MMA News Roundup: Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler Rumored for UFC 306; Alex Pereira Confirms Jiri Prochazka’s Black Magic Theory; Dana White Gets a Championship Fight for New UFC Noche at Sphere

Are you facing difficulties in trying to find the biggest stories from the world of MMA? Well, we have yet another daily roundup to help you get rid of that strenuous task. Today’s roundup begins with the news of the recently canceled fight between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler. Would you believe it? Emerging speculations claim that they could fight in the UFC’s biggest event ever.

Then we will shift our focus to the light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, who responded to Jiri Prochazka‘s claims about him using ‘shamanic’ magic. Finally, we will end this news compilation with a title fight reportedly getting scheduled by Dana White for the Mexican Independence Day event.

Is Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler happening at UFC 306?

Multiple discussions and speculations are swirling around about the probable rescheduled date for the big-money Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler fight. The fight’s been generating a lot of interest since it was first announced only to disappoint fans with a cancelation. But what next? Is this fight ever going to happen? Well, the UFC legend Chael Sonnen believes that it isn’t happening, at least, in 2024. But fans have a sign of hope regarding the fight taking place this year, and what about the location? Well, it’s the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Recent rumors suggested that Sean O’Malley vs Merab Dvalishvili could be the main event for the UFC’s love letter to the Mexican fans, UFC 306 at the Sphere. However, in the wake of the promotion’s new deal with the Saudi officials, following the success of the first Fight Night event, the fans feel like that’s the biggest stage Conor McGregor can return to as the event on September 14th will now be called ‘Riyadh Season Noche UFC’.

While one fan claimed, “306 will be Conor v Chandler,” another fan descriptively said, “They had to bring Saudi Arabia in to pay for Conor and O’Malley. Conor has always paid homage to Mexican fighters, Sean has a Mexican wife and daughter (the Mexican flag is literally on his championship belt), and Merab is loved by them as well. This is about to be epic.” 

What do you think? Is Conor McGregor’s return destination The Sphere? As we wait for official confirmation, let’s hop over to the other interesting story in the news.

Alex Pereira seemingly confirmed Jiri Prochazka’s theories about his use of magic

Self-proclaimed Samurai, Jiri Prochazka, recently made some unusual comments about his Brazilian counterpart and reining 205lbs champion, Alex Pereira. The Czech star, during an appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’ ahead of UFC 303, spilled his thoughts about Alex Pereira probably making use of some kind of “magic” in his fights. “I think he believes a lot in the help of spiritual things, and that’s something that I think he can’t fight without… he is doing these rituals ahead of his fight everybody can feel that what’s around him and what’s going on Alex can’t fight without that,” said the former champion.

Now, during the media day ahead of his third title defense, he caught wind of those comments after a reporter popped up details about Jiri Prochazka’s statement. Guess what? Pereira didn’t take any offense to it but claimed that he’s found what he needs and is serving him well. “Everybody has their own spirits. We’re not only made of flesh and bone. I have found mine. If he did not find his, or if he doesn’t believe, it’s not my fault,” the defending champion added.

It is an interesting back-and-forth between the two 205’ers and now it will be interesting to see what the press conference talk-off would be like. Now, let’s dive into the last piece of interesting news.

Dana White’s planned title fight plans for UFC 306 confirmed

That’s right! We have another confirmed title fight in the next few months in the women’s flyweight division. The champion, Alexa Grasso, has confirmed to MMA journalist John Morgan that she’s going to defend her title at UFC 306. But against whom? The popular opinion is that she’ll face the former champion Valentina Shevchenko for a third time. ‘Bullet’ has fought the Mexican twice, having lost once when she dropped her title and the other one was a draw, which took place at last year’s UFC Noche. Adding this fight guarantees arguably the greatest card of all time, as Conor McGregor’s return is also being connected to this PPV.

Alexa Grasso has truly emerged as a star, having fought in multiple main events. She hasn’t really fought anyone else since dethroning Valentina Shevchenko, and at UFC 306, she’d look to put this rivalry to bed and seek new and rising contenders. Or will ‘Bullet’ reclaim her title?

Well, that remains to be seen as we wait for the official confirmation from the boss, Dana White, himself as he plans to reveal some details about the PPV during the UFC 303 weekend. Who do you think can fight at The Sphere? Let us know in the comments below.