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Arman Tsarukyan praises Conor McGregor as a ‘GOAT in our sport’ but his career is over: ‘I feel like Conor is done’

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Arman Tsarukyan praises Conor McGregor as a ‘GOAT in our sport’ but his career is over: ‘I feel like Conor is done’

Conor McGregor has faced a mountain of criticism after his comeback to the UFC following a five year layoff ended with a devastating knee injury just 66 seconds into the fight.

Ever since UFC 329 ended, McGregor has stated rather emphatically that he plans to compete again, although there are more than a few skeptics doubting that he'll ever make another return to action. For his part, top ranked UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan obviously understands McGregor's desire but he just doesn't see how or why the former two-division UFC champion would fight again.

Add to that, Tsarukyan actually praised McGregor for everything he's already accomplished in the sport so a comeback at this stage just doesn't make much sense to him.

“Conor, unfortunately he got [an] injury during the fight or maybe before the fight and he couldn't perform very well,†Tsarukyan told MMA Fighting ahead of RAF 11. “I feel like Conor is done. He's got to just focus on his business. He did a lot for this sport, for the UFC especially, and he's like a GOAT in our sport. Because of him, a lot of people are watching the UFC.

“He changed the game but time to leave. Or UFC got to give him easy fights, not like Holloway or someone.â€

Of course, McGregor already said he wants a third fight with Holloway when he's recovered from the upcoming surgery on his knee but there's no telling if or when that might happen.

Whether McGregor ever fights again or not really doesn't affect Tsarukyan because he's not chasing that kind of matchup but rather he's steadfast in his pursuit to become UFC lightweight champion.

By all accounts, Tsarukyan should be considered the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds but he's yet to compete in a title fight in the UFC. In his only opportunity, Tsarukyan suffered a freak fight week injury that knocked him out of a scheduled bout against then champion Islam Makhachev.

But with Justin Gaethje now reigning over the division, Tsarukyan would love the chance to challenge for that belt, although it doesn't sound like that's what the UFC has planned for him next.

“UFC's got to give me a fight,†Tsarukyan said. “That's why I'm flying to Vegas and they have a date, I have a name, we've just go to confirm on Monday. I'm ready to rock ‘n' roll. It's going to be a good fight, exciting fight and the best place to fight for me.â€

Tsarukyan wouldn't tease his potential opponent or when he'll fight again but it appears his time away from the UFC is about to come to an end.

Whether the title shot is next or not, Tsarukyan made it clear that remains his sole objective in the UFC and he plans on wrapping gold around his waist — hopefully sooner than later.

“I want to be a champion at 155 and I want to defend that belt as much as possible,†Tsarukyan said. “My goal is to be the best ever lightweight. I'm not looking to go up or down. I feel like I can be the best, I just don't want to be a UFC champion. I want to be the best UFC champion in lightweight division ever.â€

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UFC adds four more Meta Apex events to 2026 schedule

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UFC adds four more Meta Apex events to 2026 schedule
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has added four more Meta Apex
events to its 2026 schedule.

The Nevada Athletic Commission has approved permits for UFC events
on Sept. 29, Oct. 10, Oct. 31 and Nov. 7 at its venue. The Sept. 29
and Nov. 7 cards already have main events, with the headliners for
the two October cards yet to be announced.

Rosas Jr.-Barcelos and Brady-Bonfim are set to headline two
upcoming UFC Fight Nights

Raoni
Barcelos is set to face Raul Rosas
Jr. at
UFC Fight Night 289 on Sept. 29. The matchup pits an MMA
veteran against one of the brightest up-and-coming prospects in the
sport.

The main events for the UFC
Fight Night on Oct. 10 and the UFC
Fight Night on Oct. 31 haven't been announced as yet, but
multiple undercard fights on the cards have been revealed.

