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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

As Khabib Nurmagomedov waded through waves of Nevada Athletic Commission officials, Las Vegas police and UFC security to the back of T-Mobile Arena at UFC 229, a call was waiting.

On the line was Vladimir Putin, who’d gone from TV to telephone to congratulate the Dagestani champ seconds after tapping out the biggest star in MMA, Conor McGregor, in a fight that had become a global sensation.

The Russian president had to wait a bit – after the bedlam that ensued with Nurmagomedov jumping into the crowd to fight McGregor teammate Dillon Danis, a lot of bodies were required to clear the scene. Stiff fines would follow for all those involved, none greater than for “The Eagle,” who was ultimately docked $ 500,000 from his fight purse.

But according to White, Nurmagomedov received a gift from Putin that, for most, would be a life-changing resource. Putin’s phone congratulation was just the opening gesture in what the UFC CEO said was a lavish gift bestowed upon the then-UFC lightweight champ and his now-deceased father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

“He didn’t even make it back to his dressing room after the fight, and Putin was on the phone,” White recounted of the UFC 229 saga on the “Games with Names” podcast. “Putin gave him and his father, like, $ 20 million worth of property in Russia. Then he went into the Muslim territories where these guys are like, cars, money, gyms, whatever he wanted.”

Many of those gifts to Nurmagomedov were documented, including a lavish Mercedes given by Putin ally and now-sanctioned Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, whose longtime obsession with MMA and alliances with UFC fighters would later attract the attention of the U.S. State Department. Putin’s $ 20 million in real estate was not previously known as a gift.

Nurmagomedov was no stranger, however, to Putin’s generosity, whether directly or indirectly. According to Bloody Elbow’s Karim Zidan, the majority of his training camps were funded by Russian oligarch and Putin crony Ziyavudin Magomedov, who was later arrested for allegedly embezzling state funds to the tune of approximately $ 180 million.

Nearly six years after that fateful night in Las Vegas, Nurmagomedov is retired and has resisted White’s efforts to bring him back to the octagon. According to White, money is the reason McGregor isn’t coming back any time soon.

“Once you get to that level [of Nurmagomedov’s fame], it’s like what we’re dealing with with Conor McGregor,” White said. “Conor McGregor lives in a yacht in the middle of wherever the warmest place in the world is at that time. Once you get to that level, you’re not getting up and getting punched in the face any more.”

White intimated that Nurmagomedov’s departure from MMA – the result of a promise to his mother after the death of his father – kept him from capturing the mantle of MMA goat.

“The GOAT is Jon Jones,” he said. “Jon Jones is undefeated. Khabib is undefeated, too, but I would have liked to have seen Khabib do more.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou are just weeks away from trading punches, and now the price has been revealed for the highly anticipated pay-per-view bout.

PPV.COM lists the cost for the March 8 boxing match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at $ 69.99. As of today, the “order now” button is active on the site.

This cost is actually slightly less than that of Ngannou’s boxing debut against Tyson Fury, which took place in Riyadh this past October. That event was priced at $ 79.99 and aired on ESPN+ pay-per-view.

In Ngannou’s first fight since parting ways with the UFC in January 2023, the current PFL signing went 10 competitive rounds with Fury and even scored a knockdown of the lineal heavyweight boxing king in the third. However, Fury went on to eke out a split decision win to keep his undefeated record intact.

The loss did little to hurt Ngannou’s stock in the boxing world as he is now set to face a former heavyweight champion in Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs). After losing a two-fight series to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua has rebounded with three straight wins and now has the opportunity to add a former UFC champion to his résumé.

Ngannou never lost his heavyweight championship in the octagon, instead becoming an unrestricted free agent when he and the UFC could not agree to terms on a new contract. He won his last six fights for the promotion and exited with a UFC record of 12-2.

The winner of the March 8 bout is expected to fight the winner of the May 18 title fight between Fury and Usyk, though Joshua has already called his fight with Ngannou “my undisputed title fight.”

