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Justin Gaethje prefers Conor McGregor fight over avenging losses: ‘Fun to shut him up’

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18 hours ago

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Justin Gaethje prefers Conor McGregor fight over avenging losses: ‘Fun to shut him up’

Justin Gaethje isn't sure when he'll defend his title next, or against whom, but he knows it would be a lot of fun to throw down with Conor McGregor.

Following an incredible upset victory over the previously undefeated Ilia Topuria at UFC White House to become lightweight champion, Gaethje is calling the shots, and he's taking his time figuring out his next move. Speaking to Paramount+, Gaethje was asked if he'd be interested in running it back with any of his old rivals, but ruled out avenging his past two losses to Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira despite both stars being in the title picture.

Instead, he tossed out the possibility of silencing McGregor, who had a disappointing return to the octagon this past July when he suffered a major knee injury just 19 seconds into his comeback fight against Holloway at UFC 329. Gaethje used some MMA math to explain why he doesn't feel the need to even the score past foes.

“Damn, there's really no one,†Gaethje said. “It would have been Oliveira or Holloway, but since Topuria beat them, I'm going to go ahead and justify it to myself like I got them back.

“So I guess McGregor. Fun to shut him up.â€

Prior to defeating Topuria, Gaethje had won the interim lightweight title twice and the “BMF†belt, but fell short in two previous attempts to become an undisputed UFC champion. The third time proved to be the charm and now Gaethje finds himself in unfamiliar territory as the hunted, not the hunter.

“It's such a weird place to be in,†Gaethje said. “There's always been a champion, I've always had somebody to chase. Now, being the champion, it's like I just have to retain and hold onto what I have. I'm not looking at specific opponents, I know the best in the world are gunning for me. So that is the name of the game. I know that it's going to be one of the best guys in the world.

“Arman [Tsarukyan] was fighting Oliveira, now he's fighting someone else, so there's a couple of big fights that are going to determine who I'll fight next.â€

Tsarukyan fights Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 on Sept. 19 with a title shot potentially on the line. The Armenian standout has said he plans to claim the title and break Islam Makhachev's UFC record of four consecutive lightweight championship defenses.

Gaethje's next title defense won't be until 2027 due to him still recovering from hand injuries suffered in the Topuria fight, so the landscape could shift considerably in his absence. When he comes back, he's not making any assurances about whether it will mark his final fight or not.

“So I have put all that on paper, and I still need to continue to fill out the pros and cons, but ultimately I am in the fight until I'm not in the fight,†Gaethje said. “Inside me, I feel like a fight is just as potential as it has always been, but I really rely on my team and my family to make these choices.

“When I retire? I have no idea. How many I have left? I have no idea. It's been one at a time since Day 1. I'm going to continue to take it like that and trust in my team to have a conversation with me when they need to.â€

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MMA

Gregory Rodrigues admits glove grab, denies cheating vs. Anthony Hernandez

Published

10 minutes ago

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September 3, 2026

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Gregory Rodrigues admits glove grab, denies cheating vs. Anthony Hernandez
Gregory
Rodrigues has dismissed Anthony
Hernandez's cheating claims.

Rodrigues recently defeated Hernandez by decision in a five-round
middleweight bout in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship, which earned Fight of the Night
honors. Hernandez later accused Rodrigues of grabbing his gloves
during grappling exchanges in the
UFC Sacramento headliner. Rodrigues, however, claims it was
inadvertent and had no bearing on the outcome.

Gregory Rodrigues says his glove grab against Anthony Hernandez
was inadvertent and had no impact on the fight

Rodrigues spoke to Sherdog about the cheating allegations that
emerged in the aftermath of his last bout. While ‘Robocop' admits
that he mistakenly grabbed Hernandez's glove in one instance in the
heat of the moment, he says he immediately let it go when his
opponent pointed it out.

“There was no cheating,†Rodrigues said. “It happened in the heat
of the moment while we were against the fence and as soon as he
pointed it out, I let go. It wasn't something that stopped a
takedown or had any decisive impact on the fight.â€

Rodrigues also claims Hernandez knows the incident did not affect
the result and noted that the two fighters later crossed paths,
even taking a photograph together. The Brazilian hopes to train
with the American as well.

“I have nothing but respect for this guy and I hope we can train
together again in the future,†Rodrigues added.

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MMA

Michael Page slams ‘entitlement issues’ among top UFC welterweights

Published

1 hour ago

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September 3, 2026

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Michael Page slams ‘entitlement issues’ among top UFC welterweights
Michael
Page grew tired of waiting around at welterweight.

The former Bellator
star recently explained his reasoning for accepting fights at
middleweight in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship ahead of his Octagon return
against Nursulton
Ruziboev at
UFC Paris.

Michael Page explains why UFC welterweight title-shot tactics
pushed him toward middleweight

Page is 4-1 in the UFC, with his lone defeat in the promotion
coming against the last challenger for the 170-pound title,
Ian
Garry. However, odd bookings followed the loss to Garry, with
the Englishman taking on middleweights Sharabutdin
Magomedov and Jared
Cannonier before dropping back down to welterweight to fight
unranked compatriot Sam
Patterson in a lackluster bout.

Page claims top-ranked welterweights would rather wait around for a
title shot than fight him, prompting the move back up to 185
pounds.

“Everyone at welterweight is, I’m trying to be polite here,†Page
said in a recent interview. “I feel like there’s too many people
wasting time at welterweight at the moment. Too many people with
entitlement issues… They believe that they should be the next in
line. And so, they’re going to wait and this and that. I don’t have
the patience for that.â€

Page acknowledged that winning a championship remains the ultimate
objective, but doesn’t believe fighters should be so calculated
about which matchups to accept.

“Everyone’s goal is the belt, but there’s no need to be this
tactical about it,†Page said. “And there’s like seven people being
tactical about it. It’s annoying. So, I just said, I’ll go the
tougher route and just move up a weight.â€

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MMA

Marlon Vera made difficult change to avoid one regret at end of UFC career

Published

3 hours ago

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September 3, 2026

By

Marlon Vera made difficult change to avoid one regret at end of UFC career
Marlon
Vera doesn't want to live with regret, but admits his coaching
change was a tough decision.

Vera (23-12-1) is scheduled to fight Charles
Jourdain (18-8) on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The former title challenger recently revealed that he is no longer
working with his longtime striking coach Jason Parillo. He claims
the split was amicable, but something had to change to halt his
losing streak in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Marlon Vera explains why he left Jason Parillo before UFC
331

Vera says it was hard to part ways with Parillo as they didn't have
any problems with each other since initially linking up in 2018.
“Chito†didn't want to get to the end of his career and wonder
whether it would’ve played out differently if he had made the
change.

“I was trying to figure out what I need, what is not getting me to
win these close decisions,†Vera told Ariel Helwani. “It was a
pretty hard decision because we didn't have a problem or nothing
bad happened. I was just like, what can I do moving forward to give
myself a chance to kill this bad streak? And I just told myself, ‘I
don't want my career to go to the very end and then question what
if I had made a change.'â€

Vera has now joined the team of fellow UFC bantamweight Raul Rosas
Jr. Vera's own gym is the base for the new team, with Rosas
Jr.'s father handling management. He has also brought back his old
wrestling and kickboxing coaches.

“Eventually, I kind of merged into Rosas Jr.'s team,†Vera added.
“And now we use my gym as headquarters for all of us… Right now,
his dad handles times and training. They already have a full team
— a kickboxing coach, a wrestling coach; both are from Russia. I
also brought back my old wrestling coach and kickboxing coach.â€

Vera is now looking to end a four-fight slump at UFC
331.

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