Conor McGregor’s highly ͏anticipated return to the Octagon͏ seems to have taken a d͏ifferen͏t͏ turn,͏ ͏an͏d it’s ͏likely that his next fight ͏w͏ill be his l͏ast. Wh͏y a͏re we sayin͏g this? Stay tuned,͏ as we’re back with another episode of MMA Ro͏undup where we will summarise the latest updates of the last 24 hours in bite-sized pieces. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.

From Conor McGregor, we will move on to Alex Pereira, who is headlining the UFC 307 PPV against Khalil Rountree Jr. and it appears that ‘Poatan’ has found support from rather an unexpected source. Lastly, we will conclude our roundup with a piece of information from the latest Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov rivalry.

Conor McGregor’s comeback might be his retirement fight

‘Mystic Mac’ is the name given to Conor McGregor after he stunned the world to become the first dual-weight champion of the world. It would not be wrong to state that ‘Notorious’ is one of the reasons why UFC is so famous across the world. However, the dominance of the fighter appears to have faded away with time as he is struggling to make a comeback, and looking at his situation, MMA journalist, Luke Thomas is of the opinion that McGregor might fight once more before he calls it a day.

While having a candid conversation with ‘Submission Radio’, Thomas emphasized that Conor McGregor‘s time may be coming to an end – “I think he probably has one more in him. He’s probably got one more. I thought he, for the longest, I was like, “Okay, he’ll fight again, definitely, and he’ll have one more good win.” I think I’m now at the place where I’m like, “He’ll probably lace up the gloves again.” But, I mean, if he laces them up one more time.

He further added, “You know, he’s doing what he’s doing with his life—which again is like not a bad thing, but it’s a bad thing as it pertains to trying to be fight-ready or advance your craft if you want to be a prizefighter, right? It’s quite bad for that. You know, he might get washed, and I think if he gets washed, then that’ll be that. You know what I mean? Like, I don’t—maybe one more. You know… But after that, I don’t know.”

The former dual weight champion has asserted that he would be making a comeback to the Octagon next year but who will be his opponent? Time will tell, but for now, let us move on forward to Alex Pereira, who appears to have found support from an unexpected source.

Anthony Smith comes in support of Alex Pereira against Khalil Rountree Jr.

The saga between Anthony Smith and Alex Pereira is both random and amusing. Both fighters compete in the light heavyweight division and are quite critical of each other. According to Alex Pereira, he has a problem with Smith due to the fact that he has been showing double standards against him. He said of Smith, “But it’s always something else to discredit me for everything, and that’s why the beef is there.” Interestingly, the MMA community finds their beef to be hilarious.

However, despite the rivalry, Anthony Smith has come forward to support Alex Pereira in his bout against Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307. While having a conversation with a fan on the streets of Paris, Anthony Smith was asked about his opinion on the UFC 307 headliner event to which Smith said, “Khalil at times is hittable and I think if you are gonna beat like Alex then you gotta be a little defensive at times and I think he is a more powerful guy so I’m looking at Pereira.”

Smith further added that he likes to watch both guys fight but would love to see the better man win on October 5th. Well, Smith might or might not be there to witness the event. Regardless, Alex Pereira’s reaction to Smith’s support would be hilarious to witness. While this rivalry is seemingly cooling down, let us move on to the heated exchange between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov.

Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov’s rivalry is reaching boiling point

Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov’s rivalry appears to be going into the final stages now as both the fighters are at each other’s necks. After clinching the bantamweight title from Sean O’Malley, ‘Machine’ couldn’t catch a break as now he will have to defend it against Umar ‘Young Eagle’ Nurmagomedov sooner or later. Well, after constant abuse by Team Khabib fans, Dvalishvili came forward to warn the fighters of repercussions when they got inside the Octagon.

Taking to X, the Georgian fighter added, “I smacked Petr Yan’s a– like a b—-, I carried Henry Cejudo like a baby, I kissed Sean O’Malley like his daddy BUT I will simply SMASH Umar if the UFC puts him in front of me next.” His tweet didn’t go unnoticed by the #2nd ranked bantamweight fighter as he responded with a critical remark, “There is no if. There is only one contender and that is me. you became champion only because you did not accept a fight with me twice before. for the same reason there are no fighters from the top 10 in my list of fights, you and those like you did not accept a fight with me.”

Finally, Merab Dvalishvili challenged Umar Nurmagomedov to be more transparent, “Umar Now not only are you disrespectful , you are a liar. If UFC offered you to fight with me 2 times – show the fans the contract and the dates. They offered me to fight you right after I beat Petr Yan with a broken hand in 6 weeks. I accepted the fight verbally even thought i was no. 1 contender and you were no. 13 rank and even with broken hand. Ultimately the doctor said no to this and I had surgery. So lets see the contract of the second offering??!!! So if the UFC is gifting you the title defense – wtf are you talking trash and with disrespect? I’m done with you now because you keep lying – you lost my respect as a man and a martial artist. I will wait to hear from the UFC.”

Well, their rivalry is going to the Octagon sooner or later but will Dana White give Umar Nurmagomedov the chance to fight the new champ before Sean O’Malley gets a rematch? That’s the question. Whats your take on the hubbub? State your thoughts in the comments below.