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Conor McGregor's "sad" UFC 329 comeback not watched live by fellow 2 division Irish MMA titleholder

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Conor McGregor's "sad" UFC 329 comeback not watched live by fellow 2 division Irish MMA titleholder

Conor McGregor's return at 2026's International Fight Week ended in an inauspicious fashion with a fellow two-division MMA champion from Ireland weighing in on the UFC 329 fallout. Will Fleury is the combatant in question, and Oktagon's heavyweight champion will be embarking on his first OKMMA light heavyweight title defense. This will transpire at Oktagon 92 on August 1st when Fleury clashes with ex-UFC vet Makhmud Muradov.

Fleury has previously spoken about how the perception of MMA in Ireland has been at a low point for years, with McGregor's presence in the game casting this massive shadow over how people on the Emerald Isle see mixed martial arts as a whole. Offering up his thoughts on his combative compatriot's short-lived return bout from earlier in the month as McGregor had his rematch with Max Holloway, Fleury said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“Yeah, look, it's kind of sad the way the whole thing went for everybody involved. I think; look like to most Irish people, Conor is MMA. Most Irish people aren't very supportive of that at the moment and I can understand why. So it's a weird place to be, being an Irish fighter right now. You obviously want to support other Irish fighters, but when you're aware of some of the things that are going on around it, it's just like this isn't martial arts.â€

Conor McGregor's performance was “just sadâ€, per Fleury: “This isn't what martial arts should be aboutâ€

Further expounding upon how he thinks Conor McGregor has strayed from those core tenets of martial arts representation, Fleury continued [via Bowks Talking Bouts],

“This isn't what martial arts should be about. So, I'm in a position where I don't want to see anyone fail, but like it was; I didn't stay up to watch the fight. I got up the next morning and just saw the result online. It was just like, oh, okay, that's a bit sad. You know, I would still like to have seen a good fight. I still would have liked to have seen a decent performance from everybody involved, but whatever. It's just the whole thing is just sad to me, to be honest.â€

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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MMA

10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style

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10 UFC wins, zero finishes: Movsar Evloev defends his fighting style
Movsar
Evloev rejects the notion that fans only want bloody
fights.

Evloev is scheduled to challenge Alexander
Volkanovski for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Russian
challenger has won all 10 of his UFC bouts by decision but believes
fans appreciate his fighting style.

Movsar Evloev argues wrestling can entertain UFC fans ahead of
Volkanovski title fight

The recent departures of Michael
Page and Farid
Basharat have fueled debate about whether winning is enough to
secure a new UFC contract. Neither fighter was re-signed despite a
winning streak, though a lack of finishes has not been established
as the reason for either departure.

Evloev believes finishes are not the only measure of a fighter's
value. He says fans also appreciate tactics, skill and
wrestling.

“I have zero finishes in UFC, but I'm still in the UFC and I'm
fighting for the title,†Evloev told MMA Fighting. “That means only
finishes are not important. To show a good fight is also important.
If you have no finish, you can still show a good fight, an exciting
fight; you can show the beauty of wrestling. There are not just
fans of MMA who just wait for blood. There are so many good fans
who know MMA, and they understand, and maybe because of them I'm
still in the UFC.â€

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MMA

Morning Report | Chris Weidman, Dustin Poirier recall opponents’ dramatic change from weigh-in to fight night: ‘Who the f*ck is this guy?’

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Morning Report | Chris Weidman, Dustin Poirier recall opponents’ dramatic change from weigh-in to fight night: ‘Who the f*ck is this guy?’

What’s up best community in sports? Hope you’re having a great start to the week.

Tomorrow (later than usual), we’re going LIVE with a special Between the Links episode. I’ll be in Las Vegas, and joining me will be the great José Youngs to answer your questions about UFC 333, the two title fights, RAF 14, and much more.

Here’s your chance to get your questions in, early and often. Show will go live around 6-6:30-ish p.m. ET, depending on my fun day of travel. Fire away, and we’ll see you tomorrow.

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MMA

Alexander Volkanovski predicts wild finish of 20-0 Movsar Evloev

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Alexander Volkanovski predicts 'wild' finish of 20-0 Movsar Evloev
Alexander
Volkanovski is brimming with confidence ahead of his next title
defense.

Volkanovski (28-4) is scheduled to defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight title against
Movsar
Evloev (20-0) at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The Australian
champion believes he can deliver a career-best performance against
the undefeated Russian.

Alexander Volkanovski doubts Movsar Evloev can outgrapple him
for 25 minutes at UFC 333

Evloev has won all 10 of his UFC bouts by decision, but Volkanovski
doubts the challenger can outgrapple him for five rounds. “The
Great†believes Evloev would need to catch him with a decisive
strike to win.

“Trying to outgrapple me for 25 minutes, I can't see it,â€
Volkanovski told MMA Junkie. “I believe that the only chance that
any of these guys have is for them to catch me… If he thinks he can
beat me by decision or he thinks he can outgrapple me, I'm sure
he's gonna try, we'll see. I'm just very confident in my skills and
the fighter I still am… I think I can do it in pretty wild fashion.
I believe I can get a finish. I believe I can do it inside five… A
lot of people are going to go say after this fight, ‘Is that the
best Volk we’ve ever seen?'â€

Volkanovski first won the title against Max
Holloway in 2019 and defended it five times before losing to
Ilia
Topuria in 2024. He reclaimed the vacant championship against
Diego
Lopes last year after Topuria moved up to lightweight, then
defended it in their rematch in January.

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