LAS VEGAS – For just a few seconds, Junyong Park thought he found himself on the wrong side of a split decision, again.

“The Iron Turtle” picked up a split decision win over veteran Brad Tavares in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 244. When the judges’ scorecards were being read, Park (18-6 MMA, 8-3 UFC) who for many had clearly beaten Tavares (20-10 MMA, 15-10 UFC) in two rounds, feared the worst.

“Last time, I obviously lost by split decision and that set me back a little bit – it broke the streak,” Park told MMA Junkie at the UFC Fight Night 244 post-fight news conference. “As they were reading the scores, and they said it was split decision, I slightly had PTSD about the last time I lost by split decision. I was a little worried. But really thinking about it, I thought I won on all the scorecards.”

Park is 5-1 in his past six outings, with the lone loss being a split decision loss to Brazil’s Andre Muniz back in December. Entering UFC Fight Night 244 off a defeat, Park assures that his confidence was not rattled, even though he got rattled in the first few seconds of the fight.

“It wasn’t really a confidence thing,” Park said. “I was just unfocused for the first minute, minute and a half, and I got caught with a 2 and it led to a flash knockdown. There was no damage to it, but that actually kind of helped me because I refocused, and I kept that focus through the rest of the fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

Justin Gaethje is nearing a return to action in the UFC, but likely won’t fight until sometime in 2025.

While no exact date has been revealed yet, Gaethje’s longtime manager Ali Abdelaziz revealed that the former “BMF” champion is still taking the necessary time to recover from his knockout loss to Max Holloway at UFC 300 this past April before booking his next fight. Gaethje has always been adamant about allowing his brain and body to heal after a hard fight, which is why fans probably won’t see him back in action this year.

“Justin Gaethje’s going to fight in March,” Abdelaziz told MMA Fighting. “Against who, I have no idea.”

Arguably the most exciting fighter in the UFC, Gaethje seems to find a way to make all of his appearances entertaining, which is why he’s never been picky when it comes to a list of potential opponents.

Abdelaziz admitted there are a few names at the top of the list, but Gaethje has never shied away from anybody the UFC has offered him in the past and that’s highly unlikely to change now.

“It can be [Dan] Hooker. It can be Dustin Poirier. It can be [Renato] Moicano,” Abdelaziz said. “Whatever it is. I don’t know but I would like to see Justin fight in March. He needs a little bit of time to recover after his last fight. He deserves that.”

Following a stunning knockout of Dustin Poirier in July 2023, Gaethje returned with a marquee fight booked against Holloway at UFC 300 in April.

Unfortunately for Gaethje, that fight didn’t go his way after he suffered a brutal broken nose in the first round when Holloway caught him with a perfectly timed spin kick. In the end, Gaethje battled it out with Holloway until the final second when he threw down with the former featherweight champion in a wild exchange that saw Holloway catch Gaethje with a punch that ended his night at 4:59 in the fifth round.

Now, as Gaethje looks to bounce back and return to the win column, Abdelaziz says he is happy to fight whoever the UFC throws at him once he’s ready to fight.

“I think he’ll be ready in March to fight,” Abdelaziz said. “Against who? Justin Gaethje doesn’t pick opponents.”

FOX Sports’ Bucky Brooks recently outlined the challenges the Las Vegas Raiders might have in trading Davante Adams, their unhappy star receiver who is nonetheless in decline and carrying an expensive contract. It turns out that these issues might actually prevent a deal.

ESPN reported on Sunday morning that Adams could end up staying with the Raiders, citing sources as saying while there is interest in Adams, it is not “phone-is-ringing-off-the-hook” interest. 

Peter Schrager explained on “FOX NFL Kickoff” on Sunday morning that the Raiders’ asking price was an issue.

“The asking price seems to be too high,” he said. “A second-round pick and the Raiders apparently want whoever takes him on to take on the entire contract. That does not seem normal or reasonable at this stage of the season.”

Adams, 32, still has $11.8 million remaining on his contract. He is a two-time All-Pro with five 1,000-yard seasons and 96 receiving touchdowns across 10-plus seasons, but he has just 18 catches for 209 yards in three games this season.

[Related: Davante Adams is on the decline, but these 5 teams could make a trade work]

Schrager said that Adams might be changing his stance on a trade.

“So it seems like Davante Adams has changed his tune — that there is a chance he returns to the Raiders when he gets back from that hamstring injury,” he said. “And from what I’ve been told, in the building, he’s been great, and he actually gets along with Aidan O’Connell, and maybe the quarterback change from [Gardner] Minshew to O’Connell could help bring him back in the fold.”

There has been some thought that Adams would like to rejoin Aaron Rodgers with the New York Jets, as the pair were highly productive together across eight seasons with the Packers.

Schrager said on Sunday that the New York Jets “are still interested in that trade.” 

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Conor McGregor last fought in July 2021. He’s been on the comeback trail since then.

And in that time, after presumably healing a broken leg he suffered in a second straight TKO loss to Dustin Poirier, McGregor has promised his return seemingly countless times. A fight against Michael Chandler had been presumed for the better part of two years – including a booked headliner that led to the UFC’s new all-time gate record, only for McGregor to pull out.

Now they’ve both moved on, it seems … but McGregor still is teasing a return. Saturday after a BKFC event in Spain, the promotion’s new part-owner, while making a hasty exit down a back alley, told Bloody Elbow he’s fighting Dan Hooker in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1.

And Hooker told Submission Radio he and McGregor spoke in person at Saturday’s BKFC event in Spain, and that they just need the UFC to line it up.

“I’m on board. He’s on board. We just need to get the UFC on board and we’ll get this thing across the line,” Hooker told the show.

Hooker has mentioned wanting a McGregor fight in the recent past. McGregor has said he still wants to fight Chandler, but will fight someone else in the meantime. UFC CEO Dana White has said he expects McGregor to fight in 2025.

McGregor said in the past few weeks he’s “out of the loop” with the UFC in terms of getting a fight booked. Chandler moved on to a matchup with Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 next month.