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Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t a fighter who lives with regrets.

As much as he accomplished on his way to retiring as the undefeated, undisputed UFC lightweight champion with a perfect 29-0 record, there were always fights Nurmagomedov wanted that just didn’t happen. Perhaps the name at the top of that list is former UFC welterweight king George St-Pierre, who was always someone Nurmagomedov admired and considered a legitimate challenge.

The name that probably comes up the most, however, is Tony Ferguson because he was scheduled to face Nurmagomedov a total five times while both were competing near the top of the lightweight division. While there’s a part of Nurmagomedov that wishes he got the chance to face Ferguson, he also considered that fight a mismatch in his favor, so it doesn’t carry the same weight with him that it does with fans.

“I feel a little bit sad, but at the same time, I always understand my game it’s the worst for him,” Nurmagomedov told the Inspire Me podcast. “He don’t have wrestling. He don’t have grappling. What’s he going to do with me? How is he going to stop me? Only chance how he can stop me, it was only a lucky punch.

“Like with everybody, like with Conor [McGregor], with [Dustin] Poirier, with Justin Gaethje, everybody talks about, ‘Oh, they can stop him if Khabib [going to get caught with] a lucky punch.’ But other stuff, how’s he going to stop me?”

While Ferguson was definitely the most accomplished 155-pound contender that he never fought, Nurmagomedov always felt confident he would handle that challenge like all of the others in his career.

Nurmagomedov only lost a couple of rounds throughout his entire UFC run and he just doesn’t believe Ferguson had the weapons to beat him.

“When he fought with Danny Castllo, [Beneil] Dariush, Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, all these guys mauled him,” Nurmagomedov said. “He didn’t have wrestling defense. He didn’t have good grappling. My fighting game, it was the worst for him.”

It’s wildly unusual for any fight to get booked five times and never actually happen, but Nurmagomedov knows he and Ferguson both wield some responsibility for those cancellations.

That’s another reason why Nurmagomedov can’t look back with regret, because ultimately it just wasn’t meant to be when it comes to this particular rivalry.

“I’m a little bit sad, but what can we do?” Nurmagomedov said. “If God has some plan, nobody can change this. We were supposed to fight five times. He pulled out, I have injuries, this is not under my control.

“I feel a little bit sad, but at the same time, [I] showed who had what level.”

While Nurmagomedov retired after his third title defense in 2020, Ferguson remained active but has fallen on harder times of late. He’s now suffered eight consecutive losses in a row, and all signs point toward his time with UFC coming to an end.

Ferguson has hinted that he plans to continue fighting outside UFC, but his struggles didn’t stop him from firing back at Nurmagomedov’s suggestion that his only hope in that potential matchup was a lucky punch.

“Lucky punch now … [I] was going to leave you alone but ew,” Ferguson wrote on Instagram. “Just couldn’t help it. Ya [fat f*ck]. What a f*cking p*ssy, coward like chicken. Keep hiding Khabieber 29-1.

“Until further notice, let ol’ fathead know what time it is crew.”

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Ahead of next month’s title fight at Noche UFC, former two-weight champion, Daniel Cormier claims it’s clear as day to see the incumbent, Sean O’Malley is playing “mind games” with his incoming foe, Merab Dvalishvili.

O’Malley, the current undisputed bantamweight gold holder, is slated to headline UFC 306 next month at the Las Vegas Sphere, taking on surging number one ranked contender, Merab Dvalishvili — in his second defense of his divisional crown.

Last time out, Montana striker, O’Malley turned in a dominant unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera — avenging his sole professional defeat in a stunning judging win over the Ecuadorian challenger.

As for Tbilisi native, Dvalishvili most recently added to his lengthy winning spree with a unanimous decision shutout win over former two-division champion and Olympic gold medal winner, Henry Cejudo.

Daniel Cormier breaks down Sean O’Malley – Merab Dvalishvili

And according to Hall of Fame inductee, Cormier, the undisputed gold holder, O’Malley is playing some major “mind games” with Georgian challenger, Merab Dvalishvili ahead of Noche UFC.

“This young man has managed to not only become a champion but to become a star,” Daniel Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “So when (Sean) O’Malley says things like that, I’m pretty sure he’s stewing. But he (Merab Dvalishvili) also has to recognize that these are the games that guys that understand fighting.”

They want to play the mind game with you, that really are like O’Malley or Conor McGregor,” Cormier explained. “Them being able to frustrate you is a win for them. Because if you get frustrated. and you start to make a mistake.”

Vowing to steal the proverbial thunder of super middleweight boxing star, Canelo Alvarez who defends his crown on the same night as his fight at the Sphere against Edgar Berlanga, O’Malley also vowed to land a stunning knockout of Dvalishvili.

