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Alexandre Pantoja says hes ready for Joshua Van rematch after arm injury

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Alexandre Pantoja says he's ready for Joshua Van rematch after arm injury
Alexandre
Pantoja is eager to reclaim the
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight title.

The former 125-pound champion has been sidelined since suffering an
arm injury in his title defense against Joshua Van
at
UFC 323 last year. “The Cannibal” has now fully healed and
believes he is ready to run it back with Van.

Alexandre Pantoja says he’s fully recovered and wants another
shot at UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van.

Pantoja suffered an arm injury very early into his fight with Van,
who caught his kick and forced him backwards before the Brazilian
awkwardly posted up on his hand. The referee stopped the bout at 26
seconds, with Pantoja clearly in pain, clutching his arm. His
recovery is now complete and he's targeting an Octagon return.

“I’m ready,†Pantoja told MMA Fighting. “After December, what happened to
my arm, two days after that, I went to the gym, started training
with just one arm. That’s who I am. I’m not done. I’m not done. I
have so much to conquer. I have so much to prove. I want to take
the belt again. I want to be UFC champion one more time.â€

After his anticlimactic title-winning effort, Van successfully
defended the flyweight crown with a fifth-round stoppage of
Tatsuro
Taira at
UFC 328. Pantoja has now praised the champion’s performance and
believes the division has gotten more interesting during his
absence.

“Flyweight is better than ever,” Pantoja said. “I think what
happened with me last year made the division more fire. Now I have
the opportunity to take over and beat everybody again.”

While he accepts the result of his loss to Van, Pantoja believes
he's still the better fighter.

“Of course, I have unfinished business with Joshua Van. As an
athlete, I know I lost the fight,†he added. “That happened. But
like a man, I don’t think he beat me. I’m still here. I’m ready to
fight. I’m in amazing shape. Let’s see what happens next.â€

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MMA

‘You’re not Conor’: Islam Makhachev’s camp responds to Ian Garry’s big claim

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‘You’re not Conor’: Islam Makhachev’s camp responds to Ian Garry’s big claim
Ian
Garry’s recent comments comparing himself to Conor
McGregor haven't gone over well with Islam
Makhachev’s camp.

After “The Future” compared his upcoming fight in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship against Makhachev to McGregor’s
iconic featherweight championship victory over Jose Aldo,
Makhachev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, responded with a series of
sharp posts on social media.

Ali Abdelaziz addresses Ian Garry's McGregor comparison ahead
of UFC 330

Garry recently claimed that defeating Makhachev at UFC
330 would elevate him to the top of the sport, comparing the
opportunity to McGregor’s featherweight title win over Aldo in
2015.

Abdelaziz, however, dismissed those comparisons and questioned the
Irishman’s accomplishments inside the Octagon.

“I’ve been listening to Islam’s opponent talking,†Abdelaziz wrote
on X. “Here are the facts: He’s 2-1 in his last three fights. He
was almost knocked out by Prates and got saved by the bell. He has
10 wins in the UFC, and eight of them came by decision. Somebody
needs to give this young man a reality check, because he’s about to
get smashed.â€

Abdelaziz followed with another post highlighting Makhachev’s
accolades.

“Islam Makhachev’s last 10 fights? Eight of them ended in
finishes,†the manager posted. “Three of those wins came against
world champions. The rest were against top-five and Top-15
contenders. That’s the reality. You only got this fight because you
know how to talk. On Aug. 14, the talking stops. Then we’ll see
what’s real.â€

Abdelaziz also rejected Garry’s comparisons to McGregor.

“And he keeps bringing his name up, comparing himself to Conor,†he
added. “First of all, you're not Conor. You'll never be Conor. You
might actually be a better person than him, because I think Conor
has done a lot of things I don't respect. Just be who you are.
Don't try to be somebody else.â€

Makhachev is scheduled to defend his welterweight title against
Garry in the UFC 330 main event on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena
in Philadelphia. A win for the Russian not only marks his first
title defense at 170 pounds but would also see him break Anderson
Silva's record for longest win streak in UFC history.