MMA Fighting – All Posts

El Matador has arrived
| BJPenn.com

This weekend (Sat., Feb. 10, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventures forth to Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, for UFC Mexico City. My lord, an international and free card with an audience likely to erupt for any of its nationals winning a fight? What used to be a common place UFC event now feels like a treat in 2024! Seriously, this card features two excellent and interesting bouts atop the card, then the entire rest of the event is designed blow the roof off that arena.

Mexican MMA talent is the obvious theme here, top-to-bottom. Let’s dig into all the main card fights leading up to the main- and co-main events:

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Lightweight: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Francisco Prado

Best Win for Zellhuber? Christos Giagos For Prado? Ottman Azaitar
Current Streak: Zellhuber has won two straight, whereas Prado rebounded last time out
X-Factor: Both men are quite young (24 and 21 years old respectively)
How these two match up: A pair of young and hungry Lightweight prospects are going to take lumps out of each other until one falls down.

Mexico’s Zellhuber is definitely a physical talent with a good fundamental skill set. Standing 6’1” with a 77” reach, this is a massive Lightweight. In addition to pure size, he can take a shot well and usually return the favor with more force, which is a great way to overcome any technical deficit.

On the other side of the equation, Argentina’s Prado will (understandably) face a severe disadvantage in height and reach. There’s a lot of upside on Prado, however, who brings the aggression and fierceness one would expect of a young veteran. On the whole, he’s an excellent finisher with the toughness to learn on the job in the UFC.

Likely, he learns a lesson about distance here. On paper, both men are fairly well-rounded prospects with some defensive issues who win mostly via physicality, aggression, and grit. That should be a recipe for a barnburner, yet Zellhuber’s massive height and reach feel like such an obvious difference-maker.

It takes a serious gulf in technical ability to overcome eight inches of reach, and I’m not sure Prado has any such advantage. Most likely, he manages to score some shots of his own but ends up frustrated by distance much of the time.

Prediction: Zellhuber via decision

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Bantamweight: Raul Rosas Jr. vs. Ricky Turcios

Best Win for Rosas Jr.? Jay Perrin For Turcios? Kevin Natividad
Current Streak: Both men won their last bout
X-Factor: Rosas Jr. is still 19!
How these two match up: I expect chaos.

Rosas Jr. made headlines by debuting inside the Octagon at a ridiculously young age and saying silly things to the media about fighting for the belt right away. The Christian Rodriguez loss was a bit of a reality check, but all the same, Rosas Jr. is a talented grappler with developing knockout power.

Turcios is an Ultimate Fighter (TUF) champion, a veteran with a good deal of experience who thrives in wild fights. Cardio is the name of Turcios’ game, as he’s happy to push a high pace wherever the fight goes, and he tends to do his best work in the latter half of grueling battles.

At the moment, the strengths and weaknesses of Rosas Jr. are well-known. Barring further development — obviously very possible at his age — “El Problema Nina” is a major handful early in fights. He storms out of the gate and absolutely sprints towards the finish, usually looking to take the back and wrangle the neck.

It’s not likely to be that easy against Turcios, a jiu-jitsu black belt who’s been stopped just once in 15 fights. Turcios is an excellent scrambler, the type of difficult-to-hold-down athlete who can really frustrate wrestlers accustomed to dominating from top position. The question here is this: do you believe Rosas Jr. finishes Turcios inside five minutes? If not, he’s going to have a lot of trouble down the stretch.

Turcios loses the first frame, but that volume and activity edge takes over somewhere in the middle of the fight.

Prediction: Turcios via decision

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Women’s Strawweight: Yazmin Jauregui vs. Sam Hughes

Best Win for Jauregui? Iasmin Lucindo For Hughes? Elise Reed
Current Streak: Jauregui lost her last bout, while Hughes returned to the win column
X-Factor: Jauregui enters following her first pro defeat
How these two match up: This looks to be a rebound fight for Tijuana’s Jauregui.

Jauregui debuted with a bit of hype behind her, having won the “Last Latina Standing” three-fight, one-night tournament for Combate Global to score her spot on the roster. A quality kickboxer, Jauregui has a high-volume and aggressive style of striking that has produced seven wins via knockout. Hughes, conversely, is something of a generalist. A solid natural athlete, Hughes actually began her UFC run with an 0-3 start, but she’s since won three of her last four.

