The announcements for UFC 205 and the buildup to UFC 204 created a memorable week for the MMA fans out there. Amidst all these, the UFC Fight Night in Portland gave the fans something worth remembering as John Lineker and John Dodson delivered a main event fight that would be remembered for a long time.
Some movements in Bellator and Rizin proved to be the cherry on top on an eventful week. The rumour mill was buzzing due to all these developments. It had some interesting stories that were good to be dissected and in the following slides, we are going to take a closer look at them.
#5 Brock Lesnar to have more MMA fights
Brock Lesnar’s MMA career was put to an absurd halt after his USADA violation following UFC 200. The Beast fought against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 and was one of the biggest draws for the pay-per-view which was plagued by numerous problems including the bust of Jon Jones, who had to pull out of the main event in the last minute.
According to the latest rumours, the MMA career of Lesnar is far from over despite the confusion. Jim Ross fueled the rumours during a recent interview where he said that Lesnar could take a leap into MMA once his WWE career comes to an end.
This was followed up by Rampage Jackson who called out Lesnar and guaranteed a beat down. Lesnar is yet to respond and if he is indeed returning to MMA, there will be a lot of things to sort out.
#4 Nick Diaz’s UFC return
The UFC return of Nick Diaz is something that everyone is waiting for and it could happen soon. Nick not paying his fine to the Nevada State Athletic Commission was the reason why there was confusion regarding the return, but rumours suggest that a resolution has been found for the situation. Nick is back in the USADA pool and this means that his return could take place in four months.
There is no news on who Nick would fight but he was called out by numerous stars including Tyron Woodley, Michael Bisping and many others.
#3 Dana White looking to put together another fight for CM Punk
After the forgettable showing at UFC 203, CM Punk’s UFC future was up in the air. Dana White also had doubts about whether or not Punk should fight in UFC again, but from the looks of it, things have changed. The latest rumours suggest that Dana is looking to have another fight for CM Punk, who is apparently back in training.
Dana did not confirm the same, but he did say that he will talk to Punk and figure out future plans. Meanwhile, UFC Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, who trains with CM Punk suggests that Punk should face TUF Latin American contestant Augusto Montano, who has a professional MMA record of
#2 Bellator negotiation with Ryback not going in favour of the Big Guy
Ryback getting into negotiations with Bellator MMA was a major talking point this past week. The talks, however, is apparently not going in favor of the Big Guy. The 34-year-old had a short conversation with the Bellator management and Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed the same.
But Coker also said that it would be hard for Ryback to get into MMA with no background whatsoever. Coker also brought up the CM Punk fight that went down at UFC 203 and the whole scenario could work against Ryback’s efforts according to the rumours. If Ryback does take up an MMA fight, it won’t be anytime soon and being in his mid-30s, the age is also not a helpful factor for him.
#1 Conor McGregor to retire for a while?
The huge announcement of UFC 205 main event and the press conference that followed proved to be the stage for the McGregor Show. McGregor came in and completely stole the show during the press conference that had some of the biggest names in the UFC roster; once again underlining the fact that he is ‘the’ draw in the promotion.
But what earns McGregor a place in this slide is his personal life. Dana White recently revealed that McGregor is going through some personal issues and soon came up rumours suggesting that his girlfriend Dee Devlin is pregnant. Meanwhile, another section of rumours suggests that the pair is going to break up. The third set of rumours points towards a marriage between these two.
Conor and Devlin have been in a relationship for more than eight years and it would be interesting to see which rumour turns out to be true. From a fan perspective, the first one or the third one would be preferred as Conor and Devlin is an inspiring couple, having been there for each other throughout their struggling years.
All these personal problems might force Conor to take away time from the octagon and this was the reason why Dana White gave McGregor the Alvarez fight despite having other ideas.
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