Series of tweets from Ali Abdelaziz on Ian Machado Garry
by u/DavidSeries in
MMA

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MMA

Update: Woman refutes claim that Paddy Pimblett bought Ilia Topuria’s stool

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Update: Woman refutes claim that Paddy Pimblett bought Ilia Topuria’s stool
Paddy
Pimblett has taken his rivalry with Ilia
Topuria in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship to a new level.

Pimblett (24-4) recently claimed to have bought the stool that
Topuria (17-1) used in his corner during his loss to Justin
Gaethje at
UFC Freedom 250.

Paddy Pimblett turns his Ilia Topuria rivalry into a
headline-making UFC moment

The stool holds significant meaning given what happened in the
fight. Topuria was a massive favorite when he put his lightweight
title on the line against interim champion Gaethje at the White
House. “El Matador” had even celebrated the day before the fight,
as he's done ahead of previous bouts as well.

However, Gaethje put on a brutal beatdown on Topuria in the third
and fourth rounds, forcing his corner to stop the bout at the end
of the penultimate frame. While it is unlikely that Topuria wanted
the fight to end in a corner stoppage, Pimblett repeatedly claimed
that the Georgian-Spaniard quit on the stool.

Pimblett now claims to have acquired said stool, as he revealed on
Instagram with a post captioned, “Collector's item.â€

Notably, Pimblett went all five rounds with Gaethje earlier this
year, and while he lost on the judges’ scorecards, many commended
his effort and fighting spirit.

Pimblett’s long-standing rivalry with Topuria was sparked by the
Englishman's comments about the former champ's home country of
Georgia. Pimblett even threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria
during a run-in at a fighter hotel in London in 2022.

However, a Topuria fan has now taken to social media to reveal that
she was the one who purchased the stool, refuting Pimblett’s
claim.


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Tommy McMillen reveals Hunter Campbell’s backstage warning after wild celebration

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Tommy McMillen reveals Hunter Campbell’s backstage warning after wild celebration
Tommy
McMillen is fully focused on his
Ultimate Fighting Championship career and didn't have
over-the-top celebrations for his recent victory.

McMillen (11-0) took on Alberto
Montes (12-2) in a featherweight matchup at
UFC Oklahoma City. “Gun” set a three-round UFC record with 252
significant strikes en route to a third-round finish. McMillen also
earned a $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus for his win over
Montes.

Notably, UFC executive Hunter Campbell was concerned about the
unbeaten prospect ahead of his latest bout.

Tommy McMillen discusses UFC concerns, Hunter Campbell's advice
and his comeback performance at UFC Oklahoma City

McMillen recently revealed that Campbell seemingly addressed his
party habits before UFC Oklahoma City. He had also earned a $100k
Fight of the Night bonus for his UFC debut win over Manolo
Zecchini this past April and admittedly didn't sleep for three
days while partying in Las Vegas.

The 28-year-old has now revealed that Campbell was worried after
hearing about his post-fight party binge and even approached
McMillen to check in on him ahead of the recently concluded Fight
Night. McMillen assured Campbell that he was “more dialed in than
ever†and backed up his claim with a solid win.

“I f*cking partied for three days straight after I won $100K for
the first time,†McMillen told Ariel Helwani. “Oklahoma City,
though, we kept it a little more low-key. I heard Hunter Campbell
was a little worried about me. He came up to me backstage after the
face-offs because somebody had told him I'd been partying a lot or
something like that. He was like, ‘Hey, kid, you good? You got a
good head on your shoulders? You’re in the right place?' I was just
like, ‘Oh yeah, I'm more dialed in than ever.'â€

McMillen has finished 10 of his 11 career wins so far. The only
time he went the distance was in his
Dana White's Contender Series win last year, where he came from
behind after getting rocked and nearly submitted in the first
round.

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