Psst!! Did you know Ian Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov trained together? If you don’t then, my friend, you might have missed out on the hot gossip of the MMA land. But worry no more, because EssentiallySports has come up with yet another episode of MMA News Roundup, where we’ll discuss the hottest topics of the last 24 hours. 

First up in today’s story, we’ll look at Garry and Rakhmonov’s sparring video, which resurfaced on the internet weeks before their bout at UFC 310. Next up, we’ve got Dan Hooker’s dismissal of Michael Chandler’s UFC 309 callout. And finally, we’ll witness the heat between Darren Till and Tommy Fury’s team as the duo ignite a beef at the press conference. So without any further ado, let’s dive right into it!

Ian Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov were once training partners

UFC 310 has excited the fighting community even though Belal Muhammad was out of the matchup against Shavkat Rakhmonov. After all, Ian Garry was the one who accepted to fight ‘Nomad’ on short notice on the 7th of December. The Irishman and ‘Nomad’ shared a few words on social media, hyping up their upcoming fight. But little did the MMA world know that Garry and Rakhmonov were once sparring partners.

Verdict MMA took to Instagram and revealed a video of Ian Garry and Shavkat Rakhmnonov sparring together. The caption to the video read, “From sparring partners to opponents this December.” The video showed the duo drilling their practicing their striking skills against each other. 

Now, let’s shine some light on what Dan Hooker had to say about Michael Chandler’s post-fight interview. Well, the Kiwi wasn’t happy with one of ‘Iron’s callouts. 

Dan Hooker opines on Michael Chandler’s callout at UFC 309

Despite losing the bout against Charles Oliveira, Chandler was content with the kind of performance he displayed at UFC 309. While he did regret not winning, he made sure to call a handful of fighters out during his post-fight interview. He targeted Max Holloway, leaving Islam Makhachev for Oliveira. Chandler said, “Forget calling out Islam, Charles is doing that next. Maybe Max Holloway for the BMF belt.” 

However, ‘The Hangman’ didn’t like this callout. Talking to the Submission Radio, Hooker said, “I didn’t like Chandler calling for the BMF fight. Why does everyone keep throwing their hands up for the BMF? It’s not up to us. It’s not our title. It’s the BMF. The BMF title is for the fans. It’s up to the fans. People need to stop calling out for the BMF title, brother. That’s the fans’ title – it’s their fun.” 

Hooker was the first guy chandler beat in the UFC, and that too on his UFC debut. Interestingly, his prospective opponent McGregor made a return after the pandemic on the same UFC 257 card. So is Hooker angling for a rematch to settle the score? It does not make sense otherwise, since ‘The Hangman’ is ahead in rankings and can get better fights than Chandler.

Now, it’s time for the altercation between Darren Till and Tommy Fury that has become the hot topic of fight town. The duo are set to clash on 18th January in Manchester. But what went wrong at the press conference?

Darren Till and John Fury unleash hell at press conference

It all began when John Fury hurled a bottle at the MMA star after he engaged in a heated battle of words with the undefeated boxer and called him an “empty head”. Fury Sr. went all Will Smith and said, “Leave my son Tyson’s name out of your mouth. Leave his name out of your mouth because you ain’t good enough to s*** his d***.”

Till shot up and was about to presumably attack Fury when the security rushed up to the stage and prevented matters from worsening. But the mixed martial artist didn’t stop hurling insults at his opponent’s team. He could be heard shouting, “I’m just going to obliterate him, do an absolute number on him, walk him down and obliterate him. And he knows it.” He claimed that he was an MMA fighter, which pushed him to plan kicks and elbows to Fury’s face. He continued, “End of the day, if I can’t beat you, I’ll just kick you in your face, how about that? I’m going to kick you straight in the face, you won’t know what’s hit you. If I’m in the fight and I’m losing, I’m kicking him in the face. You’re an empty head.” Well, that did nothing but hype up the main event of Misfits Boxing & DAZN: X Series 20. 

And that brings us to the end of today’s episode of MMA News Roundup. What do you think of Garry and Rakhmonov’s sparring session? Do you think Hooker was right about the BMF belt? Who do you think would win between Till and Fury? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.