The world of mixed martial arts has burst into action as Conor McGregor bounced back into the training mats and prepared for his return. So you missed out on the exciting conversations with your friends because of your busy schedule? EssentiallySports has got you covered with yet another episode of MMA Roundup to fill you up on all the noise in the MMA realm.

First up, we’ll take a look at the Irishman commencing his training camp, and then move to Raul Rosas Jr’s retirement plans. And finally, we’ll see what the bantamweight champion thinks about his opponent. So, without wasting any more time, let’s get right into it!

Conor McGregor has begun training for his return against Michael Chandler

The ‘Mystic Mac’ has stayed out of action for nigh on 3 years now. With his broken pinky toe causing even more problems, McGregor was forced to pull out from his fated return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303. But now, ‘The Notorious’ has raised the entropy of the fight fans once again as he officially commenced his training camp. 

McGregor took to X and posted a few videos of him sparring with a partner. The caption read, “First spar back, off we go again,” and was followed by a prayer emoji and a 3-leaf clover emoji. In the videos, the former UFC double champion seemed like he was back in his fighting form and was indeed ready to take on Chandler in the Octagon.

This is indeed the proof that the fighting community needed after Dana White announced a date for the return of the Irishman. The UFC head honcho declared that ‘The Notorious’ was slated to fight ‘Iron’ “next year early 2025.” Now all that the MMA realm needs to do is wait and watch the story unfold, and hope that no other misfortune troubles the matchup.

Now, let’s jump on to the next story. Here, we’ll see the youngest UFC star’s retirement plans. 

Raul Rosas Jr. reveals his retirement plans before UFC 306

Yes! You read that right! Rosas Jr. has already achieved the tag of the youngest fighter to have won in the UFC. Needless to say, his performance greatly entertained the fighting community and garnered a massive bonus from the UFC CEO. But his plan to retire during his mid-20s is something that the world didn’t really anticipate.

In a talk with ESPN, the 19-year-old fighter said, “I just wanna accomplish my dreams which is to become the youngest UFC champion, have the belt, defend the belt a few times, probably retire. Hopefully, by 25 years old my career is all said and done and I’m able to enjoy time with my family and whatever I decide to do. I feel like I’m right on track.”

Riyadh Season Noche UFC is the golden ticket that has the power to propel Rosas Jr. into the top 15 list. And that would be when his struggle to become the bantamweight champion will begin. After all, he does intend to become the youngest champion in the history of UFC. 

But it’s not Rosas Jr. that the current bantamweight champion worries about. And that’s what we have for our final story. Sean O’Malley has sided with the UFC CEO in his belief about Dvalishvili’s social media posts.

Sean O’Malley calls out Merab Dvalishvili’s social media posts

During the media day for UFC 306, a reporter asked O’Malley about his thoughts on ‘The Machine’ as a person on social media. He also pointed out the words that the UFC head honcho had used to define Dvalishvili. White was pretty upset with the bantamweight #1 revealed his injury on social media just a few weeks before his fight. Another mistake that he made was to give a target to O’Malley, who is pretty famous for his accurate strikes. This urged White to call Dvalishvili a ‘moron’. The reporter asked if the champ saw his opponent as a man who was making fundamental errors, or as a man who was building his brand.

‘Suga’ said, “A little bit of both. Mostly stupidity. I mean, the dude jumped – he didn’t know what ice was. He jumped – he didn’t know if water got cold, that cold, that it turns into ice. He jumped in ice onto his head. So, I mean, that’s the person we’re talking about.”

O’Malley tried to speculate about the relationship Aljamain Sterling had with ‘The Machine’. Well, the bantamweight champion did seem to believe that the two were friends, and that seemingly made the bout at UFC 306 a bit more personal. Nevertheless, ‘Suga’ made a vow to exploit Dvalishvili’s mistake and open up his cut in the Octagon.

That sums up today’s MMA Roundup. What do you think of McGregor’s training? Will he be able to break the records for the highest gates again? Should Rosas Jr. extend his UFC career beyond the age of 25? And is O’Malley right about Dvalishvili’s social media presence? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.