MMA News Roundup – Dana White Books Shaquille O’Neal vs. Charles Barkley; Conor McGregor Gets Unusual Help From Khamzat Chimaev; Tom Aspinall Admits to Committing a Blunder to Jon Jones

Numerous advancements occur in the world of MMA each day. However, enthusiasts often overlook the most crucial occurrences due to time constraints. Nonetheless, we present another installment of the daily roundup to ensure you remain up to date with all the noteworthy moments in our beloved sport within the past 24 hours.

We will start with Dana White, who booked a Power Slap bout between Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley. Then we will shift our focus to Conor McGregor, who unexpectedly got a request for a sparring session with Khamzat Chimaev. Finally, we will sum up the daily news compilation with Tom Aspinall admitting to his mistake regarding the title-stripping comments he made against Jon Jones.

Dana White is all in for Shaquille O’Neal vs. Charles Barkley but in Power Slap

Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley got into a debate during the ‘NBA Game Break‘ show recently. They went on to show an interest in fighting each other out in Dana White’s Power Slap league. ‘Shaq’ went on to give a shout-out to Dana White, asking him to “hook” him and Barkley out for a fight. As such, the UFC CEO responded on social media.

Dana White shared a tweet confirming that the fight between Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley will happen. He scheduled the fight on February 9th next year in Las Vegas during the Super Bowl Weekend. “[Shaquille O’Neal] vs Charles Barkley. Feb 9th Super Bowl Weekend in Las Vegas @Power Slap league #Power Slap6 is LIVE & FREE on Rumble,” said the UFC head honcho. We will have to wait and see how that pans out when ‘Shaq’ and Barkley battle it out.

Khamzat Chimaev is open to sparring with Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor is on his way to a comeback in the UFC. Despite being busy with his business ventures, the former double champion has also been sparring frequently. He was recently seen in a video posted on Instagram sparring with his training partner, Bakhromion Baha. Both McGregor and his partner were looking to improve the Irishman’s counter-striking skills.

The video footage caught the attention of the undefeated star, Khamzat Chimaev. He did not seem too impressed with the way Conor McGregor was training. As such, Chimaev expressed his wish to spar with ‘The Notorious’ if he was up for it.

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“If he needs a real sparring, let me know,” said Khamzat Chimaev in a comment on the post on Instagram. Both fighters are looking to make their return at UFC 300 as we wait to see if Conor McGregor accepts the help and invitation from ‘Borz’ for a sparring session.

Tom Aspinall admitted that he made a blunder with Jon Jones

UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall recently demanded that Dana White should strip Jon Jones of the heavyweight title since he’ll be out for nearly nine months due to injury. This prompted a response from ‘Bones’ who reminded the 30-year-old about his achievements fighting under the UFC banner. Meanwhile, Aspinall admitted that he made a mistake with that comment on Jones.

Tom Aspinall clarified what his intentions were for making that comment. He said, “I said in previous interviews that Jon Jones should get stripped, I actually worded it wrong, and I don’t think he should get stripped.” It remains to be seen how Jon Jones reacts to this confession and if he’ll ever have a good relationship with the interim champion in the future.

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