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Amid an alleged tax bill outstanding to the Federal Tax Services in Russia – in the region of $ 3,300,000, former undisputed lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov has been linked with a return to the Octagon in order to secure funds to cough up his tally. 

Nurmagomedov, a former undisputed lightweight champion and Hall of Fame inductee, under the banner of the UFC, called time on his career back in 2020, following a title unification fight with former interim gold holder, Justin Gaethje.

Submitting the former interim champion with a second round triangle choke win, Nurmagomedov improved to 29-0 as a professional, before calling time on his professional fighting career in the immediate aftermath of his victory. 

In the time since, Khabib Nurmagomedov has headed up Eagle FC – a fight promotion with it’s headquarters based in Florida, and has also coached fellow fighters at home gym, American Kickboxing Academy.

Khabib Nurmagomedov allegedly hit with tax bill by Russian authorities

Leading compatriot, Islam Makhachev to a title victory over former champion, Charles Oliveira back in 2022, Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC-led promotion has yet to host an event since November of last year in Almetyevsk, Russia.

And according a report overnight, Nurmagomedov is alleged to have been hit with a tax bill in the region of 306 million rubles by the FTS (Federal Tax Services) in his native Russia, with the department alleging blocking accounts linked with the Eagle FC organization, a particular charitable foundation, and various other companies.

The report in question also alleges Nurmagomedov may have used the money in question – in the region of $ 3,300,000 to purchase multiple hotels and other start-up companies in various regions of the United Arab Emirates and Turkey. 

And amid those reports, fans of the former lightweight champion across social media have called for the Dagestan grappler to make a return to competition – hinting at the promotion’s recent deal with Saudi Arabia, brokered by adviser, Turki Alalsheikh.

Would you like to see Khabib Nurmagomedov make a return to the UFC?

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Derrick Lewis keeps adding to his record as King of the Knockout.

On Saturday night, Lewis faced Rodrigo Nascimento in the main event of UFC St. Louis, and after a hard-fought two rounds, the mythical “Third Round Derrick Lewis” showed up once again, blasting Nascimento with punches to add yet another knockout to his resume.

After the finish, Lewis then celebrated in typical “Black Beast” fashion, doing his trademark celebration where he smashes the ground before taking off his pants as has become customary. Then, Lewis also threw his cup into the stands, and mooned the crowd just for good measure.

Check out how the MMA world reacted to Lewis’s big win and celebration on Saturday night.

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St. Louis hosted Saturday’s UFC event at the Enterprise Center.  A heavyweight clash between two-time title challenger Derrick Lewis and fifteenth-ranked Rodrigo Nascimento headlined the fight card.  

Lewis entered the bout coming off a decision loss to Jailton Almeida in his last fight back in November.  Lewis had lost four of his last five bouts and was in desperate need of a win to stay relevant in the division.  Nascimento entered the fight riding a three-fight winning streak and eight years younger than 39-year-old Lewis.

Lewis, how holds the record for the most knockouts in UFC history, came out aggressive.  He attempted a flying knee to start the fight and clinched.  He tripped Nascimento to the canvas but Nascimento quickly got to his feet.  The two remained in the clinch along the cage.  Nascimento delivered knees to the body and turned Lewis.  They separated and Lewis missed with a head kick.  He landed a right hand.  They clinched and Lewis connected with right hands.  Nascimento took Lewis down with two minutes remaining in the round.  

Nascimento worked in Lewis’ half guard.  He delivered short right hands before going to the body with lefts.  Nascimento mounted Lewis and Lewis escaped and gained top position.  The round ended with Lewis on top and Nascimento holding on.  

Nascimento opened the second round with a leg kick.  Lewis looked to counter with a right hand but it was mostly blocked.  They exchanged right hands and Lewis powered forward punching his way into the clinch.  They reversed position along the cage a few times before Lewis tried to toss Nascimento causing a separation.  Nascimento returned to the clinch.  Lewis separated and unloaded right hands.  Nascimento covered and clinched.  

Lewis connected with a right hand with two minutes left on the clock.  He landed a big elbow on the inside.  Lewis loaded up with right hands.  Lewis looked to have tripped and Nascimento quickly took his back with 90 seconds remaining.  Lewis controlled an arm and Nascimento spun and ended in half guard.  He delivered a heavy elbow.  The close round ended with Nascimento on top.

