UFC

Fans are awaiting Jon Jones' return to the Octagon after two-and-a-half years away, and the two-time UFC light heavyweight champion gave an update on when he could return.

There's been plenty of talk about Jones moving up in weight class to challenge heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. UFC President Dana White is up for it, as noted on a late June appearance on The Jim Rome Show (h/t Damon Martin of MMA Fighting).

"Jon Jones is ready to go," White said. "We're just waiting for an opponent. It's either going to be Francis [Ngannou] depending on how long his knee is going to take to recover or Stipe Miocic."

Jones is 26-1 with one no-contest over his professional career. He last fought on Feb. 8, 2020, when he beat Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision.

Jones has been training for a move up in weight class, and he addressed the time it's taken to do so on Twitter Friday.

While Jones is training up for his next challenge, Ngannou is recovering from March surgery to repair the ACL and MCL in his right knee. He said he tore his MCL and damaged his ACL during sparring sessions leading up to his unanimous-decision win over Ciryl Gane last January.

If Ngannou can't fight, Stipe Miocic certainly would be a worthy opponent. Miocic is a two-time heavyweight champion who most recently fell to Ngannou in March 2021. He is 20-4 lifetime with a win over Ngannou (UFC 220) and a pair of victories against Daniel Cormier under his belt.

Israel Adesanya will defend his UFC middleweight title against Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 281 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it was announced Friday.

"They're part of history—part of his story," Adesanya said Friday of his previous two losses to Pereira, per ESPN's Marc Raimondi. "The judges gave him the nod in the first, and the second he took me out in the third round. Now, it's time for my story."

A title bout between Adesanya and Pereira was all but guaranteed following UFC 276 last month. Adesanya beat Jared Cannonier via unanimous decision, while Pereira secured a first-round knockout against Sean Strickland.

"When you’re sitting here in my position, you can’t give too many guarantees," UFC President Dana White said last month after UFC 276. "I can say, 'Stylistically on paper this should be,' you know, or, 'We feel this is gonna be'—I f--king guarantee you. I absolutely, positively guarantee you that the next fight that Israel Adesanya fights will be bats--t nuts."

Pereira owns two kickboxing wins over Adesanya. The first came in April 2016 when Adesanya fell to Pereira via unanimous decision. The second came in March 2017, when Pereira knocked out Adesanya with his signature left hook.

Adesanya, who is 23-1 in mixed martial arts, saw his only loss come against Jan Blachowicz in March 2021 at UFC 259. He made his UFC debut in February 2018 against Rob Wilkinson and is currently tied for third on ESPN's pound-for-pound MMA list with Charles Oliveira.

The 33-year-old has made five successful defenses of his title, and a win over Pereira would match Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in division history at 13 wins, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Pereira, who is 6-1, has three career wins in the UFC. In addition to defeating Strickland last month, he has wins over Bruno Silva and Andreas Michailidis.

The Brazilian said after UFC 276 that he was looking forward to a potential bout against Adesanya:

"He’s going to have to look better next time. If he looks like that, it’s no good. He’s been watching my development. He knows I’m dangerous, he knows the risk he would be taking. He will have to look better, for sure. He’ll look better and I’ll make him get the fans thrilled.”

It seems like this might be the first of many bouts between the two at the UFC level.

Former UFC star Cain Velasquez pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges in a San Jose, California, courtroom on Friday.

According to Nolan King of MMA Junkie, Velasquez also faces charges of shooting at a motor vehicle or aircraft, assault with a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon, willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony, stemming from a February shooting in which he allegedly fired multiple gunshots into a car containing three people.

Velasquez says Harry Goularte molested his four-year-old son, and while Velasquez allegedly attempted to shoot Goularte, he missed and hit Goularte's stepfather, Paul Bender, in the shoulder.

At the time of the alleged shooting, Goularte was out of jail on bail after being arrested on suspicion of lewd acts with a minor under the age of 14, per King.

Velasquez has been denied bail on three occasions, but he is in the midst of appealing the latest ruling.

His pre-trial hearing is set to begin on Sept. 26, and if Velasquez is ultimately convicted of attempted murder, he faces at least 20 years in prison and a maximum punishment of life in prison.

Meanwhile, Velasquez's family has filed a civil lawsuit against Goularte and Bender, and a hearing in that case is scheduled for Sept. 6.

The 40-year-old Velasquez is best known for a professional MMA career that ran from 2006 until 2019.

Velasquez twice held the UFC heavyweight title, winning it from Brock Lesnar in 2010 and regaining it from Junior dos Santos in 2012.

During his career, Velasquez posted a 14-3 record with 12 wins by way of knockout and defeated the likes of Lesnar, dos Santos, Antonio Silva and Travis Browne, among other notable names.

After losing to Francis Ngannou in 2019, Velasquez attempted to transition into pro wrestling. He started with Mexican promotion AAA before signing with WWE in October 2019.

Velasquez's run with WWE was short with his only notable match being a loss to Lesnar at Crown Jewel 2019 in Saudi Arabia.

He was released by WWE in April 2020 and returned to AAA, last competing in a trios match at Triplemania Regia II in December 2021.

Conor McGregor might be officially done with UFC and mixed martial arts as he begins his Hollywood career, which he indicated Thursday on Twitter:

McGregor is slated to make his full acting debut in a remake of Road House alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, per Justin Kroll of Deadline.

In a statement released Wednesday, McGregor's spokesperson said that "fighting remains his top focus."

The former two-division UFC champion last appeared in a match in July 2021, a TKO loss to Dustin Poirier.

McGregor has been recovering from his leg injury, but UFC President Dana White told TMZ Sports in June that the Irish star was "starting to ramp up his training" with the expectation he would return in late 2022 or early 2023.

