MMA News Roundup: Conor McGregor Re-Ignites Old Feud; Anthony Pettis Began Professional Boxing Career With a Victory; Ukrainian Kickboxer Deceased in Russia-Ukraine Conflict

With former UFC legends, Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis taking the boxing ring, the MMA world bustled with notable incidents in the last 24 hours. From Conor McGregor revamping one of his old feuds to the heartbreaking death of a kickboxing personality. The previous day had numerous headlines to keep the fans hooked. But due to the number of incidents being numerous, we are back with our MMA news roundup to provide you with a skimmed view of a few eye-catching MMA world incidents.

Starting off with the reignition of the bitter feud between former UFC rivals Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo, we’ll also know about the superb victory of the former UFC Lightweight, Anthony Pettis, at ‘Gamebred Boxing 4’. Finally, we’ll wrap things up for the day after taking a look at the heart-wrenching death of a former Ukranian kickboxer who took up arms against Russia.

The re-ignition of the coveted feud between Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo

The former UFC Featherweight king, Jose Aldo, had to go through some discontent recently. His fight against Jeremy Stephens at Jorge Masvidal’s ‘Gamebred Boxing’ ended with a controversial majority decision draw. However, Aldo implied that he had done enough to earn a victory. On the other hand, his noted former UFC rival, Conor McGregor, was keeping a close eye on Aldo’s bout.

McGregor also expressed his desire to box ‘Junior’ with a tweet. It read, “Me and Aldo should box”.

However, ‘Junior’ didn’t take McGregor’s words too well. He replied to ‘Mystic Mac’ in his post-bout press conference stating, “He always talks a lot of s***. He has a scheduled fight. Conor, shut your f*cking mouth. We were supposed to fight before in the UFC. You run, and now you still talk s***” .

McGregor, as known, wasn’t late to reply to Aldo. He posted two more tweets, which a lot might label as deriding. The first one read, “Well ok then ahaha whatever lad I was only trying to be nice. Who pi**ed in your açaí ?”

While he iterated his own famous words in his second tweet. It read, “Me and who the fuck is that guy should box.”

Do you think a Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo boxing bout may be in the making? After all, the combat sports community has seen a lot of such feuds getting converted to official bouts. Will this one also follow the same path?

Anthony Pettis got the better of Roy Jones Jr. at Gamebred Boxing 4

The former UFC and PFL lightweight Anthony Pettis got the better of the noted boxer Roy Jones Jr. at Gamebred Boxing 4. Both fighters showcased superb courage and the bout went to its finish seconds.

Despite putting up superb resistance and landing a number of solid punches, Jones showcased signs of slowing down toward the latter rounds. Pettis capitalized on Jones’ diminishing cardio and landed quite a few shots in the ending rounds. It also had the judges declaring the bout in his favor with their scorecards reading 77-75, 78-74, and 76-76.

Post his victory, Pettis showcased due respect for the ’54-year-old’ who was still going strong at this age. He stated, “He’s[Jones] a legend of the sport”. But ‘Showtime’ didn’t reveal anything about his next possible opponent. He wanted to go slow and think about one fight at a time.

Ukrainian kickboxer deceased in Russia-Ukraine conflict

A known Ukrainian kickboxer and amateur boxer named Vitaliy Merinov sadly passed away on the 31st of March. Merinov had taken up arms to resist the annexation of his country by Russia.

‘The brave Ukrainian kickboxer’ also sustained another injury previously. But he didn’t waste any time getting back to the battlefield after recovering from it. Merinov also boasted 4 championships in kickboxing. Fans flooded his Instagram with condolences after the fall of the brave athlete-soldier.

We also offer out our condolences to all of Merinov’s near ones with a hope of normalcy returning to the region soon.

Some more MMA news

• Rob Wilkinson and Brendan Loughnane earn convincing wins in the PFL’s inaugural season in 2023.
• Jose Aldo revealed his opinion about Francis Ngannou, stating that he ‘shot himself in the foot’ as he decided to leave the UFC for boxing.