The pace slowed at the start of the third round.  Lewis delivered a knee to the body.  Nascimento landed a right hand as Lewis moved into the pocket.  Lewis fired back and staggered Nascimento with a right hand knocking him down.  The referee stepped in after a couple of more shots.  The official time of the finish was 0:49 of the third round.    

After the win, Lewis took off his fight shorts and took out his cup.  With the knockout win, Lewis added to his UFC record knockout victories.  15 times he’s left his opponent separated from consciousness.  

The shorts are off

We repeat, the shorts are OFF‼️#UFCStLouis | @TheBeast_UFC pic.twitter.com/bvSkQCdxq6

— UFC (@ufc) May 12, 2024

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Daniel Hennessey is having a rough night.

A veteran ring announcer who often works events in the Oceania region, Hennessey committed quite the bungle on Saturday in the Lomachenko vs. Kambosos co-main event. Following a 10-round battle for the WBA bantamweight title between challenger Cherneka Johnson and champion Nina Hughes, Hennessey stunned many by announcing Hughes as the winner via majority decision, despite the bout being largely controlled by Johnson.

That led to confusion and chaos among the crowd and commentary booth for a good 20 seconds … before Hennessey called the fighters back to the center of the ring.

As it turns out, Hughes didn’t win at all.

Hennessey then read the scorecards correctly, announcing Johnson as the new WBA bantamweight champion, prompting a “Is this guy for real?” from the booth.

Watch the entire sequence below.

Making matters worse, Hennessey screwed up the scorecards for the first televised bout of the card as well, incorrectly announcing the Pedro Guevara vs. Andrew Moloney match.

Tough night.

Check out full results and play-by-play for Johnson vs. Hughes as well as the entire Lomachenko vs. Kambosos undercard here.

Results and play-by-play for the main event, Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos, can be found here.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

Bonus Report
| BJPenn.com

UFC

Last night (Sat., May 11, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri for UFC St. Louis. In the main event, Heavyweight sluggers Derrick Lewis and Rodrigo Nascimento promised violence, and the co-main featured hometown favorite Joaquin Buckley putting his ranking on the line against relative unknown Nursulton Ruziboev. Beneath those fights were a quality class of action fighters, guaranteeing a fun night of fights from “The Show-Me State.”

Let’s take a look back over at UFC St. Louis’ best performances and techniques:

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The Black Beast Cometh

Derrick Lewis won in the usual manner last night.

On the feet, the power differential was beyond obvious. Nascimento landed a few shots, but it was immediately clear that he could not trade with “The Black Beast.” Even in the clinch, Lewis’ power was getting to the Brazilian, forcing him to work really hard for his takedowns. To Nascimento’s credit, he did good work in controlling Lewis and landing solid shots from top position.

The problem was that it wasn’t sustainable strategy for Nascimento. Rare is the Heavyweight who can wrestle hard for 25 minutes. As he began to slow, Lewis landed more and more often, and the kill shot inched closer. Early in the third, Lewis’ right hand found the temple, and that was all she wrote!

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Buckley Gets The Job Done In STL

Methodical is never a word that I’ll use to describe Joaquin Buckley, but he was at the very least tactical against Nursulton Ruziboev, who towered over him from the first bell. Buckley had to be very careful closing range, and credit to “New Mansa,” he was able to use feints, false starts, and little sideways angle shifts to avoid the worst of Ruziboev’s counter shots.

Takedowns proved a surprisingly effective path to victory for Buckley. Between the occasional wild exchanges, Buckley showed off his explosiveness by running through Ruziboev with blast doubles. Initially, Ruziboev’s wild movement from his back deterred Buckley, but by the third round, Buckley was able to establish top position and drop nasty ground strikes.

It was a risky move from Buckley to take this fight, but he earned a clear-cut win in front of a boisterous home crowd because of the gamble. His win streak grows to four, and perhaps he looks up the ladder next?

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Light Heavyweight’s New Contender

Carlos Ulberg only needed a dozen seconds to knock out Alonzo Menifield.

Admittedly, “Atomic” did his part to create the knockout also. He charged forward wildly just a couple seconds into the fight, losing his balance while over-swinging and falling over himself. As he regained his footing, Ulberg unleashed a combination and floored him with a left hook, extending his win streak to six in the process.

