The Abu Dhabi government welcomes the idea of fans attending UFC 254. The event will take place in Yas Island, which the company turned into its very own “Fight Island.” The country’s Department of Culture and Tourism is currently trying to figure out a way to get fans safely inside the arena space, while still far away from the bubble. 

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• To curb the possible spread of COVID-19, UFC fighters, officials, and event staff were all placed in a “bubble” within the island, segregating them from outsiders.
• According to DCT marketing director Saeed Rashed Al Saeed, the plan still needs endorsement from other government authorities. He says a final OK will only come once there is a “foolproof” plan in place. 
• The UFC has so far held 23 events over the last five months without a crowd. Their last fight card with fans was at UFC 248 in March at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas. Headlined by a middleweight title bout between Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero, the sold-out event had an attendance of $15,077 with a live gate of $2.75m. 
• UFC 254 will be headlined by a massive title fight between undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim titleholder Justin Gaethje. It takes place on Oct. 24. 

Dustin Poirier believes Conor McGregor called for a rematch to prepare himself for a high-profile boxing match with Manny Pacquiao. 

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• Poirier fights in a southpaw stance and relies heavily on his boxing. Similarly, Pacquiao fights as a southpaw. 
• McGregor later concurred with Poirier’s theory, stating his plan to continue sharpening his MMA skills against “tough competition” as he leads into his training for Pacquiao. 
• McGregor wants the Poirier rematch within the year, which the UFC declined. They offered Jan. 23 as the date, which McGregor eventually agreed to. “The Notorious” then proposed the Dallas Cowboys Stadium as his preferred venue and expects fans to be in attendance. 
• Poirier accepted the Jan. 23 date, which coincides with his birthday weekend. He did ask what weight they’ll be fighting at, considering he competes at lightweight (155 pounds), and McGregor’s last fight took place at welterweight (170 pounds).  
• As for the Pacquiao fight, McGregor claims he is in “serious talks” with the Filipino boxing legend. He wants the fight to happen somewhere in the Middle East in 2021.

For Khabib Nurmagomedov, rival Tony Ferguson is “finished” after the beating he took from Justin Gaethje. Ferguson lost to Gaethje via fifth-round TKO at UFC 249 in May, snapping a 12-fight win streak. 

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• Watching closely as the fight happened at the time, Nurmagomedov saw Ferguson change his demeanor late in the fifth round. To him, it was a sign of defeat after a prolonged beating over a 20-minute period. 
• Ferguson is still at the top of the heap at the UFC’s lightweight division, ranking third overall. But for Nurmagomedov, “El Cucuy” is “never gonna be the same” and will likely lose again.
• The 36-year-old Ferguson was supposed to fight fellow ex-interim champion, Dustin Poirier, at UFC 254 for his comeback bout. However, the pairing was scrapped when the latter failed to come to terms with the UFC. 
• Nurmagomedov is currently scheduled to defend his title against Gaethje at UFC 254 on Oct. 24. 

Manager Ali Abdelaziz offered $200,000 for Tony Ferguson to fight one of his clients, Islam Makhachev. Abdelaziz’s offer will be in addition to Ferguson’s UFC salary for the said bout. 

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• Makhachev was scheduled to fight former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 254. The pairing ended up getting scrapped after RDA tested positive for COVID-19. 
• Abdelaziz then offered the Makhachev fight to Ferguson, proposing a $100,000/$100,000 deal for the latter’s show/win money. He later doubled down on the deal by posting a photo of the signed checks. 
• “El Cucuy” rejected the offer, calling it a “bribe” from a “lowlife.”
• Ferguson has a history with Abdelaziz and his clients, particularly with Khabib Nurmagomedov. The two have been booked to fight a total of five times already, all of which ended up canceled.  

Israel Adesanya says “homophobia” is behind criticisms of his post-fight antics at UFC 253, where Adesanya mimicked having sexual intercourse with Paulo Costa. For the reigning middleweight champion, the backlash is because people are “questioning their own sexuality.”

