MMA News Roundup: Arman Tsarukyan on Rejecting Islam Makhachev, Conor McGregor Gets Jose Aldo’s Verdict for UFC 303, Fans Disappointed at UFC 304

Several developments have ensued in MMA over the past 24 hours. To help you keep up with the biggest stories in our favorite sport, we present yet another edition of the daily roundup. We will start with Arman Tsarukyan, who opened up on why he refused to fight Islam Makhachev when Dana White offered him that matchup. Then we will shift our attention to Jose Aldo, who made his pick for the fight between his former rival Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler. Finally, we will sum up the daily news compilation with fans expressing their disappointment at the announcement of UFC 304.

No short-notice fights against Islam Makhacev for Arman Tsarukyan

After Arman Tsarukyan secured the biggest win of his career against former champion Charles Oliveira, he was set to face Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. However, he turned down that offer from Dana White, leading Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s protégé to take shots at the Armenian star and claiming that he was afraid. However, Tsarukyan didn’t stay silent for too long.

He responded to Makhachev with a tweet, revealing that he did not want to repeat the same mistake he made by taking a fight on short notice back in 2019. Claiming that a 6-week turnaround would be impossible, Arman Tsarukyan even took a shot back at Islam Makhachev by pointing out that he never fought twice in a short period. Will the lightweight champion respond to this statement? It will be interesting to see if he does.

Jose Aldo anticipates a Conor McGregor masterclass at UFC 303

The biggest UFC and MMA star is returning in June and everybody is chiming in the conversation and providing their prediction for the Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler fight. Former two-time featherweight champion Jose Aldo also spoke about the fight during an interview with ‘MMA Junkie‘, where he claimed to be expecting a good performance from ‘The Notorious’.

“I have great expectations for that fight. And as I always say, I always root for the guys who I fought and the guys who have beat me because that just proves that I lost to the best. And that I lost to the champion,” ‘Junior’ stated.

Despite the heated rivalry he had with Conor McGregor, the Brazilian legend had nothing but positive things to say about the Irishman. And he wants him to register a knockout win against Michael Chandler.

“I hope he can go in there and be the Conor of old, and go in there to finish the fight and not leave it to the judges. I expect great things from that fight,” Jose Aldo added. We will have to wait and see how things pan out for McGregor on his return when he finally locks horns with Michal Chandler, who’s been waiting for this match since 2022.

Fans aren’t too thrilled about UFC 304

The UFC is returning to the United Kingdom once again, and this time it’s another pay-per-view event. UFC 304 will take place in Manchester, and there are rumors that the event will feature interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Yet, some fans and pros of the sport seemed disappointed with the announcement. They were concerned about the timing of the event.

The belief regarding UFC 304 is that it will air at around 3 AM and that too, according to UK time, which seemed to upset the fans a lot. Welsh fighter Oban Elliot, who is currently injured at the moment, wanted to be on that card. But his current condition may not help him heal on time. Regardless, the timing of the event has been the biggest issue and the UK fans have urged Dana White to accommodate them with the event timing. It remains to be seen how the UFC CEO will navigate this problem by the time we get to UFC 304.