Former two-division UFC champion Jon Jones struck a somber tone in his reaction to Conor McGregor's disastrous comeback.
Conor McGregor's latest comeback attempt ended in disaster after he suffered a right leg injury just seconds into his return at UFC 329. Former BMF titleholder Max Holloway ended up winning the fight by TKO after McGregor was unable to continue competing following the injury.
Despite the shocking setback at UFC 329, McGregor wants to return to the Octagon once he's fully recovered from his injury. He has one fight left on his UFC contract before he'll be eligible for free agency.
McGregor and former two-division champion Jon Jones have dealt with many speed bumps and controversies outside of the Octagon during their careers. Jones, who sat cageside as McGregor entered the Octagon at UFC 329, believes the path that McGregor takes after this latest setback will determine his future.
Jon Jones relates to Conor McGregor's struggles outside of MMA after disastrous UFC 329 return
In a recent interview with Ring Magazine, Jones reacted to McGregor's disastrous return and advised him on how to handle the aftermath of his injury.
“Conor has been publicly leaning on [Christianity]. And I feel as if when you're trying to resist the world, and walk that narrow path, I feel like one of the steps is…being asked how bad do you want it?†Jones said of McGregor.
“When you're publicly talking about your love for God, and then you turn around and get injured, it would be really easy to go back to the bar with rage and animosity. So far, what I've seen from Conor is that he's still [faithful], and that shows me a lot about his character…I've lost family members, I've embarrassed myself, and every time something goes wrong, I always give grace back to God. So that's one of the ways I look at Conor's story: can you hold true when the whole world is laughing at you? And so far, he's holding true.
“That means a lot to see that,†Jones continued. “Conor has already won. He has an opportunity to change so many lives in so many different ways. He's a really great example of how humans can be so imperfect, but so unique and special at the same time. I just hope he doesn't give up and that he continues to let his light shine.â€
Another UFC legend disagrees with Jones' comments about McGregor's leaning on his religion. Former UFC champion TJ Dillashaw believes McGregor's newfound faith could hinder his chances at a successful UFC comeback.
Do you think Jon Jones and Conor McGregor will fight in the UFC again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Jena
Bishop has an
Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer helping her
prepare for the biggest fight of her career.
The
Professional Fighters League recently shared a photo showing
Bishop training with Ronda
Rousey ahead of the former's rematch with Liz
Carmouche for the inaugural PFL women’s flyweight
championship.
Jena Bishop challenges Liz Carmouche for the inaugural PFL
women's flyweight championship after training with Ronda
Rousey
Bishop will face Carmouche in the main event of
PFL Chicago on Oct. 16 at Wintrust Arena. The bout will crown
the promotion’s first women’s flyweight champion and mark its first
new title since the PFL’s merger with
Most Valuable Promotions.
The clash is a rematch of last year’s PFL women’s flyweight
tournament final. Carmouche stopped Bishop in the third round of
that meeting, but the latter has since rebounded with victories
over Borena
Tsertsvadze and Ariane
Lipski da Silva. Carmouche enters following a submission win
over Viviane
Araujo in June.
Rousey, who became the face of women’s MMA during her UFC run, also
has a history with Carmouche, having defeated her at UFC
157 in 2013, in the first defense of her UFC women’s
bantamweight title and her Octagon debut.
Umar
Nurmagomedov expects a difficult test when he meets Yadong Song
in their upcoming main event in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Nurmagomedov is looking to extend his win streak to three straight
at
UFC Shanghai and the Russian is well aware of the challenge
ahead of him in China's Song.
Umar Nurmagomedov expects a difficult UFC Shanghai main event
against Yadong Song
Nurmagomedov has picked up two decision wins since suffering the
lone loss of his professional career to Merab
Dvalishvili in their bantamweight title fight back in January
last year. He's beaten Mario
Bautista and Deiveson
Figueiredo via unanimous decision to return to winning form and
defeating Song in the Chinese 135-pounder's home country could put
the Dagestani back in the title mix.
Nevertheless, Nurmagomedov is focused on the task at hand against a
well-rounded opponent and isn't thinking about the title.
“Of course, I’m going to be happy to do a knockout, you know, but
this guy is not an easy fight,†Nurmagomedov said in a recent
interview. “And I will, I will, we both, I think, we’re going to
show what they mean by mixed martial arts.â€
Nurmagomedov also emphasized that his motivation extends beyond the
title picture. With Petr Yan and
Dvalishvili set to meet in a trilogy bout for the belt at
UFC 333, the 30-year-old is focused on delivering his best
performance regardless of what happens elsewhere in the
division.
“Of course, I want to show my best version,†Nurmagomedov added. “I
don’t care about that fight, whether they’re going to fight or not,
like, for myself, I want to show my best version.â€
“For myself, I want to show my best
version.”
With the bantamweight title on the line in a few months, Umar
Nurmagomedov (@UNmgdv) wants to
put on an impressive performance at
#UFCShanghai
Fight by Fight Preview âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/JeUnGYBzaq pic.twitter.com/B0wYHMbxS1
Umar
Nurmagomedov is targeting a rematch with Merab
Dvalishvili.
Nurmagomedov suffered the first loss of his professional career
when Dvalishvili defeated him by unanimous decision in January last
year in their
Ultimate Fighting Championship title bout. The Russian is eager
to run it back with “The Machine†and wants to fight him next,
regardless of the outcome of the latter’s
UFC 333 title fight against Petr Yan.
Umar Nurmagomedov wants revenge against Merab Dvalishvili after
facing Yadong Song at UFC Shanghai
The tension between Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili has only grown
since their first meeting. The former is set to face Yadong Song
at
UFC Shanghai on Aug. 29, and while he's focused on his upcoming
bout, the Dagestani wants revenge for his loss to the former
champ.
“First of all, of course I have to win this fight,†Nurmagomedov
told MMA Junkie. “Then I will fight with Merab, if he will win or
if he will lose, I think we’re going to fight.â€
Dvalishvili notably questioned whether Nurmagomedov had earned a
title shot in the first place before their clash and has repeatedly
pointed to favoritism aiding the Russian, with Umar being the
cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib
Nurmagomedov.
The rivalry took another turn after Dvalishvili was involved in an
altercation with Nurmagomedov’s friend, Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, at a
recent Real American Freestyle event in Georgia. When asked if
their feud is personal, Nurmagomedov confirmed the same.
“Is it personal? I think yes,†Nurmagomedov continued. “Already
yes. Now it’s personal. Now it’s personal not just for me. It’s
personal for all of Dagestan.â€
Looking for a rematch, no matter what
happens next😳 pic.twitter.com/SU5xBDjoB9
— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
August 25, 2026