MMA News Roundup – Dana White Against Conor McGregor vs. Masvidal Revealed; Jon Jones Confirms Weight More Than 248 lbs; Derrick Lewis Lays Bare Injury Concerns Before UFC St. Louis

There have been a lot more developments that have taken place in the world of MMA over the past day. In case you’ve missed it, we have yet another daily roundup for you to help you stay updated with the most noteworthy moments in our favorite sport. Today, we will kick off this new compilation with the reason Dana White opted not to book Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal. ‘Gamebred’ had a lot to say about it.

Then we will shift our focus to Jon Jones, who confirmed that he will be heavier than he ever has been when he makes his return. He seems to be looking to live up to his status as the heavyweight champion. Finally, we will sum up this roundup with Derrick Lewis, who revealed having suffered certain injuries during the media day for UFC Fight Night in St. Louis.

Why didn’t Dana White book Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal?

One of the biggest fights that the UFC never made was Conor McGregor vs. Jorge Masvidal. They’ve traded verbal jibes in the past, but Dana White never seemed interested in making that fight happen. The reason he gave in 2019 was that Masvidal was simply ‘too big’ for the Irishman.

Of course, McGregor took offense at this remark, as White later revealed. But this was ammunition enough for Masvidal to constantly egg the former ‘champ champ.’ The fight could have been a record-breaker, had it gone down in 2019 or 2020 when Masvidal was at the peak of his UFC stardom. But the UFC did not strike while the iron was hot. However, Masvidal does not seem to have given up on the idea.

When Masvidal sat down for an interview recently, he boldly claimed that the Irishman wanted none of ‘Gamebred’ because he wanted to save his brand. “Conor knows I’m bad for his brand. I’m bigger than him, I am going to stand in front of him and I’m going to beat the f*** out of him on the feet,” Masvidal told djvlad.

The former UFC star mentioned that size was never a problem between him and Conor McGregor. Both of them have competed at welterweight. Hence, that could not have been the issue. As per the former BMF champion, the actual issue lay in Conor McGregor and his fear of losing to Jorge Masvidal. “In actual terms of size, we can do it because I’m a 170-pounder. It’s just like I said, that little Irish b*tch is scared, man,” ‘Gamebred’ added. Now, it will be interesting to see what kind of response ‘The Fighting Irish’ shares regarding these harsh comments.

Jon Jones will be bigger than before on his return

The undisputed heavyweight champion of the UFC, Jon Jones, is now actively training for his impending battle against Stipe Miocic. He recently posted a few snaps from a recent training session, looking all happy and excited about the prospect of getting his body in shape. Just then, a fan asked him if he would be returning by adding more pounds for his next heavyweight clash compared to the first one against Ciryl Gane when Jones weighed in at 248 lbs. Apparently, that’s the actual plan for ‘Bones’.

Having been a light heavyweight for most of his UFC career, fans did not know what to expect when he made the jump to the biggest division in the promotion for UFC 285. However, he lived up to the type and Jon Jones made weight and looked bigger than ever before as he went on to finish his French counterpart in a couple of minutes.

Now, Jon Jones assured fans that he will surely be bigger than 248 pounds. It could spell trouble for Stipe Miocic because he mostly weighs around 230-240 lbs for his UFC fights. Moreover, his most recent weight was around 234 lbs, but is that enough to take on Jones? We will find that out when they eventually get inside the Octagon to settle the best heavyweight debate.

Derrick Lewis reveals ear infection issues ahead of his fight in St. Louis

The ever-lovable and one of the funniest UFC stars ever, Derrick Lewis, is scheduled to make his Octagonal return this weekend against Rodrigo Nascimento. Unfortunately, the 39-year-old veteran fell victim to a few injuries before he competed in his last fight. When Lewis stepped in to fight Jailton Almeida last November, he was dominated due to his opponent’s excellent ground game, who created a record for the longest ground control time, 21 minutes and 10 seconds.

However, During his recent chat with the media, Derrick Lewis mentioned how having his shoulder busted weeks before his last fight affected his performance against Jailton Almeida. Thereafter, he went on to reveal that during the fight week, he even suffered infections in his ears, which took him a while to recover from.

“The week of the fight… I had two ear infections, in my left ear and my right ear, at the same time [when he injured his shoulder], and I did not get over that until three weeks after the fight,” Derrick Lewis stated. Regardless, he claims to be feeling well and good ahead of his fight against Rodrigo Nascimento and is looking to make a statement in St. Louis.