Cormier calls for new 165-pound title for McGregor-Chandler
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April 23: Cormier says McGregor-Chandler should be for 165-pound title
Andreas Hale: Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler are finally set to meet in the Octagon at UFC 303 on June 29. While the fight is massive on its own, Daniel Cormier believes something should be added to take it to another level.
And that something is introducing a new championship in a new weight class.
“I believe that if they’re going to do a 165-pound division, it should have a name attached to the weight class that is so big that it draws people’s attention,” Cormier said on Good Guy/Bad Guy opposite Chael Sonnen. “Conor McGregor being that name. Michael Chandler, on the other hand, will benefit from being in the right place at the right time, where these guys would then fight for the super lightweight championship of the world, because that’s what I believe it is. Because it’s only 10 pounds heavier than 155, so let’s call it the super lightweight division. Move 170 to 175, move 185 to 195, keep 205, [keep] heavyweight.”
The idea of introducing another weight class between 155 pounds and 170 pounds has been a talking point amongst fans, fighters and pundits for years. Plenty of fighters have complained about the 15-pound jump between lightweight and welterweight, which has left many fighters too small for welterweight but too large for lightweight. The 155-pound division has long had abundant talent and could benefit from adding a new division.
Sonnen disagrees entirely with the idea of introducing a new division.
“There is no need for a 165-pound title, for one,” Sonnen said. “Part two, the commission does not sanction 165-pound fights. Part three, the UFC does not contest a 165-pound division. Part four, these guys [McGregor and Chandler] combined are coming off of more losses than I have had in my entire career.”
McGregor and Chandler coached opposite of each other on The Ultimate Fighter 31 in early 2023 and have been penciled in for a fight since then. However, a litany of false starts over the past year put the future of the showdown in question. The fight finally came together and was announced following UFC 300.
McGregor is 1-3 in his last four fights over the past five years. He broke his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 and has not competed since then. Chandler is also 2-4 in his UFC career but has been far more active than McGregor over the past half-decade. He, too, is coming off of a loss to Poirier in November 2022 and hasn’t fought while awaiting a fight date for his blockbuster showdown with McGregor.
Dana White has long opposed introducing a new division, and it would be hard to justify a championship fight between two fighters with a combined record of 2-6 in their eight fights.
April 22: Jiří Procházka…the middleweight?
Hale: Jiří Procházka already has plans to change weight classes.
The former UFC light heavyweight champion has thrust himself back into the title picture with a knockout victory over Alexander Rakic at UFC 300. Before long, Procházka could find himself in a rematch with the man who defeated him for the title, Alex Pereira. However, should he be able to reclaim the championship he lost by knockout last November, Prochazka, 31, is eyeballing to move down to middleweight to pursue the gold as a 185-pound fighter.
The revelation came from Procházka’s official YouTube channel, where he was asked about the possibility of moving to heavyweight.
“Rather than heavyweight, I thought I’d try middleweight because of the way I feel my metabolism now and the way my body works in preparation,” Procházka said. “So, I know that if I adjust my diet to where I really feel great and clean, I know I could handle the middleweight with some lighter diet.”
Procházka also revealed that he has signed a new deal with the UFC, so he will have plenty of time to adjust to a new weight class.
“It’s an eight-fight, forty-month contract, I think,” Procházka said.
But Procházka did want to clarify that none of this matters if he cannot regain the 205-pound title.
“I would definitely concentrate on that after winning the light heavyweight title,” he said. “But this is all future stuff. I’m just focusing on what I need to do right now.”
Standing at six-feet-four-inches, Procházka is far from a small light heavyweight. But it’s not shocking that a fighter with such a unique persona as Prochazka would attempt a downshift in divisions. Given the current landscape at middleweight, with the title changing hands in four consecutive championship fights since November 2022, it’s likely that Procházka would immediately factor into the title picture upon his arrival.
With an 80-inch reach to go along with his tall frame, he would have a significant height and reach advantage over everyone not named Israel Adesanya. Also, the upper crust of the division features fighters who all focus heavily on striking, and Procházka would fit right in with that current crop of competitors. That is, until Khamzat Chimaev enters the fray should he defeat former champion Robert Whittaker on June 22.