The 34-year-old is still well-removed from his prime, winning just one match since 2016. In that time, he lost twice to Poirier and once to Khabib Nurmagomedov, with his only bright spot being a 40-second knockout over Donald Cerrone.

He currently ranks 12th in the UFC's lightweight division.

McGregor has still been successful outside the Octagon, with Forbes naming him the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2021. Even with zero wins, he made $22 million from UFC and $158 million from endorsements and investments, including his Proper No. Twelve whiskey.

While there is no shortage of competitors who would want to face McGregor, it's clear he can find success without MMA.

If Conor McGregor wants to return to the UFC as a welterweight fighter, Gilbert Burns would relish the opportunity to square off with him inside the Octagon.

Speaking to Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, Burns said McGregor is "not a welterweight" fighter but he would "love to beat the s--t" out of him if he wants to compete in the division.

"I think he’s not going to take that punch," Burns explained. "I’m not even talking about grappling cause that’s not fair. [I’d] just take him down and maul him, but a fight with Conor, it’s a win-win for me. I’m going to beat him up and I’m going to get a ton of crazy money."

The Notorious posted pictures of his body transformation from December in which he said his weight was at 190 pounds.

McGregor has competed in the 155-pound division for most of his career, but he does have three fights at welterweight since 2016. He has a 2-1 record in those bouts, with wins over Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone.

It would seem odd for McGregor to put on as much weight as he has if he intended to fight at lightweight again.

McGregor hasn't fought since 2021 when he lost back-to-back bouts against Dustin Poirier. The Irish superstar's loss at UFC 264 came via a doctor stoppage between Rounds 1 and 2 when he injured his leg early in the opening round.

It was revealed McGregor suffered a fractured tibia and fibula that required surgery. He told SevereMMA in February (h/t MMA Fighting) that he would likely be cleared to spar in April, which could put him on track to fight again as soon as July.

The UFC has yet to announce a return fight for McGregor.

Burns seems to be looking for a marquee opponent, especially as he tries to get back on track with two losses in his past three bouts. Durinho isn't a prodigious knockout artist with just six wins by knockout or TKO in 25 fights, but he sounds confident in his ability to drop McGregor if the two meet.

A lightweight clash between Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier is reportedly being finalized for the UFC 281 card on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reported Wednesday on The MMA Hour an agreement is "close" and "likely."

Chandler (No. 5 in UFC's lightweight rankings) and Poirier (No. 2) have traded some barbs in recent months, which suggested a showdown could be on the horizon.

In June, Poirier said on The Fight with Teddy Atlas podcast (via Mike Heck of MMA Fighting) he'd be a tough matchup for Chandler based on recent results.

"I'm a dangerous fight for him. I think I'm a clean puncher, accurate," Poirier said. "He called out Conor [McGregor], think Conor is a dangerous fight for him, too. I'm not saying Chandler's chinny or anything, but he gets hurt in a lot of his fights, and guys like Conor, they can punch. If you're getting hurt by Tony Ferguson and dropped by [Charles] Oliveira, guys like me, guys like Conor, if we touch your chin, it's gonna be bad."

Chandler responded on social media:

They proceeded to get in a verbal confrontation at UFC 276 in Las Vegas last month. Chandler told reporters Poirier was "very, very thirsty for a fight."

Now it appears a battle at UFC 281 is on the horizon as they attempt to earn a potential title shot in the lightweight division.

Both fighters are 3-2 over their past five outings.

Poirier owns two wins over McGregor and one against Dan Hooker while suffering losses to Oliveira and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Chandler beat Hooker, Tony Ferguson and Benson Henderson (in Bellator) while dropping bouts against Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.

It appears there's some emerging, genuine bad blood between the lightweight rivals, so that should add to the intrigue as Nov. 12 draws closer.

UFC superstar Conor McGregor will make his acting debut in Amazon Prime Video's reimagined take on the 1980s classic Road House starring Patrick Swayze.

Justin Kroll of Deadline reported Wednesday that McGregor will join a cast led by Jake Gyllenhaal, who's set to play a former UFC fighter now working as a bouncer. The 34-year-old Irishman is slated for an original character role and won't portray himself in the film.

His spokesperson provided a statement to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani:

McGregor turned down previous offers from Hollywood to take part in movies but expressed interest in the Road House project after watching the original, per Kroll.

Filming will begin in the Dominican Republic this month. An expected release date hasn't been set.

Kroll noted other members of the cast include Billy Magnussen, Daniela Melchior, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Lukas Gage, Hannah Love Lanier, Travis Van Winkle, B.K. Cannon, Arturo Castro, Dominique Columbus, Beau Knapp and Bob Menery.

"I'm thrilled to put my own spin on the beloved Road House legacy," director Doug Liman told CNN's Marianne Garvey on Tuesday. "And I can't wait to show audiences what Jake and I are going to do with this iconic role."

In the 1989 film, Swayze played the role of a head bouncer working at a small-town Missouri bar. It generated $30 million in revenue, per Box Office Mojo.

McGregor last entered the Octagon in July 2021 and suffered a gruesome leg injury during a loss to Dustin Poirier.

In May, the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion told Sky Sports he was training toward a return on multiple fronts.

"Boxing is my first love in combat sports. I had such a great time the last time I was out there," McGregor said. "Obviously, my return will be in the Octagon for UFC—that story is far from over, in fact it's just being written, it is just the beginning. But, boxing, for sure I will grace the squared circle again in the future."

He made his boxing debut in August 2017, suffering a 10th-round knockout loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Meanwhile, his UFC results have faded in recent years. After going 9-1 over his first 10 fights for the promotion, he's dropped three of his past four bouts.

His mainstream popularity has endured despite the dip in performance, and it should help the new version of Road House attract attention ahead of its eventual release.