Conor McGregor eyes boxing return, UFC 287 loses heavyweight matchup, Colby Covington will pursue politics after fighting: MMA News Roundup
Welcome to today's edition of Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup, where we present the biggest UFC updates and other stories from the world of mixed martial arts.
In today's issue, we talk about Conor McGregor's boxing aspirations, Colby Covington's retirement plans, and more.
#3. Conor McGregor calls out former rivals for a boxing match
Jose Aldo competed against Jeremy Stephens in Saturday's Gamebred Boxing 4 event. The fight ended in a majority draw, but both fighters seemingly impressed Conor McGregor enough for the Irishman to want to box them.
Following the event, McGregor tweeted his wishes to box both Aldo and Stephens.
For the latter, McGregor brought back his iconic press conference one-liner that he aimed at Stephens in 2016.
McGregor did a fascinating job of getting under Aldo's skin ahead of their fight in 2015. Since then, they have buried the hatchet and shown respect to each other on social media. Aldo even spoke of 'The Notorious' affectionately not too long ago and called him a good person.
However, Aldo's reaction to McGregor's tweet was anything but courteous. When asked, he said:
"Conor [has a] big mouth. He always talks a lot of sh*t. He has a scheduled fight... Conor, shut your f***ing mouth. We were supposed to fight before in the UFC. You run, and now you still talk sh*t."
The Dubliner was taken aback at the sentiment and clarified that he was trying to be nice.
#2. Another UFC 287 fight falls through after Li Jingliang
Another fight fell through with just a week remaining before UFC 287 goes down at the Miami-Dade Arena. Fan-favorite Chris Barnett will not feature in the preliminary card opener against Chase Sherman.
According to an initial report by journalist Marcel Dorff, Karl Williams will step in on short notice.
The reason behind the heavyweight's withdrawal is not yet known.
#1. Colby Covington will go into politics after retirement
Colby Covington wants to be a public servant after retiring from MMA. During a recent chat with OutKick's Mike Gunz, 'Chaos' stated that he aspires to be a "man of the people" when he's done with fighting:
"I wanna stand up for the people and be that voice, you know. I feel like that's my calling after when I'm done fighting and be a public servant, serve the people... It's only a matter of time until I go over the political realm. You know, I wanna be the man of the people."
Watch the conversation below:
Colby Covington is expected to fight for the welterweight title against Leon Edwards at UFC London on July 22.