MMA

CONOR McGREGOR has been welcomed back on Showtime to fight Jake Paul and Floyd Mayweather – despite calling their TV boss a “weasel”. McGregor crossed over from the UFC octagon to the boxing ring in 2017 but was beaten by Mayweather in ten rounds.
Floyd Mayweather beat Conor McGregor in 2017Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Showtime boss Stephen Espinoza with Floyd MayweatherCredit: Mark Robinson – The Sun
The super-fight sold 4.3MILLION pay-per-views on Showtime after a blockbuster build up between the superstar pair.
But as the bout approached, the rivalry increasingly soured with Showtime Sports boss Stephen Espinoza caught in the crosshairs.
McGregor ruthlessly told Espinoza: “Look at you, you little f***ing weasel. I can see it in your eyes, you’re a f***ing b****.”
But now five years on and the Irishman linked with a rematch against Mayweather, the TV chief would have the ex-UFC champion back.
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Espinoza told SunSport: “Look, I’d put my personal feelings aside for that one. 
“The reality is, it wasn’t my favourite thing in combat sports but it all ended well with a major event and a Mayweather knockout.”
Mayweather, 45, officially retired after beating McGregor, 34, but has boxed in four exhibition bouts since.
But the American revealed ongoing talks for a rematch in either a professional or exhibition capacity, which Showtime were privy to.
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Espinoza revealed: “Yeah, we were aware. 
“Floyd has a lot of interesting things going on, we had a great partnership and I’d like to think anything going forward we’d get an opportunity at. 
“Certainly if it was a rematch with Conor McGregor, we’d be interested in it and I still think it’s a massive event.” 
Espinoza recognises replicating the same commercial success would be a fight within itself but also an opportunity too good to pass up on.
He said: “I think we’d do it again. It will be very difficult to recreate that buzz, particularly when both of them were still more active. 
“It would be challenging to top that but I still think it would be bigger than almost any other fight we could do outside of it.” 
Showtime this week welcomes the return of YouTuber-turned boxer Paul, 25, who faces UFC great Anderson Silva, 47.
The American has McGregor in his sights for a future fight, something Espinoza has opened the door to.
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He added: “Certainly the UFC brought plenty of assets to the table in the Mayweather-McGregor promotion. 
“We’ve got a model and we’d be happy to work with them again, if that’s something they want to do. 
“There are also some Bellator fighters that Jake has talked about and going back and forth with. So, I think whoever it is, we’ll figure it out.” 
Jake Paul ahead of his fight with Anderson SilvaCredit: Caitlin O’Hara/SHOWTIME More

ANDERSON SILVA has been deemed medically fit to fight Jake Paul after passing an MRI scan and medical exams. The pair are due to fight over eight rounds in Arizona this weekend.
Jake Paul and Anderson Silva facing off ahead of their fightCredit: Esther Lin
But Silva, 47, caused concern after saying he was knocked out two times in training for the 187lb catchweight clash with Paul, 25.
The UFC legend – speaking at the open workout – later clarified that it was just kidology and lost in translation.
But the Arizona commission reacted by organising a meeting at 6.30pm local time to discuss the claims.
Silva took an MRI scan on Wednesday, which along with previous medical exams all came back with “pristine” results.
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Commissioner Ara J. Feinstein, a trauma surgeon and ringside doctor, passed the Brazilian fit to fight.
He said: “Given all the work we’ve done on concussion protocol and emphasis we’ve been placing on fighter safety, it just left me really concerned.
“However, once I had further information, the letter from Silva, the written statement from his trainer, and more importantly, the results of the medical examinations and the approval of the physician reading the report, I became much more comfortable, and I have no objections to Mr. Silva participating in the event this Saturday.”
Yancy Jencsok, the commission’s legal rep, added: “If commission has no concerns, they don’t need to do anything at all.”
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Paul reacted to the news by tweeting: “Stop playing with me! #PaulSilva is 1000% happening.”
Silva initially addressed the comments when speaking to media members just three days out from the fight.
He said: “Listen guys, let me tell you something very important.
“When I talk about the guys doing the hard sparring and the knockout, it was just joking.
“Because I’m training with the young kids and the guys asked me, and I don’t put nothing bad in my mind, and the guys say, ‘Oh, Anderson take knockout in training.’
“Of course not. I just like to help and put my partners up, that’s the question.”
Silva made the controversial comments during an interview with MMA Weekly.

