Midnight Roundup! Dustin Poirier addresses fourth potential Conor McGregor fight, former UFC star teases "big" news about Jon Jones, and more

Dustin Poirier recently opened up about a potential quadrilogy fight against Conor McGregor in light of teasing retirement after his fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. Elsewhere, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson claimed that fight fans were about to receive some shocking news about Jon Jones soon.

Catch up on all the latest news in the mixed martial arts world with Sportskeeda MMA's Midnight Roundup.

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UFC superstar Dustin Poirier talks about fighting Conor McGregor for a fourth time

Dustin Poirier hasn't closed the door on a potential quadrilogy fight against longtime rival Conor McGregor and recently stated that he'd be open to it if the conditions were right. Poirier was the last opponent McGregor faced before going on an extended hiatus.

The two first fought at UFC 178 in September 2014, when 'The Diamond' was soundly defeated by the Irishman. However, Poirier redeemed his loss in their rematch at UFC 257 and then again at UFC 264, where 'The Notorious' suffered a brutal leg fracture, forcing him to the sidelines for over two years.

Ahead of his title fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, Poirier maintained that he was disinterested in running it back with McGregor. However, the Louisiana native was open to the fight if "the stars align" under the right conditions. In a recent interview, he said:

"It could happen, if the stars align. But it just feels like even talking about it after going for the rivalry with him for so many years and fighting him back to back in 2021. As I prepare to get ready for a fight week for the undisputed belt, Conor McGregor is fighting a guy whose last fight I choked him out of. It just feels so far removed, and so many things have to happen before then."

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Ex-UFC star claims that some shocking news about Jon Jones is going to come out

Former UFC champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson recently claimed that fans were going to be stunned by some unreleased news about Jon Jones. Jones has been away from the octagon since his title win over Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 last March. While Jones was expected to face Stipe Miocic at UFC 295, he suffered a pectoral tear that required surgery, and the fight was postponed indefinitely.

While fans eagerly await news about Jones, Jackson recently dropped some intriguing information. During a recent episode of the JAXXON Podcast, 'Rampage' discussed how Jones would match up with Tom Aspinall and said:

"With all due respect, I've got to tell you all something. Pretty soon, there is going to be some news about Jon Jones. It'll be really big and it's going to shock the whole MMA community. I'm just going to leave it at that."

While many have shared theories on what the news could be, only time will tell if Jackson was right.

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Marlon Vera booked against former UFC champion for next fight

Former bantamweight title challenger Marlon Vera has his next assignment. 'Chito' has reportedly been booked against former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC Abu Dhabi on Aug. 3. Vera notably lost to Sean O'Malley at UFC 299 and failed to capture the 135-pound strap.

As per MMA Fighting, verbal agreements are in place for the fight to go down, and the promotion is expected to announce the bout officially soon. After reports of the bout went viral on social media, Vera reacted to the news on X and wrote:

"Upwards."

He followed up with another tweet that read:

"Eager to win."

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Manel Kape compares himself to Khabib Nurmagomedov, dismisses Muhammad Mokaev's grappling skills

Manel Kape is set to clash with Muhammad Mokaev in a flyweight contest at UFC 304 on July 27 in Manchester, England. Ahead of their highly anticipated showdown, 'Starboy' shared his thoughts on Mokaev's grappling prowess and skills as a fighter.

During a recent interview with Grind City Media, Kape opened up about facing Mokaev and stated that he wasn't worried about the Englishman's ground game. He said:

"I'm not focused on wrestling. I'm not focused on any of his strengths in wrestling. How many fighters have you seen taking me down? Even Pantoja the champion, [when] he fought me, he didn't take me down. You think Mokaev is going to take me down? I'm going to do what I did to David Dovark. I'm going to take his arm off so there is no threat against me."

Kape continued:

"I'm a very complete fighter. I know I'm well [known] for my knockouts, so I will have to focus on my boxing, on my kickboxing, my knees, my elbows, my everything is him, not me about wrestling. I'm like Khabib in the flyweight division, I don't care."

Catch Manel Kape's comments below (7:58):

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Chael Sonnen on Conor McGregor potentially fighting three times in 2024

Chael Sonnen recently shared his thoughts on Conor McGregor potentially fighting thrice this year. 'The American Gangster' dismissed the idea of McGregor competing multiple times a year and explained how the Irishman could use some unique contract negotiation tactics.

During a recent episode of his Good Guy/ Bad Guy podcast with Daniel Cormier, Sonnen explained why he didn't believe McGregor's fight plans and addressed the Irishman's ongoing contract extension negotiations with the UFC. He said:

"Do I think Conor can get two more fights? No, no. After the 'Cowboy' fight, he couldn't get them that year. I don't know why it would be different. If I am going to play along and be a good sport, okay great, let's do 'RDA' simply because 'RDA' was promised it at one point. He never backed out, he came back."

Sonnen continued:

"I think that Conor, what you just saw, is called a negotiation. Two days ago it came out that Conor's contract is up and that Dana White and he are speaking. So when Conor comes to the media, one thing that he knew was a weakness is that he doesn't fight very often. He's attempting to tell the world, 'I will fight. In fact, I'll fight even more often.' I don't think it was sincere. I don't believe it. I do think it was a good move, though."