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Israel Adesanya wants top 5 ranking for Navajo Stirling following sensational UFC Belgrade finish: "Another day in the office"

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Israel Adesanya wants top 5 ranking for Navajo Stirling following sensational UFC Belgrade finish: "Another day in the office"

Israel Adesanya believes Navajo Stirling is due for a significant boost in the rankings.

Stirling was featured on the UFC Belgrade card this past Saturday. He was matched up against his most notable opponent to date. Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz, who holds a win over Adesanya, was standing across from Stirling on fight night. While Blachowicz was hoping to end his winless drought, Stirling had other ideas. The rising New Zealand star delivered a first-round TKO finish to improve his unbeaten record to 11-0.

With the impressive victory, Adesanya reacted on his YouTube channel by calling for Stirling to be placed in the top five rankings at 205 pounds (h/t MMAJunkie).

“He just got back from Japan last fight, takes this fight on short notice against a former champion, and smokes the dude – absolutely smokes him,†Adesanya said. “I'm still in awe. I'm still in awe. Just the whole thing, the walkout, when he steps into the octagon, he just looked so relaxed. There was a sequence in there where he just looked relaxed. He wasn't panicking, even when he got popped with that jab and his nose started bleeding. He stayed composed. You're watching it, and I know the guy, I'm just like, ‘He's relaxed. He's chill.' He fought so recently. Another day in the office. Another good day in the office for Navajo Stirling. No one has ever done that before to Jan until today. Top five. Put my man in the top five. Hurry up. And $100 Gs.â€

Stirling's first three fights under the UFC banner were unanimous decision wins, while his last three outings have resulted in TKO victories. Some believe Stirling continues to get better every time he steps inside the Octagon, and he might be the spark the light heavyweight division needs. Whether or not he can live up to the hype as the competition gets tougher will be a story to watch in the coming months and years.

Is Navajo Stirling ready for top five competition? What do you think his ceiling is at 205 pounds? Chime in with your opinion below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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MMA

Dana White confirms he remains involved in Las Vegas NBA expansion bid

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Dana White confirms he remains involved in Las Vegas NBA expansion bid
Dana
White remains involved in discussions surrounding a potential
NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas.

The
Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO was asked about the NBA
potentially expanding to Las Vegas and whether he remains involved
with a prospective ownership group during Tuesday's
Dana White's Contender Series post-fight press conference.

UFC CEO Dana White says he remains involved with a prospective
ownership group tied to NBA expansion in Las Vegas

White previously acknowledged that he had been approached about
potentially becoming part of an ownership group connected to a Las
Vegas NBA expansion effort. When asked for an update following
reports that the NBA is reviewing finalist bids for a potential Las
Vegas franchise, White simply said, “Yes.â€

ESPN reported that the NBA is reviewing bids
for a potential Las Vegas expansion franchise. The bids reportedly
value the franchise and arena proposals at between $12 billion and
$13 billion. The three finalist groups are led by Nancy Walton
Laurie and Bill Laurie; Steve Apostolopoulos and Marc Lasry; and
Bill Foley and Jerry Colangelo.

White has attended several NBA games and is a fan of the Boston
Celtics. He is also close friends with Celtics head coach Joe
Mazzulla.

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MMA

Ilia Topuria is back in the gym after brutal Justin Gaethje loss

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Ilia Topuria is back in the gym after brutal Justin Gaethje loss
Ilia
Topuria is back in the gym.

The former
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight and lightweight
titleholder recently shared photos of himself hitting mitts on
Instagram with the caption, “Back to the office.â€

Ilia Topuria resumes full training after receiving medical
clearance following his loss to Justin Gaethje

The post comes after Topuria announced earlier this month that he
had completed medical testing and was cleared to return to full
training. He suffered his first professional loss against Justin
Gaethje at
UFC Freedom 250 in June. Topuria has said he sustained
significant facial damage during the bout that severely compromised
his vision.

His corner ultimately stopped the fight after the fourth round.

Topuria has remained vocal about the result since receiving medical
clearance. In announcing that he had been cleared, Topuria called
for a rematch with Gaethje and accused the American of illegally
loading his gloves.

A rematch with Gaethje has been rumored, as has a grudge match with
Paddy
Pimblett.

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MMA

Marvin Vettori makes major change following 4 straight UFC losses

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Marvin Vettori makes major change following 4 straight UFC losses
Marvin
Vettori has changed things up in an attempt to snap his losing
streak.

Vettori (19-10) has lost four fights in a row in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship and is scheduled to face
Ismail
Naurdiev (25-8) at UFC
332 on Oct. 3 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Italian
recently revealed that he has parted ways with
American Top Team and returned to
Kings MMA.

Beneil Dariush takes over as Vettori’s head coach ahead of UFC
332

While Vettori has no complaints about ATT, he believes the gym
wasn't getting the best out of him. The former title challenger has
returned to his roots in California, where he trained during his
ascent through the middleweight ranks. While the Kings MMA team he
previously trained with no longer exists in the same form, Vettori
said he is now training with Beneil
Dariush as his head coach.

“I made some changes… I'm back in California,†Vettori told MMA
Fighting. “I had to find myself again and I did. I feel good. I’m
actually excited to fight… I went back to my roots and went back to
what made me the fighter who won five in a row and fought for the
title… ATT, I've got nothing but great things to say. I feel like
it wasn't getting the best out of me… [My new team] is not Kings
MMA like the one that was before; that doesn't even exist anymore.
I have been training with Beneil Dariush as a head coach. And I
went back to my boxing coach, my S&C coach.â€

Vettori trained at Kings MMA from 2015 to 2022 before a brief stint
at
Xtreme Couture. “The Italian Dream†then moved to Florida in
2023 to train at ATT.

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