8/14/24 Notebook: Dana White Says Conor McGregor Will Not Fight In 2024

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Welcome to the notebook, a quick catchup of all the smaller (but still important) stories from the world of MMA!

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Here are the latest stories we’re following:

UFC

  • UFC CEO Dana White spoke to the media following the season premiere of “Dana White’s Contender Series.” He was asked if he spoke to former two-division champion Conor McGregor at the Harley Davidson Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota last week, where they were both present. While he didn’t meet with McGregor, he said they spoke recently. “He wants to fight, so we’ll figure it out … Not this year.” McGregor, who has been out of the cage for more than three years, responded by insisting on competing in December. “Ah Dana, December is the date! Bring the calendar year home with a winning event,” he wrote on X.
  • A pair of matchups not previously mentioned in Knockdown News reports were recently announced for UFC’s September 7th card at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA:
    • Trevor Peek (9-2) will collide against Yanal Ashmouz (7-1) at lightweight. Ashmouz is returning after taking his first pro loss last year, dropping a decision to Chris Duncan. Peek is also trying to come back from a defeat, having lost on scorecards to Charlie Campbell in April.
    • Rising flyweights Andre Lima (9-0) and Felipe dos Santos (8-1) are booked to meet on the card as well. While Lima missed weight in his last fight, he kept his undefeated record alive with a split decision win over Mitch Raposo. Dos Santos bounced back from his only defeat with a close scorecard victory over former LFA champ Victor Altamirano earlier this year.
  • Heavyweights Chris Barnett (23-8) and Waldo Cortes-Acosta (12-1) have been matched up for UFC’s October 12th “Fight Night” card, as first reported by NTRD_MMA and MMA Junkie. Cortes-Acosta stopped the hype train of Robelis Despaigne earlier this year, beating him on scorecards to earn his third consecutive UFC win. Veteran Barnett will be competing for the first time since September 2022 when he scored a stoppage win over Jake Collier.
  • Both trying to bounce back from their first UFC loss, Montserrat Rendon (6-1) and Melissa Tonya Mullins (6-1) in a bantamweight fight, per social media posts made by both fighters. Rendon had a five-fight winning streak put to an end in March when Darya Zheleznyakova overcame her on scorecards. Tonya Mullins was finished by Nora Cornolle in April, bringing her six-fight undefeated run to an end.

PFL

  • A light heavyweight tournament alternate between Antonio Carlos Junior (16-6) and Karl Albrektsson (14-5) has left Friday’s PFL card, as announced by the promotion. Carlos Junior will remain an alternate for the 205-pound bracket this weekend but is no longer scheduled for a fight.
  • A matchup between Irish standout Paul Hughes (12-1) and former Bellator champ AJ McKee Jr. (22-1) is reportedly in the works for PFL’s October 19th pay-per-view show, as reported by MagicM MMA and Mike Heck of MMA Fighting. The matchup, if confirmed, would be a massive test for Hughes. “Big News” won his Bellator debut just two months back, stopping Bobby King in the second round with strikes. Before then, he had a nine-fight run in Cage Warriors which included a featherweight title run. McKee Jr. has put together four wins since moving up to lightweight in 2022, with his latest being a 70-second victory over Clay Collard.

ONE Championship

  • Former ONE 135-pound champ Adriano Moraes (20-5) will return at the promotion’s November 8th card in Atlanta, Georgia, USA against Danny Kingad (15-4). Moraes lost his trilogy title fight to Demetrious Johnson in May last year, going the distance but not winning on scorecards in the end. He’ll try to snap a two-fight skid against Kingad, a 15-fight ONE vet who suffered a decision loss to Yuya Wakamatsu in January.

Cage Warriors

  • Cage Warriors will have a one-night “Prizefighter” tournament at their September 7th show in Glasgow, Scotland with a grand prize of $50,000. The bracket will see four welterweight talents compete in a single-elimination bracket, as well as a pair of fighters battling in an alternate bout for the finals. Cage Warriors has not announced the specific matchups, but instead will do a draw on Wednesday to determine who will face who. Announced for the tournament are: Sean Clancy Jr. (4-0), Marko Kisic (10-4), Bourama Camara (7-3), Henri Lintula (8-1), Omiel Brown (7-3), and Jakob Scheffel (7-0).

LFA

  • Flyweight prospects Mark Climaco (10-2) and Victor Dias (12-3) will headline LFA 192 on September 13th at the KP Arena in Santa Cruz, California, USA. Climaco is returning to LFA for the first time since early 2023. He competed in the 2023-24 “Road To UFC” season, getting eliminated in the semi-finals by now-UFC fighter Rei Tsuruya. He comes back to LFA following a split-decision win over Tumelo Manyamala at UAE Warriors in January. Dias will be trying for his second consecutive regional win since losing during the 2023 season of “Dana White’s Contender Series.” Six other fights were announced for LFA 192 recently as well:
    • Brazilian prospect Filipe Esteves (10-1) will return to LFA in a co-main event fight against Aziz Osorbek Uulu (19-8). Esteves’ sole prior LFA fight was a 2021 loss to Rafael Estevam, ending his seven-fight undefeated run. He’s coming back to the promotion following a trio of wins on Brazil’s regional scene. Osorbek Uulu scored a 16-second victory just a few months back, stopping Matt Jones on a Tuff-N-Uff card.
    • Two-time LFA title challenger Allan Begosso (8-3-1) will take on David Solorzano (6-1). After losing a title fight and an appearance on “Dana White’s Contender Series,” Begosso snapped a two-fight skid last year with a decision victory. Solorzano scored his first LFA win in March, beating Cristian Giovannie.
    • After a quick win in his return, Robson Junior (5-2) will meet Benny Orozco (3-1). Junior prevailed after a more than year-long absence from the cage, submitting Carlo Ricci in the first round earlier this year. Prior to then, he had a 29-second stoppage win for his first LFA victory. Orozco is getting back in action after a submission win in California-based regional promotion LXF.
    • Searching for a third win in his rookie year as a pro, Houston Scibek (2-0) has been matched against Apuni Pagaoa (4-2). After a flawless seven-fight amateur run, Scibek turned pro in January. He scored his first two victories against pro newcomers, and will receive a significant step-up test next month. Long-time LFA talent Pagaoa had a three-fight winning streak put to an end late last year by Jordan Harris, who stopped him in the first round.
    • Light heavyweight prospect Shealor Ladd (0-0) will debut against Natan Borovitskiy (1-1). Ladd put together an impressive 10 victories during his time as an amateur, including many finishes. Borovitskiy will be competing for the first time in more than three years.
    • In a clash between two strong middleweight prospects, Theo Haig (3-0) and Dylan Diebitz (4-0) have been matched up. Haig has won all three of his previous pro bouts via submission in the first round, including a pair of Bellator appearances. Diebitz has similarly not exited the first round, with many of his fights ending due to strikes.

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Published by Jack Wannan

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