Hughes has two potential paths to victory against the clearly better striker: catch her with a big shot or work the wrestling. Hughes has some physicality, but she’s not the heaviest hitter on the feet, and trading power shots with Jauregui seems more likely to end with her hitting the floor.

That leaves takedowns as the more viable option. Unfortunately, Jauregui also has defended every takedown that’s come her way inside the Octagon, and Hughes isn’t an overwhelmingly strong chain wrestler.

Most likely, Jauregui sprawls-and-brawls her way to a decision win or late finish.

Prediction: Jauregui via knockout

Lightweight: Manuel Torres vs. Chris Duncan

Best Win for Torres? Nikolas Motta For Duncan? Omar Morales
Current Streak: Torres has won five straight (two in UFC), while Duncan has won four straight (two in UFC)
X-Factor: Torres has serious punching power
How these two match up: This is a great match up of up-and-coming Lightweight talent.

“El Loco” is aggressive. He’s finished 13 of his 14 victories before the final bell, and both of his UFC performances have ended inside a round via knockout. Strong and confident, Torres is happy to take a shot if necessary, provided he’s able to answer with three of his own. Duncan, meanwhile, is a little more well-rounded in his approach. Mixing takedowns and combination punching up has been his key to success inside the Octagon, but he does have seven wins via stoppage himself.

Between the two, Torres is the nastier puncher, whereas Duncan is more likely to find success with his top control. Though both certainly still have skills in the other areas of fighting, the general feel here is that this will end up a striker vs. wrestler style of fight.

Duncan has the tools to hide his takedowns, but I’m not sure he’s able to get much done on the ground. He’s not a submission, and that’s historically what’s given Torres pause. More to the point, Torres hasn’t lost a fight in nearly five years, and he’s been very difficult to take and hold down recently.

If it becomes a striking match — and it seems like it will — my money is on Torres.

Prediction: Torres via knockout

‘X-Factor’ Picks for 2024: 7-3 (1)

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

There has been a changing of the guard at featherweight. If Alexander Volkanovski has it his way, it will only be temporary.

UFC 298 got bigger and bigger by the day of its fight week in Anaheim, Calif. The undefeated first-time title challenger Ilia Topuria’s growing confidence only boosted until pressure seemingly was getting the better of him at the energetic pre-fight press conference this past Thursday.

In the end, Topuria made good on his predictions and knocked out the reigning featherweight champion in round two with a perfectly placed right hand against the cage. The loss was Volkanovski’s second in a row via strikes and his first at 145 pounds in his 30-fight career (16 at featherweight, 26-4 overall). However, it was a better performance than his previous loss against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October.

Per all three judges on the night of UFC 298, Volkanovksi won round one and the Aussie’s coach Joe Lopez liked the way things were playing out overall.

“Alex was going through the gameplan, was finding his range and starting to touch him up,” Lopez told Daily Mail. “I was disappointed [by the result], knowing that Alex has a much better skill set … We knew coming into this fight he (Topuria) had a puncher’s chance — and he got that punch.”

Volkanovski, 35, was undeniably one of the best featherweight champions in MMA history with his five-defense stretch of dominance. Arguably the greatest of all time in the division to some, an immediate rematch wouldn’t be unjustifiable against the new title holder.

Ultimately, the 27-year-old Topuria isn’t against the idea but would like to “move on” and keep things fresh atop the division. In defeat, Volkanovski was nothing but graceful and had no excuses to be made.

Don’t expect that potential rematch to look the same though, says “The Great.”

“We knew he would be fast,” Volkanovski said in his post-fight scrum after UFC 298. “We knew he would be powerful, obviously. We knew not to be on the cage there and let him catch us there, so again, he did a great job there, so there’s not much I can say other than congrats to him.

“Obviously, I’ve been a champ for a long time and I want that rematch, so that’s something that needs to happen. I’ve been reigning champ for how long? I’ve been a bit of a company man. Went back up on short notice, I fought Max [Holloway] three times, you name it, I’ve done it individually for a long time so I think I deserve that and it’s going to be different next time.”