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He said: “I’m training hard for win — I’m training with the good boxers, high-level, and five guys come to help me.
“And the last sparring with [my sparring partner], he is knocked me out two times, and when I finish my training, I talked to my coach and even said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?’
“And the coach said, ‘You need to prepare for war, and you prepare for war.’”
Silva’s trainer Luiz Carlos Dorea denied the comments and Silva later released a statement addressing the situation.
He wrote: “After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things. One, I was NEVER knocked out in sparring.
“I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth action that occurs in sparring.
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“Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September.
“The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn’t recent.”
Anderson Silva has been passed fit to fight Jake PaulCredit: Esther Lin More

ANDERSON SILVA’S “eligibility to compete” against Jake Paul will be reviewed TONIGHT after claims he was knocked out in sparring. The pair are due to fight over eight rounds in Arizona this weekend.
Anderson Silva said he was ‘joking’ about being knocked out in sparringCredit: SHOWTIME
But Silva, 47, caused concern after saying he was knocked out two times in training for the 187lb catchweight clash with Paul, 25.
The UFC legend – speaking at the open workout – has since clarified that it was just kidology and lost in translation.
But the Arizona commission have now thrown the fight into doubt by organising a meeting at 6.30pm local time to discuss the claims.
According to ESPN, Silva’s “eligibility to compete” against Paul will be reviewed and so will “additional documentation submitted” by the Brazilian.
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Silva addressed the comments when speaking to media members just three days out from the fight.
He said: “Listen guys, let me tell you something very important.
“When I talk about the guys doing the hard sparring and the knockout, it was just joking.
“Because I’m training with the young kids and the guys asked me, and I don’t put nothing bad in my mind, and the guys say, ‘Oh, Anderson take knockout in training.’
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“Of course not. I just like to help and put my partners up, that’s the question.”
Silva made the controversial comments during an interview with MMA Weekly.
He said: “I’m training hard for win — I’m training with the good boxers, high-level, and five guys come to help me.
“And the last sparring with [my sparring partner], he is knocked me out two times, and when I finish my training, I talked to my coach and even said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?’

🥊 Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva: Ring walk time, live stream, TV channel, undercard for toughest test
“And the coach said, ‘You need to prepare for war, and you prepare for war.’”
Silva’s trainer Luiz Carlos Dorea denied the comments and Silva later released a statement addressing the situation.
He wrote: “After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things. One, I was NEVER knocked out in sparring.
“I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth action that occurs in sparring.
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“Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September.
“The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn’t recent.”
Jake Paul training ahead of his fight with Anderson SilvaCredit: Showtime More

ANDERSON SILVA said he was “just joking” about being knocked out TWICE in sparring ahead of his fight with Jake Paul. The UFC legend faces Paul over eight rounds in Arizona this weekend.
Anderson Silva was ‘just joking’ about being knocked out twice in sparringCredit: Caitlin O’Hara/SHOWTIME
But he caused concern after claiming in an interview that he was knocked out two times in training.
Silva, speaking at the open workout, has since clarified that it was just kidology and lost in translation.
He said: “Listen guys, let me tell you something very important.
“When I talk about the guys doing the hard sparring and the knockout, it was just joking.
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“Because I’m training with the young kids and the guys asked me, and I don’t put nothing bad in my mind, and the guys say, ‘Oh, Anderson take knockout in training.’
“Of course not. I just like to help and put my partners up, that’s the question.”
Silva, 47, made the controversial comments during an interview with MMA Weekly.
He said: “I’m training hard for win — I’m training with the good boxers, high-level, and five guys come to help me.

🥊 Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva: Ring walk time, live stream, TV channel, undercard for toughest test
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“And the last sparring with [my sparring partner], he is knocked me out two times, and when I finish my training, I talked to my coach and even said, ‘Coach, let me tell you something, why the guys knock me out two times?’
“And the coach said, ‘You need to prepare for war, and you prepare for war.’”
Silva’s trainer Luiz Carlos Dorea denied the comments and Silva later released a statement addressing the situation.
He wrote: “After seeing the reports and concern for me, I’d like to clarify two important things. One, I was NEVER knocked out in sparring.
“I misspoke in that interview as I sometimes do when interviewing in English and exaggerated the normal back-and-forth action that occurs in sparring.
“Second, this sparring session I referenced was in early September.
“The interview with MMA Weekly was done on Sept. 13 and, for some reason, just released this week. So, it wasn’t recent.”
The Arizona commission are still set to investigate Silva’s claim ahead of the bout with Paul, 25.
Jake Paul during his open workoutCredit: Caitlin O’Hara/SHOWTIME More