Some of the fights scheduled for the Oct. 10 card include Andre Fili
vs. Kai Kamaka
III, Lupita
Godinez vs. Ketlen
Souza, Malcolm
Wellmaker vs. Otari
Tanzilovi and Matheus
Camilo vs. Jai
Herbert, among others. Bouts slated for the undercard of the
Oct. 31 event include Julian
Erosa vs. Jeong Yeong
Lee, Francis
Marshall vs. Gaston
Bolanos, Yana Santos
vs. Luana
Santos and Andre
Petroski vs. Azamat
Bekoev, among others.

The
Nov. 7 UFC Fight Night will be headlined by Gabriel
Bonfim vs. Sean Brady,
a pivotal welterweight clash.

Should these events complete the UFC’s Meta Apex schedule for the
year, the promotion will have staged 12 events at the venue in
2026, just as they did last year.

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Claressa Shields: Cris Cyborg turned down $2 million to fight me at 154 pounds

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Claressa Shields: Cris Cyborg turned down $2 million to fight me at 154 pounds
Claressa
Shields has revealed why a boxing bout against Cris
Cyborg fell through.

During a recent interview, Shields discussed a previous offer for
the proposed Cyborg fight, which the Brazilian allegedly turned
down.

Shields says a sparring session changed her relationship with
Cris Cyborg

Shields claims Cyborg turned down a $2 million offer to box her,
despite them being on good terms.

“But as far as Cris, she turned $2 million already back when a guy
from Saudi had $3 million for her,†Shields told TMZ Sports. “Well,
$3 million for me and $2 million for her and we could [do that at]
154 [pounds]. She turned it down and that’s back when we were
cool.â€

The American now claims that they aren't on good terms, speculating
that the bad blood stems from a previous training session, which
Shields claims to have dominated.

“Right now, she got all this, ‘Oh, she don’t like me,'†Shields
added. “I think she don’t like me because I whooped her a*s in
sparring. That’s what happened. She got like this edited clip that
she begged me to let her and her team put together. But I had every
round when we sparred and I know for a fact she was a deer in
headlights. I beat her. Yeah. Yes. It was easy work.â€

Shields recently finished Kay Scott to win the WBA and WBC female
middleweight titles, while Cyborg beat Ketlen
Vieira in his last mixed martial arts bout in the
Professional Fighters League.

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MMA

UFC’s newest fighter had a 7:30 a.m. work call following historic upset

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UFC’s newest fighter had a 7:30 a.m. work call following historic upset
Alex
Apodaca has little time to celebrate the biggest win of her
career.

Apodaca pulled off the biggest upset in
Dana White's Contender Series history on Aug. 25, earning an

Ultimate Fighting Championship contract after defeating heavily
favored Bella Mir
over three rounds. When asked how she plans to celebrate the major
victory, Apodaca said that she has a day job obligation scheduled
for the next morning.

Alex Apodaca plans to keep accounting job after upsetting Bella
Mir on DWCS

Despite beating Mir and pulling off the biggest upset in DWCS
history, the 32-year-old bantamweight won’t be stepping away from
her day job just yet. Apodaca revealed after the fight that she had
an early morning commitment at her accounting firm.

“I am gonna party my *ss off, but I have work in the morning. I
have a call at like 7:30 a.m.,†Apodaca said at the post-fight
presser following
Week 3 of DWCS Season 10.

Apodaca works full-time as a consultant at an accounting firm, a
career she plans to maintain despite signing with the UFC.

“I actually don't think I'm just gonna quit,†she added. “I think
I'm gonna keep doing it. I like using my brain, so I'm gonna keep
doing it.â€

Balancing the two careers has not always been easy, particularly
around fight camps and weight cuts, but Apodaca credited her
co-workers and bosses for supporting her MMA career.

“They've been very supportive. I have so much gratitude towards
them for that,†Apodaca said. “I'll be on video calls with a black
eye and they are totally just used to it now. It's the coolest
thing ever to have that amount of support from all the people in my
life, especially the folks I work for.â€

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