MMA News Roundup – Conor McGregor Answers on Hollywood and UFC Future; Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje Lock Horns for Islam Makhachev Fight; Dana White Makes Last Minute Changes to TUF 32

The MMA world is abuzz with developments daily, but fans often miss out on some of the most noteworthy moments. But fear not, for we bring to you yet another edition of the MMA news roundup to keep you up-to-date with the latest headlines. Today, we will start with Conor McGregor, who revealed his future plans for both Hollywood and the UFC. Then we will shift our attention to Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje making their cases for a title shot. Finally, we will sum up the news compilation with Dana White making a change for the upcoming season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’. Let’s not waste any time and dive right into it!

Conor McGregor lays out plans for his future – acting or fighting?

The UFC’s first-ever simultaneous two-division champion, Conor McGregor, is gearing up for his first Hollywood movie’s release. The remake of ‘Road House’, starring Jake Gyllenhaal alongside ‘The Notorious’, will start streaming on 21st March on Prime Video. McGregor recently appeared in an interview to promote the movie and opened up about the initial plans for him in ‘Road House’.

“Originally I was kind of, I was to come in… would have been in and out [in the film] in a short bit. And then they kind of kept adding more and more,” said McGregor. Getting the chance to act in the whole movie, the Irishman believes that he could have a career in acting. However, he has made no decisions on that front just yet.

‘The Notorious’ also mentioned that when it comes to fighting, he’s a long way from retiring. He has plans to fight twice this year and is looking forward to securing an official date for his comeback fight. McGregor added, “Now, I am gonna enjoy myself and after that, hopefully, I get a fight date booked. I am looking to compete a couple of times by the end of the year.” 

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Further, he also stated that his return to the Octagon will depend on how ‘Road House’ performs. Rest assured, he will be back inside the Octagon sometime this year. “I will wait till I see how the reaction [to the movie] is and see how I feel about it and then make a decision… My game inside that Octagon is far from over and I’m ready to get back,” the Irishman added. It remains to be seen if McGregor’s plans for two fights in 2024 come to fruition.

Justin Gaethje is not happy with Dustin Poirier lightweight title shot talks

‘The Highlight’ has been at the forefront of the UFC 155 lbs title picture for a while now. At the moment, he’s preparing for his UFC 300 BMF title fight against Max Holloway. And after Dustin Poirier’s impressive knockout win over Benoit Saint-Denis last weekend, ‘The Diamond’ has now been touted as a deserving contender for Islam Makhachev‘s lightweight championship. Now, this is not strictly based just on merit, but because the other deserving title contenders are all booked for fights.

UFC Hall of Famer and commentator Michael Bisping posted a video on YouTube where he mentioned that Dana White could give Dustin Poirier a title shot soon. However, Justin Gaethje did not take a liking to ‘The Count’s statements. He mentioned his disapproval of ‘The Diamond’s admission for a title shot and tweeted, “[Bisping] talking bollocks.” It will be interesting to see how Dana White navigates this situation since Gaethje has been waiting for a title shot for a long time now.

Dana White reshapes TUF 32 contestants

The last season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ saw the return of Conor McGregor as coach, alongside Michael Chandler. This season, Dana White had some new plans for the reality show. However, he decided to remove one fighter who was originally supposed to feature on the 32nd season of TUF – Jamie Siraj, a Canadian MMA fighter. The 9-2 MMA star will not be there on TUF 32 and he opened up about it on Instagram.

Jamie Siraj mentioned how hard he had worked for the TUF opportunity and was in the best shape of his life. However, a last-minute change from the UFC that was out of his control spoiled his plans. “I missed my opportunities before due to my health problems but this time it was out of my control,” wrote Siraj on his Instagram post. We will have to wait and see how Dana White sets up the 32nd season of the UFC show in the days to come.

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