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

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17 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

Michael Page slams ‘entitlement issues’ among top UFC welterweights

Published

6 minutes 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

2 hours ago

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September 3, 2026

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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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Gable Steveson's UFC 331 opponent blasts 'rapist' in social media tirade

Published

13 hours ago

on

September 2, 2026

By

Gable Steveson's UFC 331 opponent blasts 'rapist' in social media tirade
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Pros react after Islam Makhachev defeats Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330
Credit: Ian Maule/Getty

UFC heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson's upcoming opponent went off on the Olympic gold medalist ahead of UFC 331.

Rising UFC heavyweight star Gable Steveson will make his second appearance in the Octagon later this month at UFC 331 in Los Angeles. Steveson, UFC legend Jon Jones' protege, earned a vicious knockout win in his highly anticipated debut at UFC 329.

Steveson will face a surprising name in his UFC 331 return: 0-2 heavyweight Sean Sharaf. Sharaf, 4-2-0 overall in his Mixed Martial Arts career, will look to earn his first UFC win after back-to-back losses to Junior Tafa and Steven Asplund.

Ahead of UFC 331, Steveson has collaborated with social media influencer Nina Drama multiple times. This has allowed UFC fans to get more insight into Steveson's personality and life outside of fighting.

But Sharaf is perplexed why Nina Drama and the UFC would push to promote Steveson after past legal issues.

Sean Sharaf defames Gable Steveson in vicious social media tirade ahead of UFC 331

In a recent Instagram comment, heavyweight Sean Sharaf scorched the UFC's repeated promotion of Steveson despite his controversial past.

“This is like the 4th collab they do with him; what's up with that UFC?†Sharaf said of Steveson.

“Guess Marines aren't worthy of interviews, just rapists.â€

Sharaf is referencing Steveson's 2019 arrest at the University of Minnesota on suspicion of sexual assault. He was subsequently suspended from wrestling team activities, but he and a teammate didn't face charges due to insufficient evidence.

Steveson and his legal team vehemently denied the allegations.

As of this writing, Steveson hasn't responded to Sharaf's Instagram comment. The Olympic gold medalist remains unbeaten in his MMA career after four straight wins to begin his time in the cage.

Expect things between Steveson and Sharaf to continue to get testy ahead of one of the biggest cards of the year at UFC 331.

What is your prediction for Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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