UFC Tampa was a masterclass by Joaquin Buckley as he took the former interim welterweight champion, Colby Covington, into very deep waters. Now, it appears that ‘Chaos’ will have to stay out of the combat sports world for a few days before planning his comeback. How many days exactly? Stay tuned as we bring you another segment of the MMA Roundup; bite-sized news from the last 24 hours.
From the Colby Covington news, we will move on forward to Conor McGregor, who has a single response from the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury rematch. Then, we will jump on to UFC ex-champ, who has shared his verdict on Khamzat Chimaev vs. Alex Pereira, and finally, we will conclude our segment with a piece of information about Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan. Without any further ado, let’s get started!
Colby Covington gets a medical suspension after UFC Tampa clash
After a year of inactivity, Colby Covington stepped inside the Octagon against Joaquin Buckley to cement his status as one of the contenders for the welterweight title but the exact opposite happened as ‘New Mansa’ left the former interim welterweight champion bloodied. As the fight went into the third round, the doctors had to step in as ‘Chaos’ was being hit much harder than before and the doctors observed that he might lose his eyelids if the fight continued into the later rounds.
A week after the clash, the doctor’s suspension list has come out and Colby Covington might have to sit for more than a month in order to compete again. According to the reports, Covington has to rest for an extended 45 days before even considering a comeback to the MMA arena once again. In addition to ‘Chaos’, some of the other fighters have been ordered a medical suspension as well.
Among them are, Cub Swanson – indefinite suspension, Billy Quarantillo – 60 days, Manel Kape – 30 days, Bruno Silva – 45 days, Dustin Jacoby – indefinite suspension, Vitor Petrino – 60 days, Daniel Marcos – indefinite suspension, Adrian Yanez – 30 days, and Navajo Stirling – 30 days. On that note, let’s leave these fighters to rest and move on to Conor McGregor, who has a single word for the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury rematch.
Conor McGregor shares his reaction to Tyson Fury’s warning to Oleksandr Usyk
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are going to clash with each other soon, however, ahead of their rematch, former heavyweight boxing champion, Tyson Fury, emphasized that he would inflict some serious damage on Oleksandr Usyk. While having a conversation with the media, ‘The Gypsy King’ emphasized, “I’m gonna dish out a whole lot of pain. I’m gonna put this f*cker in the hurt locker for sure… I’m serious. I’m bringing the hurt.”
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Tyson Fury’s response was shared heavily on social media and Conor McGregor took to his Instagram handle to share the post and caption it with a single word, “Excellent.” ‘The Gypsy King’ was stripped away from his title when he was defeated by Usyk back in their initial clash that took place in May this year. Regardless, Tyson Fury will be looking for revenge as he looks to lay it all on the line in his fight. On that note, let us move back from boxing to MMA, where Robert Whittaker shared honest predictions for the potential Alex Pereira vs. Khamzat Chimaev dream matchup.
Robert Whittaker gives his take on Alex Pereira vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Alex Pereira and Khamzat Chimaev are two of the biggest and most dominant fighters on the UFC roster, and rumors of their potential clash have been generating significant buzz in the media. Khamzat Chimaev’s former opponent, Robert Whittaker has come forward to explain that the Chechen fighter would emerge victorious in the bout between the light-heavyweight champion and the middleweight title contender.
Bobby Knuckles picks Khamzat to beat Alex Pereira pic.twitter.com/2VslfPODXp
— Dovy
(@DovySimuMMA) December 20, 2024
While having a conversation with ‘MMArcade’, Whittaker emphasized, “Chimaev, easily. Not easily, Chimaev though— he’s good at what he does. He plays into his strengths, but let’s say, hypothetically, Chimaev slows down, gasses a little bit, Pereira won’t.” He further added, “He can strike asleep, dead tired. Dude’s been doing it his whole life. He’ll kill Chimaev in the standup. It won’t be like that Usman-Chimaev fight where [Kamaru] Usman was, kind of, outboxing him a little bit at that period where Chimaev got tired. It’ll be a slaughter, but does it go that far?”
Picking Alex Pereira over Khamzat Chimaev is quite a bold task because the former is the Fighter of the Year but it must be noted that Whittaker has fought against ‘Borz’ and he knows what he is talking about. Regardless, for now, let us move on from middleweight/light heavyweight to the UFC 311 lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan.
Islam Makhachev calls out Arman Tsarukyan for breaking a promise
Arman Tsarukyan had promised his fans that he would finish Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. However, the fight ultimately ended in a unanimous decision, with both fighters sustaining injuries during the bout. Islam Makhachev has come forward to call his UFC 311 opponent out for breaking that very promise as the fighter prepares to clash with the lightweight champion. While having a conversation with the media, Makhachev emphasized, “Before the fight Arman promised everyone to knock him out (Oliveira).”
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He further added, “But it means don’t believe Arman what he says. It was a close fight but most of the fight Arman take him down and control him. I think Arman deserved [the win] but it was a close fight.” Despite the loss, Charles Oliveira showcased tremendous will till the very last minute of the last round and was constantly trying to submit Tsarukyan.
Regardless, as the number one lightweight contender is looking to clash with Islam Makhachev at UFC 311, their rivalry will likely come to an end. What’s your take on all the developments? State your thoughts in the comments below.
The post MMA News Roundup: Colby Covington Suspended, Conor McGregor on Fury vs. Usyk 2, Khamzat Chimaev & Alex Pereira Rumors, Islam Makhachev Exposes Tsarukyan appeared first on EssentiallySports.
