Conor McGregor’s coach nearly confirms UFC return, far-right politician retorts back at Khamzat Chimaev, Colby Covington lawsuit derailed Jorge Masvidal’s career

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 Khamzat Chimaev’s tiff with a Swedish politician, the impact of Colby Covington’s lawsuit on Jorge Masvidal’s career, and more.

#3. John Kavanagh makes a not-so-subtle hint at Conor McGregor’s TUF return

Conor McGregor revealed on Instagram a few days back that he was offered a chance to appear as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter. Needless to say, this was assumed to pave the way towards the much-awaited return of the Irishman to the UFC.

‘The Notorious’ is never one to admit anything outright without creating a bit of a mystery. However, his longtime friend and SBG coach John Kavanagh gave away a very telling hint.

In his latest tweet, Kavanagh shared a throwback to McGregor’s first appearance on TUF, during which he coached against Urijah Faber.

Here’s the video:

McGregor helped make the season compelling TV with some spectacular moments, including when he called T.J. Dillashaw “a snake in the grass.”

SevereMMA claimed earlier in the day that they have inside sources confirming that McGregor will be coaching the next season of TUF. No opponent has been brought up yet, but fans want Michael Chandler or Tony Ferguson opposite the Dubliner.

#2. Politician burns more Quran in retaliation to Khamzat Chimaev’s protests

Not long ago, Khamzat Chimaev took to social media to speak up against far-right politician Rasmus Paludan burning the Quran in Stockholm, Sweden. ‘Borz’ strongly protested against the incident and slammed the Swedish government for allowing such acts of hatred.

However, it seems like Chimaev’s comments have only incensed Paludan further. He committed the act once again and this time has blamed the UFC fighter for it.

In a video posted by journalist Sameera Khan on Twitter recently, Paludan can be seen burning the Quran with a text box in the video that reads:

“A shame that @khamzat_chimaev insulted me. So I decided to burn a book in his honor in front of the residence of the Russian Ambassador in Denmark. Will Khamzat continue to misbehave like infamous Ramzan Kadyrov? Must I teach them to behave?”

Watch the video below:

Chimaev currently resides in Sweden but hails from Chechnya and is very close with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov and his sons. He has currently taken Kadyrov’s son Ali with him to Thailand to train at Tiger Muay Thai.

#1. Jorge Masvidal delayed his UFC return because of the ongoing lawsuit with Colby Covington

Jorge Masvidal cites the legal battle with friend-turned-foe Colby Covington for his prolonged absence from the UFC octagon.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Masvidal revealed that he wanted to sort the lawsuit out before fighting so it doesn’t cause a distraction:

“Injuries and felonies and lawsuits and a bunch of crazy s**t. I just didn’t want to go into a fight with all this outside f**king bulls**t on my head… Not having so much clouds over my f**king head before I step back in that ring… I don’t want to be fighting with a gun to my head facing all these charges that I got going on, this bulls**t that I got going on.”

Masvidal will appear in court for the criminal trial he is facing for allegedly punching Covington on the street and breaking his watch and teeth. Given it is set to begin next month, it is unclear if the trial will impact Masvidal’s UFC 287 fight against Gilbert Burns.