TOP STORIES

Problematic. FuboTV files $ 1 billion lawsuit seeking to stop Disney, FOX and Warner Bros. from launching sports streaming service

Speculation. Matt Brown thinks it’s ‘pretty obvious’ what’s going on with Conor McGregor

Best. Rankings Shakeup: Is Merab Dvalishvili the real No. 1 bantamweight in the world?

Suggestion. Demetrious Johnson: Israel Adesanya needs to develop clinch, grappling game to beat Dricus du Plessis

Rules. Arnold Allen addresses illegal knee controversy against Movsar Evloev: ‘It’s so frustrating’

Prep. Merab Dvalishvili, Aljamain Sterling confirm ‘fight’ for 3 rounds just before Dvalishvili faced Henry Cejudo at UFC 298

Upcoming. PFL announces first fighters, dates for 2024 regular season, including Las Vegas card the night before UFC 300

Injuries. Leah McCourt ‘devastated’ to pull out of Bellator 302 fight against Sinead Kavanagh

Plans. Coach lays out fight roadmap for Islam Makhachev, wants welterweight title in 2025

VIDEO STEW

BROADENED HORIZIN.

Sound & Pound.

Free fight.

Riyadh arrivals.

McKee vs. Collard breakdown.

LISTEN UP

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck discusses the Ilia Topuria era; Plus, fallout of UFC 298, UFC 300 main event reveal.

MORNING MUSIC

Andy’s solo work is interestingly different from Black Veil Brides.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Injuries.

Gone in 28 seconds.

Lessons.

Rebooted.

Cashing in.

Might not be human.

But who else?!

Complete.

Let it be known.

New belt.

Is he Wolverine?

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Pat Sabatini (18-5) vs. Nate Landwehr (17-5); UFC Atlantic City, March 30

FINAL THOUGHTS

Demetrious Johnson, Clay Guida, Merab Dvalishvili. The three clear cardio GOATs, the gas tank gods, right? Merab might be the new No. 1 though. Am I missing anyone?

Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

An apparent leak on the official Kingdom Arena website tonight, appears to have shown the booking of a middleweight main event fight between former undisputed divisional champion, Israel Adesanya, and the unbeaten, Khamzat Chimaev for a slated event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 23. next, however, promotional boss, Dana White has firmly shut down suggestions of a bout. 

Adesanya, a former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, has been sidelined since last September, most recently suffering a stunning title loss to former titleholder, Sean Strickland in Australia.

As for Chimaev, the unbeaten Chechen turned in his thirteenth straight win back in October in Abu Dhabi, UAE – landing a close, majority decision win over former undisputed welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman in the co-main event of UFC 294.

And tonight, speculation has been rife on social media regarding an impending comeback for Adesanya, after an apparent leak on the official Kingdom Arena – which appeared to sell tickets to punters for a fight against the above-mentioned, Chimaev – at a set UFC Saudi Arabia event on June 23. 

Israel Adesanya – Khamzat Chimaev fight denied by Dana White

However, soon thereafter amid chatter online, the above-mentioned organizational CEO, White denied that a bout between Israel Adesanya and Khamzat Chimaev was set for June 23. in the Middle East – describing the leak as an apparent “fake post”.

“Not happening,” Dana White posted on his official Instagram Stories accompanied by a fan-made poster featuring Adesanya and Chimaev. “It was a fake post. All the MMA Media thar an with it are the problem. Absolute CLOWNS.” 

Over the course of the weekend, however, Israel Adesanya’s head coach, Eugene Bareman alluded to an impending booking for his student, claiming the City Kickboxing staple had “answered the call” for a bout.

“I can say that, we’re ready to fight,” Eugene Bareman said. “Israel (Adesanya) is ready to fight. He’s in camp – has been in camp. And we answered a call that said, ‘Can you be ready for this?’ And we assessed it because Israel is coming off an injury.”

“We assessed everything and put everything together, and decided as a team, yeah, let’s get into camp, and let’s start to get fit. Let’s come back a little earlier, at some risk – at some proper risk.” Bareman explained. “And there’s a strong possibility that this fight could happen on this date. And let’s act as if we’re fighting on this date.”

Would you like to see Israel Adesanya fight Khamzat Chimaev next?

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