Conor McGregor reflects on UFC title win, Ilia Topuria's coach talks lightweight move, Colby Covington reacts to Donald Trump: MMA News Roundup

Conor McGregor reflects on the anniversary of his UFC title win, Ilia Topuria's coach talks lightweight move and Colby Covington reacts to Donald Trump's favorite fighter.

Find out more details in today's (Dec. 12) Sportskeeda daily news roundup.

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#3 Conor McGregor reflects on 9th anniversary of historic UFC title win

Conor McGregor has reflected on the ninth anniversary of his featherweight title win over Jose Aldo.

At UFC 194, Aldo and McGregor entered the octagon in what was one of the most highly anticipated bouts in years. The expectation was that the pair were in for a grueling contest. However, 'The Notorious' read a different script as he knocked out Aldo in just 13 seconds to win the belt.

In what is now considered to be one of the most important and influential fights in the promotion's history, McGregor took to X to reflect on his win. He wrote:

"Happy Conor McGregor day folks! The Twelfth of the Twelfth, 12/12, the day I unified UFC gold for my Ireland in record breaking fashion. 12 second KO! Sláinte 🍀."

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#2 Ilia Topuria's coach breaks silence on potential move to lightweight

Ilia Topuria's coach recently discussed his fighter's plans for the future, which appears to confirm he will no longer be defending his featherweight title.

Following a stunning knockout victory over Max Holloway at UFC 308, 'El Matador' faced off with Alexander Volkanovski in the octagon. It was then expected the pair would soon be rematching for the belt. However, Topuria later admitted he now has his eyes set on moving up a division.

The Georgian-Spaniard's coach Jorge Climent has since shed some light on the situation, confirming Topuria's plans haven't changed. Speaking to Submission Radio, he said:

"The reality is, he hates that weight [cut]. He did it a lot of times. It's harder every time we do it. He touched the [underworld], he doesn't want to do it anymore. That's why he wants to go up to the next weight class... I don't think he is going to defend the featherweight title. I think he wants to go to lightweight... He wants to fight with ranked guys to go for the belt."

Catch Climent's comments here (0:30):

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#1 Colby Covington reacts to Donald Trump naming Khabib Nurmagomedov as his favorite UFC fighter

Colby Covington has revealed he's not taking Donald Trump's recent comments too seriously, after the presidential-elect named Khabib Nurmagomedov as his favorite fighter.

'Chaos' is set to face Joaquin Buckley this weekend in the main event of the upcoming UFC Tampa card. Ahead of their bout, Covington faced the press and was asked for his thoughts on what Trump had said.

According to the former interim welterweight champion, he's not taking Donald Trump's comments to heart, as he believes he only said them in order to maintain good relations with Russia. He explained:

"He [Trump] didn't say that Khabib [Nurmagomedov] was his favorite fighter. He was just asked who are some of [his] favorite fighters and he just saw Khabib the weekend before so he's given a shoutout to him. You know, we want good relations with Russia. It made sense to go that route... We want don't want Russia going after Ukraine. We need more peace... He was a lot of favorite fighters that he likes. I know I'm one of his favorite fighters."

Check out Covington's comments here (18:45):