFC weigh-ins, all 26 fighters on Saturday's fight card step on the scale Friday in Glendale, Ariz. Watch ceremonial weigh-ins live at 7 p.m. ET and highlights of the official morning weigh-ins below.

In the main event, top featherweight contender Jean Silva takes on short-notice replacement Jose Miguel Delgado. Both fighters can weigh no more than the 146-pound limit for their non-title fight.

Silva is currently No. 6 at 145 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, having won six of his seven UFC fights. The unranked Delgado (4-1 in UFC) steps in to Saturday's main event on less than a month's notice for an injured Yair Rodriguez.

Watch official weigh-ins of the top 2 fights below.

In the co-main event, former flyweight champion Brandon Moreno looks to snap a two-fight skid when he fights The Ultimate Fighter 33 winner Joseph Morales.

Official weigh-ins begin at 12 p.m. ET.

Ceremonial weigh-ins begin at 7 p.m. ET.

Check out the Noche UFC weigh-in results below.

Main Card (Paramount+ at 5 p.m. ET)

Jean Silva (145) vs. Jose Miguel Delgado (145.5)

Brandon Moreno (125.5) vs. Joseph Morales (125.5)

Tommy McMillen (145) vs. Marwan Rahiki (145.5)

Manon Fiorot (125) vs. Alexa Grasso (125)

Waldo Cortes-Acosta (262) vs. Curtis Blaydes (260)

David Martinez (135) vs. Dan Ige (135.5)

Preliminary Card (Paramount+ at 2 p.m. ET)

Tim Elliott (130) vs. Edgar Chairez (130)

Ignacio Bahamondes (170) vs. Muslim Salikhov (170.5)

Yousri Belgaroui (185.5) vs. Djorden Santos (185)

Drakkar Klose (155.5) vs. Tommy Gantt (155.5)

Rafa Garcia (155) vs. Rongzhu (155)

Sean King (145.5) vs. Jessie Rosas (145.5)

JJ Aldrich (125) vs. Regina Tarin (125)

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UFC champion Justin Gaethje provides update on possible MMA retirement

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UFC champion Justin Gaethje provides update on possible MMA retirement

UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje has provided a new update on his future retirement from mixed martial arts.

Following on from his championship triumph at UFC Freedom 250, there were plenty of questions regarding what exactly would be next for Justin Gaethje. Now, it seems that the path forward includes a possible rematch against Ilia Topuria, or maybe a showdown with the winner of the upcoming Arman Tsarukyan vs Mauricio Ruffy fight.

RELATED: Justin Gaethje surprisingly supports Arman Tsarukyan's long wait for UFC title shot

Alongside that, some have suggested that Justin Gaethje should ride off into the sunset and retire, given that he has now finally achieved his ultimate goal. Up to this point, there hasn't been a concrete answer one way or the other from the champ.

In a recent interview, Justin Gaethje had the following to say on the subject.

Justin Gaethje discusses retirement

“I've fought twice this year, I have deep bone bruise in my knee, I can't punch with my hand still so I really need to recover and I know for a fact I won't fight again this year,†he said on the MightyCast YouTube channel.

“I do know I've just performed better than I've ever performed and statistically that shouldn't have happened… I have a family, I've always trusted and told my parents, my brothers, my sister, my coaches, that I need them to have a conversation with me whenever the time needs to come.

“I really rely on them and lean on them to help me through this choice, I think it's a big choice. But I do think I'm a business and I need to approach this like a business… I need to have different conversations and see what life looks like. I haven't made a decision, I don't know (whether I will return),†he continued.

Quotes via Bloody Elbow

Do you want to see Gaethje retire from mixed martial arts? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Lerone Murphy proposes judging rule change following Movsar Evloev loss

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Lerone Murphy proposes judging rule change following Movsar Evloev loss

UFC feathereweight Lerone Murphy has given his thoughts on a possible rule change in judging following his defeat to Movsar Evloev.

Earlier this year, Lerone Murphy lost his undefeated record in mixed martial arts when he suffered a majority decision defeat to Movsar Evloev in London. Now, Evloev will challenge Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 333 for the UFC featherweight championship.

RELATED: Aaron Pico thinks he'd ‘dominate' Lerone Murphy in UFC rematch: “When that time comes, I'll be readyâ€

Lerone Murphy hasn't been back in the cage since then, but he has certainly made his voice heard, particularly regarding the judging of the fight, which included a point deduction for Evloev.

In a recent interview, Lerone Murphy spoke about that in more detail.

Lerone Murphy on judging after Evloev loss

“It's a weird fight because nothing much happens in the first round,†Murphy told FightersAdvice. “The first round is a toss-up, nothing happens and I think, I'm sorry go away from the subject, but I think that the judging shouldn't need to always be 10-9 because if nothing happens in a round, you can't just give it to one guy because you favor him. If nothing happens in a round, it's 10-10 or 9-9 or whatever. I think that should be brought in.â€

Quotes via Bloody Elbow

Regardless of whether or not there will be changes to judging, it will be interesting to see how Lerone attempts to bounce back from this as he continues his pursuit of UFC gold.

As for Evloev, he knows that he faces the biggest test of his career when he goes up against Volkanovski for the belt – but given his ability to edge past tough opponents, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see him get the job done.

Do you agree with Murphy's idea of scoring a round as a draw? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, BJPENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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