It’s time to get him in the cage opposite a Top 10 opponent. Didn’t Anthony Smith win a fight quickly just one week ago?

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Lightweight’s Underappreciated Killer

At 39 years of age, Diego Ferreira just turned up-and-coming crusher Mateusz Rebecki’s face into mincemeat.

That’s not to say it was easy. Rebecki showed his gifts in the first round, getting in Ferreira’s grill and throwing vicious and powerful combinations. He clipped Ferreira upside the jaw on several occasions, smashed his nose with a hook, and floored him with a nasty left hand. He also scored a couple takedowns, but all the while, Ferreira kept moving and making him work.

The tide turned in the second. Ferreira’s game is that of consistent work rate and pressure. Though he was forced onto the back foot early by Rebecki’s power, he was still able to keep his pace high and target the body often with snappy front kicks. When Rebecki lost a touch of steam, Ferreira was in his face throwing five- and six-punch combos. He started touching Rebecki up, and the Polish prospect couldn’t turn to his wrestling, because Ferreira is a brilliant scrambler and refused to be contained. By the third, both of Rebecki’s eyes were nearly shut. He was exhausted. He kept throwing, but the writing was on the wall. The Brazilian finished him with a flurry on the floor just before the clock ran out.

Ferreira is a great Lightweight. He may not have turned his six-fight win streak into a title run, but the Brazilian deserves a ton of respect for turning away many would-be contenders. He’s been in the cage with everyone from Dustin Poirier to Anthony Pettis, and he brings the fight every time.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Did The Judges Get It Right?

I enjoyed the 15-minute battle between Alex Caceres and Sean Woodson. For the first five minutes, Woodson controlled range really well. He kicked the calf effectively and put together sharp combinations, really making good use of his feints and movement to stay ahead of the veteran.

“Bruce Leeroy” has been in the game for a long time, however, and he’s learned a trick or two. Caceres adjusted well in the second, doubling up on the pressure and targeting the body more often. He attacked in combination, occasionally spinning between punches in an attempt to close distance on the lanky boxer.

It was a competitive second frame, but Caceres’ success built in the third. He definitely took the final round, landing some good flurries while Woodson seemed to slow. There were still some fun exchanges, but Caceres finished the fight strong.

It seemed like enough to steal the decision, but the judges deemed otherwise. I consider the bout too close to be a robbery in either direction, which is why I’m turning the question to our readers: who do you think won?

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The Best Chase Hooper Yet

A funny situation tends to play out when a really young prospect comes up through Contenders Series. They get a bit of hype, because look how skilled this barely-an-adult fighter is! Then, there are inevitable some bumps in the road, because these ultra young fighters don’t have a ton of experience or depth to their game.

Chase Hooper is 24 years old and five years into his UFC career. He’s shown off excellent jiu-jitsu, but his standup game historically has been a work in progress, and he’s taken some tough losses to fighters nobody considers elite caliber. Because of those defeats, he’s been written off by many despite showing consistent improvement.

Since moving up to Lightweight, Hooper has won three fights. His kickboxing is noticeably sharper, and his punches land with a greater impact. He wrestles at a high rate, and his grappling remains excellent. It all came together last night against Slava Borshchev, as Hooper managed to gain momentum with an early and unexpected knockdown.

He never let up. “The Dream” battered his foe from top position, overwhelming the Russian en route to a second-round d’arce choke. It’s undoubtedly the best win of his career, as well as a reminder that these young up-and-comers can take some losses and return better.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Live By The Sword …

Terrence McKinney doesn’t understand how to have a boring fight.

“T-Wrecks” competed inside the Octagon for the ninth time last night. He’s visited the second round just three times in that span, and one way or another, the large majority have ended via knockout. He’s on the winning side more often than not, and he’s made himself a must-watch Lightweight.

Unfortunately for McKinney, it was Esteban Ribovics who struck first. The two wasted zero time in trading heavy punches, but Ribovics punctuated his combination with a high kick. McKinney never saw it coming and hit the fence unconscious, making for the best win of Ribovics’ career.

For complete UFC St. Louis: “Lewis vs. Nascimento” results and play-by-play, click HERE!

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