April 20: Will a Bellator fighter win a PFL title this season?
Brett Okamoto: The first half of 2024 PFL regular season is in the books. During the first set of matchups, we saw former champions, returning contenders and plenty of new faces. Here are my biggest questions looking ahead to the second half of the season.
Who’s next for Dakota Ditcheva?
I’m all in on Dakota Ditcheva. She has all the makings of a superstar. That said, it’s very early for her. A loss wouldn’t derail her but obviously, wins are good for a budding star. That makes me really curious who the PFL will give her in a second-round matchup.
Liz Carmouche has no chance against Ditcheva. Taila Santos, no. Julianna Velasquez, I doubt it. I’m guessing Chelsea Hackett or Kana Watanabe, with a hedged bet of Jena Bishop or Shanna Young. I don’t think the PFL will give her the most favorable matchup, but I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with the promotion wanting to send her into the playoffs with confidence.
Who will take the No. 1 seed at light heavyweight?
Light heavyweight is the most interesting division in the PFL this year. I couldn’t be more impressed with Impa Kasanganay. If you’re not watching Kasanganay right now, do yourself a favor and start tuning in. He’s carrying himself like a champion after winning it all in 2023, and it’s been fantastic to watch.
But 2022 PFL champion Robert Wilkinson is on a redemption tour, after receiving a drug suspension last year. Antonio Carlos Jr. is also looking for a comeback year, after suffering a major injury. And the widely unknown, yet talented and dangerous Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov might be a problem for all of them. Who knows how the PFL matches them up in the second round, and the results will be crucial, after five of them scored six-point first-round finishes in the opening round.
Where will Bellator have its say?
Bellator fighters cleaned up in the PFL champions vs. Bellator champions event in Saudi Arabia. How will they fare in the PFL’s season format?
Bellator’s main contenders are Russian heavyweight Valentin Moldavsky and women’s flyweight Liz Carmouche. Honestly, I would consider both of them the favorite of their respective divisions after the first round. Both of them left with points — Moldavski with six and Carmouche with three. At welterweight, Bellator had a disappointing showing in the opening round, with Andrey Koreshkov and Logan Storley taking losses.
The PFL vs. Bellator storyline will eventually fade, but not before the end of the 2024 season. Bellator struck the opening blow at the champions card in February, but PFL responded with stronger performances in the regular season matchups.
April 17: Callouts, bible verses and BMF — the Topuria-Holloway back and forth heats up
Jeff Wagenheim: Among the million and one wonderful things about Max Holloway’s last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 on Saturday was the reaction that moment elicited from fighters at cageside. In various videos posted online, Dricus Du Plessis, Sean O’Malley, Valentina Shevchenko, Israel Adesanya, Tom Aspinall, Michael Chandler and Gilbert Burns are all losing their minds. There are two reigning champs and a couple of ex-champs on that list — not an easy audience to impress.
One face in the crowd that was unmoved was Ilia Topuria, who should have been the most excited of all. Holloway had just set up a featherweight megafight, and the division’s champ will likely cash in. Yet Topuria remained stone-faced even when Holloway called him out in his postfight interview in the cage, with the crowd still buzzing.
Topuria finally responded in an X post early Monday morning, congratulating Holloway before saying, “Hopefully we gonna share the Octagon before the end of the year and trust me, you gonna feel something that you never felt before. I will be the first one to take your lights out.” Topuria then listed a Bible verse, Philippians 4:13 — the same one tattooed across the chest of Jon Jones, about being able to do all things because of his faith.
It’s all love champ. I’ll be seeing you soon. Jeremiah 51:20 https://t.co/D6i8Ph7SQ5
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) April 15, 2024
Holloway’s response: “It’s all love, champ. I’ll be seeing you soon. Jeremiah 51:20.”
The verse he cited concerns being an instrument of battle, which suggests that it’s not personal, but I’m pointed in your direction. How can Holloway be so warmhearted and icy cold at the same moment?
Later on, Topuria restarted the discourse with an appearance on MMA Hour, looking to add some incentive for himself in a potential matchup with Holloway.
