MMA News Round-Up: Conor McGregor Reaches Las Vegas, Israel Adesanya Reveals Retirement Plans, TikTok Ad Impersonating Joe Rogan Gets Banned

The world has seen the dawn of a new day and so has the world of MMA. But the last 24 hours in the MMA world were also filled with the occurrence of a lot of notable events, like most other days. Hence, we are here to bring you a selection of the most noted events that commenced in the world of MMA in the last few hours. To start off with, the noted UFC star Conor McGregor recently touched down in Las Vegas. McGregor flew to Vegas to coach the coveted upcoming season of TUF. Also, former UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya talked about his retirement in the post-UFC 284 press conference. Lastly, TikTok took stern measures against an ad, impersonating Joe Rogan for marketing a product named Alpha Grind.

Conor McGregor landed in Las Vegas to coach TUF 31

The news of Conor McGregor‘s return enthralled most UFC fans. However, the UFC supremo, Dana White, had clarified that McGregor won’t be taking the cage right after his return. Instead, fans would get to see a different side of his fight game as he was elected as the coach of the upcoming season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’.

Recently, McGregor landed in Las Vegas, all set to start filming for TUF 31. It’s pertinent to note that his team will be taking on the team of the famed UFC Lightweight, Michael Chandler. ‘Iron’ was also apparently ready with his team, who would assist him in his coaching. His team consisted of the known former UFC and current Bellator fighter, Ryan Bader.

Israel Adesanya unveiled that he would retire within the next few years

The former UFC Middleweight kingpin, Israel Adesanya, also graced the UFC 284 event in his neighboring country. Further, the Nigerian-New Zealander also appeared at the UFC 284 post-event press conference, where he was subjected to an interesting question by a reporter.

The reporter questioned Adesanya about his opinion on a few MMA legends fighting till their mid-forties. He wanted to know whether Adesanya thought it was better to retire a bit early with all the respect, or if he preferred to fight on until he was washed up. ‘Izzy’ chose the first choice given with a definite reply. He brought up his own example and stated, “I’ve been in the UFC five years, right? If I’m being honest, I’m not gonna be here in five years”.

‘The Last Stylebender’s’ words themselves clarified what his answer to this question would have been. After knowing his tentatively remaining time left in the UFC, it may be agreed that a lot of fans will feel his absence once he’s not there.

TikTok bans fraudulent advertisements impersonating Joe Rogan for promotion

A recent ad on TikTok surprisingly showcased the noted UFC color commentator and podcaster, Joe Rogan, endorsing a ‘libido booster for men’. But, later it was found out to be just another fraudulent person using unethical promotional tactics. A few Twitter users first took notice of the ad and found something wrong with it.

The Twitter user, @JimmyFarley00 initially posted the ad labeling it as fake. His tweet garnered humongous views, and this is how the awareness regarding the ‘deepfake’ was spread. As per the latest advancements, TikTok had removed the entire ad and also banned the account named @mikesmithtrainer permanently.

It was decoded by several people that an AI tool was used to create a perfect impersonation of Rogan, including his voice. From now on, please think before believing your eyes as well.

Some more MMA news

• The noted UFC analyst, Laura Sanko, who had her commentary debut at UFC Vegas 68 will return to the table for the next edition of the event, The UFC Vegas 69.
• The UFC Middleweight King, Alex Pereira, predicted that Jon Jones would dominate his return bout against Ciryl Gane.