“This fight, I’m feeling good as f*ck,” Sean O’Malley said. “I love this matchup. He’s got a ten fight win streak. It’s a big fight. It’s at The Sphere. It’s in competition with boxing, which is just kinda an extra little layer. 

“When it comes to Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, who are they talking about?” Sean O’Malley explained. “Are they talking about Canelo? Are they talking about the boxing fight? Or are they talking about the absolute dominating, beautiful, masterful, masterclass performance that I put on Merab and the viral knockout that came with it? Or are they talking about a 36 minutes Canelo boxing fight, that was kinda fire?”

LowKickMMA.com

Ahead of next month’s title fight at Noche UFC, former two-weight champion, Daniel Cormier claims it’s clear as day to see the incumbent, Sean O’Malley is playing “mind games” with his incoming foe, Merab Dvalishvili.

O’Malley, the current undisputed bantamweight gold holder, is slated to headline UFC 306 next month at the Las Vegas Sphere, taking on surging number one ranked contender, Merab Dvalishvili — in his second defense of his divisional crown.

Last time out, Montana striker, O’Malley turned in a dominant unanimous decision win over Marlon Vera — avenging his sole professional defeat in a stunning judging win over the Ecuadorian challenger.

As for Tbilisi native, Dvalishvili most recently added to his lengthy winning spree with a unanimous decision shutout win over former two-division champion and Olympic gold medal winner, Henry Cejudo.

Daniel Cormier breaks down Sean O’Malley – Merab Dvalishvili

And according to Hall of Fame inductee, Cormier, the undisputed gold holder, O’Malley is playing some major “mind games” with Georgian challenger, Merab Dvalishvili ahead of Noche UFC.

“This young man has managed to not only become a champion but to become a star,” Daniel Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “So when (Sean) O’Malley says things like that, I’m pretty sure he’s stewing. But he (Merab Dvalishvili) also has to recognize that these are the games that guys that understand fighting.”

They want to play the mind game with you, that really are like O’Malley or Conor McGregor,” Cormier explained. “Them being able to frustrate you is a win for them. Because if you get frustrated. and you start to make a mistake.”

Vowing to steal the proverbial thunder of super middleweight boxing star, Canelo Alvarez who defends his crown on the same night as his fight at the Sphere against Edgar Berlanga, O’Malley also vowed to land a stunning knockout of Dvalishvili.

“This fight, I’m feeling good as f*ck,” Sean O’Malley said. “I love this matchup. He’s got a ten fight win streak. It’s a big fight. It’s at The Sphere. It’s in competition with boxing, which is just kinda an extra little layer. 

“When it comes to Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, who are they talking about?” Sean O’Malley explained. “Are they talking about Canelo? Are they talking about the boxing fight? Or are they talking about the absolute dominating, beautiful, masterful, masterclass performance that I put on Merab and the viral knockout that came with it? Or are they talking about a 36 minutes Canelo boxing fight, that was kinda fire?”

LowKickMMA.com

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Michael Aswell has a brand new scar to go along with his additional $ 15,000 and a promise of a future UFC contract.

On Tuesday night on the latest episode of Contender Series, Aswell faced off with Bogdan Grad in a co-main event featherweight matchup, that turned out to be one of the best fights in Contender Series history. Though Bogdan ultimately won a split decision and a UFC contract, Dana White was so impressed with both men’s performances that he awarded them both their win and show purses, along with an additional $ 5,000 bonus. And that was before he even saw the extent of the damage Aswell suffered.

Late on Tuesday evening, White took to Instagram to show off a gruesome gash over Aswell’s eye, along with the ensuing stitches required to repair it.

Dana White Instagram

Dana White Instagram

While the loss mean Aswell did not receive a UFC contract that evening, White did announce that he spoke with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby and, once he’s fully healed up, the UFC intends to offer Aswell a short notice opportunity the next time a fighter is forced out of about. But judging on those pictures, it could be a while before we see Aswell inside the octagon.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Cris Cyborg is one of the greatest fighters in women’s MMA history, but Larissa Pacheco still expects some fans and experts to downplay her feat if she beats her fellow Brazilian countrywoman in the co-main event of PFL’s Oct. 19 pay-per-view in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Pacheco enters the match riding 10 straight victories, a run that includes PFL championship wins in two different weight classes and a 2022 decision win over Kayla Harrison.

