Cris Cyborg made a triumphant return to the UFC by destroying Lina Lansberg. Despite the horrific experience during weight cut, Cyborg seemed better than ever as she ripped apart her opponent in the main event of UFC Brasilia. Ahead of the event, there were some major rumors that poked up in the MMA world.
Ronda Rousey, who was called out by Cyborg after her fight, was the protagonist of one of those rumors. Along with this, the status of Conor McGregor also was a talking point in the rumor mill. Here is a list down of the major speculations and their analysis.
1- Antonio Silva could be cut from UFC
Antonio “Big Foot’ Silva suffered a huge TKO defeat against Roy Nelson at UFC Brasilia and this could well be the last fight in the UFC for Silva. According to the rumors that were making rounds, UFC was going to cut him after his last loss against Stefan Struve. However, he had asked for one more fight which he got against Nelson.
Silva is currently on a three-fight losing streak and though no decisions have been made yet, it could come soon. There was a late stoppage controversy in the fight between Silva and Nelson as well. Nelson ended up kicking the referee John McCarthy and if McCarthy decides to file a complaint against Nelson, he could face stern action.
2- Alvarez and Khabib to face off at UFC 206
After a ton of rumors about Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor at UFC 205, Dana White included Khabib Nurmagomedov into the mix with a tweet. Khabib later posted a picture on his Instagram account which showed two contracts that he had signed: one for UFC 205 and one for UFC 206. Both of these contracts were for fights against Alvarez for the championship.
This suggests that the McGregor – Alvarez fight for UFC 205 was called off at some point. The latest speculation says that Alvarez missed his date to sign the UFC 205 fight against Khabib meaning that the fight could be pushed to UFC 206.
3- GSP return in talks for Toronto card
UFC returns to Canada this December for the UFC 206 card and apart from the Alvarez – Khabib fight, UFC could add another blockbuster name to the card. They are in talks with Georges St-Pierre for a return as the promotion wants a Canadian to headline the card. GSP’s last fight came back in 2013 and he has not lost in his last 12 fights.
Two main names that could go up against GSP are Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia. There is also a talk about a rematch with Nick Diaz, who recently served his suspension and is ready to take up fights.
4- Ronda Rousey to fight Amanda Nunes at UFC 207
The rumors regarding the return of Ronda Rousey were one of the biggest talking points of last week. Dana White said that Rousey could return to UFC before 2016 ends. UFC 207 looked ideal for the return and Dana also claimed that Amanda Nunes could be the potential opponent. Later, rumours started surfacing about Ronda being offered a contract to fight Nunes at the pay-per-view.
There is no confirmation on the same and Ronda’s coach recently came out saying that she could not return before 2017. So the situation regarding the return of Ronda’s return is pretty much complicated. On top of this, Cyborg called out her as well, making the situation even tougher to comprehend.
5- Conor McGregor suffering from leg injury
As mentioned earlier, the Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez fight is apparently not happening. Dana White mentioned that Conor is suffering from a leg injury which was keeping him away from the fight. But Conor’s camp came up with the suggestion that he is completely fit and training.
There were mentions of fighters witnessing Conor training on the internet as well and none of them talked about the leg injury that Dana pointed out.
This conflicting reports from both parties resulted into another rumor which said that the reasons why Alvarez vs. McGregor fight is not happening are failed negotiations. Either way, Dana White’s press conference on Tuesday will clear things up.