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• Adesanya defeated challenger Paulo Costa via second-round TKO when they fought in September. Right after the referee separated them, Adesanya mimicked performing sexual intercourse on Costa, who at the time was on all fours. 
• Observers like UFC veteran turned analyst Dan Hardy, Adesanya’s actions are “not good for the sport.” Costa also wants to exact revenge for what was done to him. 
• But for Adesanya, his post-fight actions were completely “justified,” considering how his rift with Costa during the build-up turned personal.

Daniel Cormier blasted long-time rival Jon Jones for admitting to hiding from drug testers during a random visit. For “DC,” it was Jones’ “criminal mindset” at play when it happened. 

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• According to Jones, he was hiding from representatives of the Nevada Athletic Commission at the time because he had “just smoked a blunt” and feared a failed drug test. 
• Cormier fired back, stating it was the “dumbest excuse” he’d ever heard. He also questioned Jones’ coaches for seemingly condoning such behavior. 
• Jones has a colorful history of positive drug tests. The 33-year-old ex-light heavyweight champion tested positive for cocaine in early 2015, leading him to a short rehab stint. Two years later, he popped for performance-enhancing drug Turinabol, which resulted in the stripping of his UFC title. 

MMA coach John Kavanagh revealed a 2012 email from the UFC rejecting Conor McGregor. The email came from matchmaker Sean Shelby, who passed on signing McGregor because the company had an influx of featherweight fighters at the time. 

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• McGregor eventually entered the UFC in 2013, and immediately won a $50,000 post-fight bonus for Knockout of the Night. After three consecutive post-fight bonuses in the next two years, “The Notorious” won the undisputed featherweight title in December 2015 from then perennial champion Jose Aldo. 
• Within the next year, McGregor won the lightweight championship to become the first fighter in UFC history to simultaneously hold two world titles. 
• In just eight short years, the 32-year-old McGregor rose up the ranks to become the highest-paid fighter in the UFC with over $12m in earnings. He is currently “retired” from fighting, but is set for his return on Jan. 23 in a rematch against Dustin Poirier. 

After constantly campaigning for a title shot, bantamweight contender Aljamain Sterling will finally face the current champion, Petr Yan. The two men are slated to co-headline UFC 256. 

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• The 31-year-old Sterling is on a five-fight win streak and hasn’t lost since 2017. The victory that sealed him his title shot was against number two-ranked Cory Sandhagen at UFC 250 in June. Sterling won via first-round submission. 
• The 27-year-old Yan, meanwhile, has been undefeated in the UFC since he entered the company in 2018. Currently on a ten-fight win streak, he bagged the vacant 135-pound title at UFC 250 against former longtime featherweight champion Jose Aldo. 
• UFC 256 takes place on Dec. 12. Reportedly slated to headline the event is a featherweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson. 

Veteran middleweight Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will make his UFC return at UFC 256 against Marvin Vettori. 

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• UFC 256 will be Souza’s first fight in 2020. He was scheduled to meet Uriah Hall at UFC 249 in May but was pulled off the card after testing positive for COVID-19. The 40-year-old Brazilian is on a two-fight skid.
• The 27-year-old Vettori, meanwhile, is on a three-fight win streak. He last saw action in June against Karl Roberson and won via first-round submission. 
• The company has yet to finalize the venue for UFC 256, but it will likely take place at the APEX facility in Las Vegas.

Quick Hits:

• UFC welterweight Mike Perry recently got into a car accident that wrecked his Mercedez Benz C63. Seemingly unhurt, “Platinum” Perry simply regretted having “60 Gs down the toilet.”
• Bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen revealed practicing his spinning heel kick for two straight months in March and April while in lockdown. His hard work paid off on Saturday when he knocked out Marlon Moraes with the said move in the second-round of their headliner fight.
• As Apple device adoption grows in the enterprise, organizations are looking for ways to seamlessly manage and secure devices while extending the world-class Apple experience users expect.*

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