MMA News Roundup: Conor McGregor Becomes a Target for Sean O’Malley’s X-Rated Rant, Islam Makhachev Better Than Khabib Says Dustin Poirier, UFC 303 Gets Big Update

The MMA world is buzzing a lot with new developments in the sport. To help you stay abreast with all the key headlines, we have yet another edition of the daily roundup. We will start this news compilation with bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley, who weighed in on the comments Conor McGregor made about him when Ryan Garcia failed a drug test. It did not sit well with ‘Suga’, who idolized ‘The Notorious’.

Then we will turn our attention to Dustin Poirier, who believes Islam Makhachev may have surpassed his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov. It appears that ‘The Eagle’s 29-0 record is not enough to convince ‘The Diamond’ that the Hall of Famer is the better fighter. Finally, we will end this daily roundup with an update about the UFC 303 card – another fighter has been added to Conor McGregor’s return PPV.

Sean O’Malley goes off on Conor McGregor

There is no more love lost between Sean O’Malley and Conor McGregor after the latter’s distasteful comments. ‘Suga’ reflected on what the Irishman said about him and claimed that he was not as mad as he was sad to hear those things. O’Malley just went off on McGregor during a recent episode of his podcast on YouTube.

“F*** Conor… He just went on a little tweet rant, f***ing booger sugared out, talking sh*t… I was more sad than mad,” Sean O’Malley stated. Following those comments, ‘Suga’ jumped ship to side with Michael Chandler and wanted to see him make Conor McGregor go to sleep. “When your idols turn into rivals,” the 135-pound champion added.

Islam Makhachev is better than Khabib Nurmagomedov, claims Dustin Poirier

Ahead of his undisputed lightweight title showdown on June 1, Dustin Poirier threw some light on his opponent and reigning champion, Islam Makhachev. He had already battled his mentor and concluded that his protégé might just be better than him, even though he’s yet to fight Makhachev. “I think his [Islam’s] submission game, jiu-jitsu wise, is a little more versatile than Khabib’s was,” said Poirier on the ‘MMA Hour‘.

‘The Diamond’ also claimed that Khabib Nurmagomedov, despite retiring undefeated, had a rather monotonous fighting style. As such, he believes that Islam Makhachev, who’s developed his grappling skills over the years, could give him a tough time on the jiu-jitsu front. “Khabib had some chokes that he did really well, but Islam’s putting himself in, you could say bad positions, going for armbars. Maybe he loses a position, but he trusts his wrestling to get it back,” Dustin Poirier added.

Exciting new UFC prospect gets a spot on McGregor’s return card

Although people are talking about Conor McGregor making his impending comeback at UFC 303, fans often forget that there will be more fights announced soon for International Fight Week. One of those fights will be a bantamweight contest between two youngsters, Yanis Ghemmouri and Payton Talbott. While the former has yet to register a win under the UFC banner, the latter is currently undefeated.

Payton Talbot has had an amazing start to his UFC career since joining in 2023. The 25-year-old is undefeated with an 8-0 record and has finished his last two opponents: one of them by knockout and the other by submission. Talbott also won his DWCS fight by unanimous decision, which earned him his UFC contract. Now, it will be interesting if he can hold his nerve on his PPV debut for the promotion.