“Without the BMF belt, I don’t want him at all,” Topuria said to Ariel Helwani. “If not, I’m going to fight with Volkanovski, who deserves the rematch more than him. Because he has that belt, I’m excited about that. That’s why I want him. He’s been saying, ‘Right now I have a lot of options’ and this and that. He doesn’t have any options.
Holloway, who defeated the previously ranked No. 3 lightweight in ESPN’s rankings in Gaethje, has a legitimate case to also challenge for Islam Makhachev’s title. Moreover, Holloway could book a bigger superfight with the likes of Conor McGregor in a BMF title defense, depending on how things go in June.
“I’m the champion right now,” Topuira said. “I choose the date. I choose the place. He just has to be ready. He has to wait for the call. Whenever I want him, he has to be ready.”
April 15: Harrison calls out Pennington, ‘would love to fight for an interim title’ soon
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Kayla Harrison submits Holly Holm in her UFC debut
Kayla Harrison locks in a rear-naked choke on former champ Holly Holm in her UFC debut.
Okamoto: Kayla Harrison, fresh off her first UFC victory on Saturday, is already eyeing an interim title fight in her next appearance.
Harrison (17-1) told ESPN on Monday she’s been told that UFC bantamweight champion Raquel Pennington is injured and out of action for the immediate future. If that is the case, Harrison said it makes sense to her for the UFC to create an interim 135-pound championship.
“You didn’t hear Raquel is hurt now?” said Harrison, when asked if she believes Pennington will avoid a fight with her. “She can’t fight for a while. I heard that she’s out for the next quarter and not going to be able to fight for quite a bit. Surprise!
“My time is now. I would love to fight for an interim title and then go ahead and unify those titles when she’s all better.”
Pennington (16-8), who won the vacant championship in January with a win over Mayra Bueno Silva, responded to Harrison’s request via a text message to ESPN.
“An interim title??? She needs to calm down. I already discussed a timeframe for a title defense later this year.”
Harrison submitted former UFC champion Holly Holm at UFC 300 in her first-ever appearance at 135 pounds. The longtime lightweight said she felt great at 135 pounds and believes she could make the cut three times a year, if needed. Harrison also said she was not surprised that retired double champion Amanda Nunes released a video on fight night, in which she appeared to dare Harrison to say her name in her post-fight victory.
“It didn’t surprise me,” Harrison said. “I wasn’t sure what she was gonna say or do, but I expected something. I think it’s hard to walk away from the spotlight. I suffer from the same ego she does. We are cut from the same cloth. I don’t know if she’s having doubts about it or feeling some type of jealousy or whatever. But I expected it.”
April 15: UFC 302 was close to having a different main event
Hale: Following the conclusion of UFC 300, UFC president Dana White announced that Islam Makhachev would defend his lightweight championship against Dustin Poirier in the headliner. However, Arman Tsarukyan has revealed that he was approached to face Makhachev immediately following his split decision win over Charles Oliveira earlier that night. However, due to the nature of his grueling fight with Oliveira and the quick turnaround to prepare for the fight, Tsarukyan had to decline.
“When I left the Octagon, right away [chief business officer of the UFC] Hunter Campbell said June 1 [to fight] Islam [Makhachev],” Tsarukyan said on The MMA Hour on Monday. The Armenian fighter was put on the spot but realized that seven weeks wouldn’t be enough time to get a full camp in for a fight of that magnitude. “If it was like at the end of June, I would take that fight because I’d have at least 10 weeks — two weeks of rest and eight weeks for preparation.”
Tsarukyan made his UFC debut against Makhachev on relatively short notice in 2019. He lost a hard-fought unanimous decision in a fight that many still believe has been the champion’s toughest test in the promotion. Tsarukyan isn’t interested in giving up any advantage heading into a rematch, and a short camp would likely be to his detriment.
“Why I got to take the same risk like I did in the first fight?” Tsarukyan continued. “It would be the same thing: short notice. I want to be ready and I want to have a full training camp. Why, if I’m the No. 1 contender, why I gotta take the risk?”
Tsarukyan briefly considered Campbell’s offer but quickly realized he needed to be properly prepared for his first chance at a title.
“It was hard to say no, but I know I’m going to fight next for the title with the winner of that fight.”
The title fight will instead go to Poirier, who is coming off a victory over Benoît Saint Denis at UFC 299 in March.
