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The wild and unpredictable world of MMA features a plethora of talented athletes engage in all things MMA.
The weekly grind in an MMA fighter’s life is hectic enough to discombobulate someone, and while puzzled faces and confused minds are commonplace in any and every profession, the unique world of fighting adds a whole another level of drama to the routine of the public personalities involved in the fight game.
Sportskeeda brings you the top-10 MMA news & rumors for the week—
#5 Rumor: Floyd Mayweather MMA fight
Trending
(*Courtesy: ESPN*)
Floyd Mayweather got into an MMA cage, shirtless and barefoot, giving rise to speculation as to whether the boxing great would follow up on his promise of fighting Conor McGregor in the UFC.
The entire combat sports community has been abuzz ever since, however, the banter remains nothing more than speculation as of this time. Mayweather hasn't penned a contract with the UFC and is unlikely to do so, per the vast majority of experts.
Nevertheless, with 'Money' teasing an MMA fight and potential Octagon date with McGregor, the fight world remains on guard as far as the disclosure of yet another 'Money Fight' is concerned.
#5 News: Max Holloway may be forced to move up to Lightweight
Max Holloway was recently on The MMA Hour and revealed that he'd likely be forced to move up from Featherweight to the Lightweight Division in the near future.
Apparently, the UFC and USADA's new weight cutting rules have made it tougher for him to make the 145-pound limit, as a week out of the fight, he still carries around a ton of weight. Here's what he said regarding the same (*courtesy--MMAFighting*)--
“It’s just UFC with all this USADA, (the policing of) the weight cuts, you’ve got to be a certain weight when you’re checking in and blah blah blah — all of that medical stuff, that’s what I mean. If they start adding more medical stuff I probably would (move up)...I’m a big boy for featherweight, so 155 is going to happen. Sooner or later, we don’t know when, we’re just waiting. But when the time comes, it comes.”
#4 News: Kevin Lee talks Nate Diaz fight; trashes Eddie Alvarez
Kevin Lee has thrown his hat in the ring to face one of Stockton's finest, Nate Diaz.
While former UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez was recently involved in a Twitter war with Diaz, Lee claimed that Alvarez is 'washed up', and would never sniff a UFC title shot again. Lee added that considering how he's coming off a loss to Interim Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson, and Diaz's last fight was a loss to Conor McGregor, Lee vs. Diaz is the fight which that fans want to see.
Below are a few excerpts of Lee's statements regarding Alvarez and Diaz (*courtesy--The MMA Hour & MMAFighting*)--
"Alvarez, he’s bound for retirement. If you want to beat a man into retirement if you want to continue to take his brain cells, go ahead. But if you want a real fight, if you want a real champion, if you want a real future champion, then (Diaz) knows who to come to. If he’s really a sportsman, if he’s really a competitor, he knows who to come to."
#4 Rumor: Cain Velasquez UFC comeback
Cain Velasquez sent out the aforementioned Tweet after the UFC announced Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier for the Heavyweight belt.
In fact, Velasquez followed up, and alluded that he'd like to participate in the UFC 226 super-fight celebrations. While Velasquez doesn't have an opponent lined up for the event, this is one rumor that's worth keeping an eye on.
Furthermore, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion also teased a potential fight with team-mate and friend Cormier; stating that once DC wins the Heavyweight belt, things could get interesting.
#3 News: Cris Cyborg on Ronda Rousey’s WWE debut
Per MMAFighting, Cris Cyborg issued the following statement on Ronda Rousey signing with the WWE--
“I believe that she will be happy in WWE, and it’s completely different from the reality of MMA...For an example, wins and losses are decided before the shows.”
“I think it’s normal (in reference to Rousey not talking about her UFC losses) In reality, we can only talk about things that we already overcame in our minds, (but) he hasn’t overcome her MMA losses yet, even in another stage of her career, (and) sometimes people need professional help to get over it.”
Cyborg's comments have been perceived to be a tad sarcastic by a certain section of the MMA community, but then again, given the history between her and Rousey, tensions between the two don't seem to be ending anytime soon.
#3 Rumor: Roy Jones Jr. vs. Anderson Silva
Boxingscene reports that Roy Jones Jr. would like to fight Anderson Silva...with the former teasing this boxing vs. MMA dream matchup yet again.
The fight's rumors gained steam as USADA and the UFC have confirmed the banned substances which showed up in Silva's drug tests that he failed before his scheduled fight with Kelvin Gastelum last year. Jones vs. Silva inside a boxing ring could be a realistic possibility.
In fact, considering that Silva could receive an 8-year ban from MMA owing to this being his second failed steroid test, he could indeed make the transition to the boxing ring. Jones has confirmed that he'll come out of retirement later this year, if need be just to fight Silva.
#2 News: Paige VanZant engagement
Paige VanZant took to social media on January 28th so as to reveal her engagement.
Her engagement to fellow MMA fighter Austin Vanderford has come as a surprise to many in the MMA community as VanZant--who's usually always in the headlines--kept this relationship relatively low-key until now. Vanderford is 3-0 as a pro-MMA fighter and is best known for his win over MMA fighter/vigilante Ben Fodor aka Phoenix Jones.
#2 Rumor: Weight cuts and the blame game
As reported by BJPenn.com, Joanna Jedrzejczyk has claimed that Ronda Rousey went through a bad weight cut, owing to which the latter ended up getting knocked out by Holly Holm.
“Actually, we (and Rousey) have one agent (in common) and I spoke to him and told him that my legs went numb and that I felt a bit groggy or something like this. The funny thing is Ronda felt the same way; she had a terrible weight cut before Holly Holm.”
Nevertheless, the aforementioned statement has not been confirmed by Rousey as of yet. In fact, Rousey was recently questioned about her feelings on losing to Holm and Amanda Nunes--something that she simply chose to refrain from commenting on.
#1 News: Conor McGregor on Ronda Rousey, and his next fight
Conor McGregor has revealed that he's happy to see Ronda Rousey work with the WWE.
Furthermore, McGregor also revealed that there are several options on the table for him right now, including, but not limited to, a fight with Interim Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson.
McGregor added that undefeated Dagestani phenom Khabib Nurmagomedov is also a possible matchup, besides, a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz isn't out of the realm of possibility either. McGregor also addressed rumors of Floyd Mayweather challenging him to an MMA bout in the UFC.
#1 Rumor: Rory Macdonald teases Heavyweight alternate status again; DC vs. Stipe tease and scheduling
Rory Macdonald keeps teasing a move to Heavyweight--or rather a one-off showdown with one of the big boys.
In fact, renowned MMA coach who serves as Macdonald and Georges St-Pierre's mentor, Firas Zahabi, has claimed that Rory could KO Heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko if he's allowed to partake in the Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Furthermore, while MMA pundit and fighter Chael Sonnen had previously predicted that Stipe Miocic will defend his UFC Heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier, the UFC let the rumor marinate for a few days after Miocic and DC's respective wins at UFC 220.
The rumor has now been confirmed as Miocic puts his belt on the line against DC at UFC 226.