“I think this [Cyborg fight] gives a gigantic push to my career,” Pacheco told MMA Fighting. “Beating her, when I beat her, they’ll still say, ‘Oh, it’s easy now, Larissa is nine years younger than Cris.’ They’ll always have excuses for my wins. But I couldn’t care less. What matters is to go there and win and prove it to myself. I have nothing to prove to anyone else. No one pays my bills and I don’t owe anyone anything.”

Harrison, who’s likely one win away from a shot at the UFC bantamweight title after dominating Holly Holm in her octagon debut, has only lost once in MMA. That loss came at the hands of Pacheco, though the two-time PFL champion still went 1-2 over three contests against Harrison under the PFL banner. She hopes Harrison never loses again.

“I want her to be champion, to continue to grow, and everything goes well in her life, and she only has one [loss] there. ‘Larissa! Larissa!’ Echoing forever in her head,” Pacheco said with a laugh.

Cyborg has won six straight MMA bouts since leaving UFC in 2019, and has also picked up four wins in boxing. Pacheco admits she wondered if PFL would ever get this fight done after some delays, but kept training for months hoping it would eventually materialize.

“[This fight] is not a dream for me, it’s not something I’ve looked up to my entire career because she wasn’t even in the PFL until this year,” Pacheco said. “But a friend of mine reminded me that she told me, seven years ago, that she was a fan of Cyborg, and I told her we’d be fighting one day. And it’s happening now.”

“We have an idea of how the fight will play out, but we never know for sure,” she continued. “We have a similar style, we’re both aggressive and walk forward the entire time, no turning back. For some people, it’s like a lottery. Who goes down first? I don’t know, it’s hard to say, but all I know is that we’ll both give our all in there. Cris has an unique style and will do everything she can to win, so it’s going to be a historic fight.”

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The rivalry continues
| BJPenn.com

UFC

White denied the UFC was competing with Canelo Alvarez over Mexican Independence Day weekend, instead pointing to a business dispute with MGM over use of the T-Mobile Arena.

The UFC is going head to head with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in Las Vegas on Mexican Independence Day weekend, but the real battle isn’t taking place in the ring or cage, it’s in backrooms between White and MGM executives that manage the T-Mobile Arena.

UFC CEO Dana White spoke on the situation following a Contender Series event on Tuesday (watch highlights from the event here), cooling down rising temperatures between his promotion and Al Haymon, who is promoting Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga on September 14th at T-Mobile. That’s the same night the UFC holds Riyadh Season Noche UFC at the Sphere featuring Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili.

“I don’t think it’s a battle,” White said. “Listen. I said props to Al Heyman, he slid right in there before we were even done with the weekend and took the date from us without MGM telling us. So [MGM Resorts president] Bill Hornbuckle is trying to trying to fix this whole thing. That’s why he gave me the Sphere this year. And I’m sure we’ll get it figured out.”

White made sure to make a distinction between the MGM execs he liked and the MGM execs who are ‘douchebags.’

“When I say MGM, it’s the guys who run [T-Mobile Arena] who have been literally disrespecting us since day one of the relationship. So now Bill Hornbuckle, the guy who runs MGM, had to get in the middle of this thing and try to fix it. That’s how I ended up at the Sphere. It’s a one and done. We’ll be back with MGM, and hopefully Bill can figure this thing out between us and the f—ing guys that run the arena.”

Asked who would have the bigger gate between Noche UFC and the Canelo fight, White shrugged.

“MGM’s guaranteeing the gate for that [Canelo] fight,” he said. “Yeah, they’re guaranteeing the gate. So why would they not go on that date if MGM is gonna put up all the money?”

“Extra kick in the balls? Yeah. That’s what they do. This is what these guys have done for the last however many years. It’s f—ing crazy. There’s a documentary coming out. I lay this s— all out in the documentary. You’ll hear every little detail of what has happened with us in the MGM over the last 23 years. It’s f—ing crazy. You’ll be like, what?”

“I just think that the guy who runs the the arena has been a complete douchebag to us for 23 years. That’s what I think.”

“Hayman and Canelo are just doing their thing,” White concluded. “Props to them. Good for them that you guys could actually slide in and steal the date from us that easily without a phone call, without anything. Good for you. I would too if that’s what I could do. Right? But that’s just a sliver of the disrespect that these guys at the arena have shown us over the last however many years. It’s crazy.”

The whole situation calls into question the UFC’s continued use of the T-Mobile Arena, which is the venue they’ve used for almost every major Las Vegas event since 2017.

“You know, our our deal will be up eventually and we’ll have to figure that out,” White said. “But that’s what I keep telling you, Bill Hornbuckle is in the middle of this thing trying to figure it out and make it better.”

Well Godspeed to you, Bill Hornbuckle. Can’t wait to see the documentary.

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