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Alvarez about to take a deep dive into ONE's lightweight division
"[ONE Championship] put a pullout of possible opponents to fight, and that was kind of the first time I understood who the top contenders there are. I study my opponents. Some of them I’m sure I’m going to find out their pets’ names within the next month or so. I kind of do a deep dive into understanding who they are, what their strengths and weaknesses are. I’ll know who’s who and what’s what very soon. ... I’ll take each opponent one by one. Whether it’s Aoki or whoever the other guys are, the opponent right now is not really my concern. ... I probably haven’t taken an easy fight in – I can’t think of the last time I had an easy fight. I don’t imagine getting an easy fight." H/T MMAjunkie
DC: There will be no Hail Mary for The Black Beast
Champ champ Daniel Cormier on his fight vs. Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 on November 3, 2018 at Madison Square Garden: "I respect what he's had to accomplish to get to where he is today. But, again, I won’t let him off the hook. There’s no Hail Mary’s when you’re fighting someone like me. He’s going to have to set up that strike more than he’s ever had to set up that strike in his career. I’m not just going to hang my chin out there for him to hit.” H/T MMA Fighting
Chris Brown CANNOT be tapped vs. Thomas Gifford at V3 Fights 70
Conor visits Irish unified lightweight world champ Katie Taylor before fight, she won
ONE CEO: The odds do not favor Angela Lee next month
Undefeated ONE atomweight champion Angela Lee challenges 13-1 strawweight champ Jing Nan Xiong at ONE Championship 83 on 11/9, live on the Super App. ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong was frank: “I actually don’t know why Angela is doing this moving up to fight a bigger, stronger, faster champion. This could be Angela’s first potential loss. This is a high-stakes game. This is a world champion vs. world champion fight. I put Angela as a heavy underdog in this fight because she’s moving up a weight against a very, very dangerous KO striker with a 13-1 record. ... That being said, I also know Angela and she’s always about making history. At 19 years old she became the youngest world champion in the history of any major organization globally. She’s going to try to make history again as a two-division world champion.” H/T MMAjunkie
Khabib vs. Conor: The Battle of Lezginka
Ray Cooper III earns his way to a shot at $1 million at PFL finals on 12/1
Anderson Silva game for fight vs. Conor
Andeson Silva is the best fighter in UFC history. Conor McGregor is the biggest draw. A fight between the pair would make money; 'The Spider' is game: "I just waiting. I accept the challenge for Conor. Two big names. Two big legends. And, why not? It's not about money, Conor. It's about martial arts challenge." H/T TMZ
McGregor gifts Sox World Series tix and whiskey to Boston firefighters
UFC to return to Fortaleza, Brazil on 2/2
The UFC will hold a Fight Night event at the new 14,069 capacity Centro de Formacao Olímpica do Nordeste, Fortaleza, capital of the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceara. UFC Senior VP for International and Content David Shaw also said there would be a total of three fight cards in Brazil in 2019, one of them a PPV. The dates and locations of the other two events are TBA. H/T Combate
Weidman responds to Rockhold injury
PVZ's undefeated husband Austin Vanderford KOs Edmilson Freitas at FFC 32 on Friday
Alex Morono vs. Kenan Song at UFC Fight Night 141 on 11/24 in Beijing
Namajunas on the best thing about being the title holder
UFC women's strawweight champ Rose Namajunas on being the title holder: “I don’t know if necessarily I get to enjoy the title so much as I get to enjoy thinking about somebody else other than Joanna for however long. I’m always enjoying the title as long as I’m blessed to have it in my possession. That’s going to be an everyday thing. But yeah, I’m really excited to look to keep developing my skills and get better as a martial artist in general, and I’m looking forward to a different storyline. Maybe one day me and Joanna’s storylines will meet up again, but it’s nice to not have to think about her for a second.” H/T UFC.com
UFC building on-site arena
The UFC is building a 60,000 ft sq production facility around an arena of up to 1,700 capacity, just east of their current facility. The site will be used for TUF and DWTNCS, with Dana saying: “You could do boxing in there, for sure. You could do kickboxing, jiu-jitsu tournaments, anything we’d want to do. We could even let other promoters do fights in there." Work began Friday, with completion anticipated by July 1. H/T Yahoo Sports
Khabib's dad invites Conor to Dagestan
Then UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor called Khabib Nurmagomedov's dad a coward, and much worse, but Notorious lost the belt, and now The Eagle's father Abdulmanap wants all to be forgiven, and has invited his Irish tormentor to a Sambo tournament in Dagestan in December: “Distinguished guests, I invite again to the tournament our close friend Oleg Taktarov and McGregor. ... I said that I forgive him, it’s important to be kind-hearted!” H/T Russia Today
USADA clears Mara Romero Borella to fight, despite Italian suspension over recreational drug charge
UFC women’s flyweight Mara Romero Borella reportedly was jailed years ago for her role in a recreational drug trafficking ring in Italy. She was suspended for 15 years by NADO, Italy's anti-doping agency, a signatory to the WADA code. When Borella continued to compete and train, she ended up with a 26-year suspension for something that has nothing to do with performance enhancement. Now USADA, also a WADA signatory, has decided rightly to ignore the dopey NOLA suspension: “we have determined and then subsequently informed the UFC that Maria Borella is eligible to compete in UFC events because the violation that resulted in her ban by the Italian national anti-doping agency is not a recognized offense under the UFC Anti-Doping Program.” H/T MMAjunkie
