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Michael Page is willing to bump up to middleweight to face one of the division’s surging up and comers in defense of his friend Israel Adesanya.

Shara “Bullet” Magomedov recently competed at UFC 308 this past Saturday where he delivered a bonus-winning double backfist knockout of Armen Petrosyan in the main card opener. After the win, Magomedov called for a fight with the former middleweight champion — which Adesanya didn’t take too kindly to — and since that fight is unlikely to happen, Page is more than willing to move up to 185 to face Magomedov.

“Actually, I just forgot his first name, which is terrible, Magomedov — he just fought, did the double spinning back [fist] knockout and then he called out my boy Izzy,” Page told MMA Fighting. “Mate, I’m at that weight right now. You don’t even have to wait too long. That one there, I’ll just take straight away just for the fun of it.”

Page is set to face former interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit in a grappling match this Saturday at Polaris 30, which takes place in London and streams on UFC Fight Pass.

The match between “MVP” and Condit is taking place at 185 pounds, so for Page, he could just roll right into a camp in preparation for Magomedov.

“That’s what I’m grappling at right now,” Page said. “So, I’m in shape now, ready to go. So that’s a good fight for me, I think. Just a nice stand up fight for everybody, just to come back to the game. and like I said, leave my boy Izzy alone. He’s trying to get back to the belt, to the throne, so I’ll take his place.”

The longtime Bellator star signed with the UFC earlier this year and made two octagon appearances. In his UFC debut, Page earned a decision against Kevin Holland, before facing one of the division’s surging prospects in Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303 in June. Garry came out on top via unanimous decision, but Page made things very difficult for the young star.

Heading into his second year with the promotion, Page got a lot of his initial questions answered. Now, it’s about making a dent in things, and if that means competing frequently — even in multiple divisions — that’s exactly that he’ll do.

“I’d say [it’s been] a prosperous year,” Page explained. “I really have enjoyed the level up I have enjoyed, almost putting a stamp on where I knew I was. I know there is a big question mark over my head with regards to can I hang in the UFC? Is my talent level that of the UFC level? So it’s been nice to not only get signed, but also tick that box off, let everyone know that, oh yeah, now, he is competitive at this level, as well.

“The last one didn’t go my way, but it was close and there is only a few alterations. … And now I get to, again, express my martial arts skills in a different way, show the world, or keep shocking the world by doing a little something different. And then straight back to the next year, I want to be really, really aggressive in the cage. I’ve had a year when I have had five fights in one year. That’s the goal again, I want to be that kind of aggressive: Get a fight, put someone away, back at it, back at it, back at it, straight away.

“I want to make noise, man. I said that as soon as I came in here, if it’s a good fight, exciting fight, we can do it wherever. Let’s go.”

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Islam Makhachev. Alex Pereira. Ilia Topuria. Any one of these incredible fighters is worthy of being called the best in the world.

But who else belongs in the discussion?

With the men’s Pound-for-Pound top-3 comfortably set for now, the MMA Fighting Crew looks ahead to 2025 to figure out if UFC champions Belal Muhammad, Dricus du Plessis, Tom Aspinall, or perhaps a surging contender can enter the conversation for the No. 1 spot in the near future. Host Alexander K. Lee is joined by esteemed rankings panelists Damon Martin, Jed Meshew, and E. Casey Leydon as we attempt to figure out who has the best chance of shaking up the P4P list.

We also discuss the moves made in the wake of October’s two UFC events and PFL’s Battle of the Giants, including Khamzat Chimaev’s big jump, Kamaru Usman’s exit, and where the top of the heavyweight division stands with Francis Ngannou’s MMA return and Jon Jones about to fight Stipe Miocic this November.

Watch the latest episode of the MMA Fighting Rankings Show above or listen below and don’t forget to subscribe to the MMA Fighting feed on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and all your other favorite podcast platforms for the latest episodes from the team.

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Let’s go!
| BJPenn.com

That was fast.

Undefeated UFC middleweight sensation Shara Magomedov recently booked his next MMA fight and already began preparations, just a handful of days removed from his highlight-reel knockout victory over Armen Petrosyan as part of the UFC 308 pay-per-view (PPV) card in Abu Dhabi.

“Right now we’re all happy,” Magomedov’s coach, Gor Azizyan, told UDAR. “We already began preparation for February 1st. We don’t know who the opponent will be, but the date is set.”

“It’s going to be February 1st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,” Azizyan continued. “It may be Israel Adesanya. There isn’t much more of a ‘wow’ out there.”

The promotion is expected to make its return to Kingdom Arena in Riyadh early next year and the Saudi Arabia fight card already has a heavyweight collision attached to the lineup. No word yet on who Magomedov will fight, but “Last Stylebender” doesn’t sound too interested.

Stay tuned.

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Dricus du Plessis believes Khamzat Chimaev should be his next title defense.

This past Saturday, Chimaev scored the most impressive win of his career, literally breaking former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in the first round of their UFC 308 matchup. The performance was so impressive that du Plessis, the current middleweight champion, stood up and took notice of “Borz,” saying he wants to be the first man to defeat him. And now the champ says he wants to do that next.

Speaking with RadioRaps on Wednesday, du Plessis made the case for Chimaev as his next title challenger, instead of the presumed rematch with Sean Strickland that previously seemed to be in line.

“We always knew between Rob and Khamzat if there was going to be something exceptional that happens, there might be a change in the title fight,” du Plessis said. “We have no clarity on that, but as a fan of the sport and as the middleweight champion of the world, that’s a fight that gets me more excited, taking somebody’s 0. I’ve beaten Strickland before and I know I’ll beat him again. Getting that Khamzat fight, that gets me excited.”

Du Plessis won the title from Strickland back in January, taking a contentious split decision win at UFC 297. Since then, du Plessis defended his title with submission win over Israel Adesanya, while Strickland won a decision over Paulo Costa, leading UFC CEO Dana White to say Strickland is next in line for a title shot.

But that may have changed for White as well. In his UFC 308 post-fight press conference, White was less committed to Strickland than he previously was, saying who gets the next crack at du Plessis is “a good question.” And for du Plessis that question boils down to which fight is bigger for the fans?

“I think the whole world wants to see it,” du Plessis said. “The fans ultimately pay to watch the fights, so the fight the world thinks is the best next fight, that’s what I want. So I think the Khamzat fight is 100 percent what I want. The UFC is going to do what they’re going to do, but from a fan perspective and from a fighter’s perspective, I think Khamzat should get the next shot.”

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UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria is the man of the moment right now following his knockout win over Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308. In the past, there was a lot of people calling out “El Matador” but this has gone quiet following this recent performance.

The new UFC star has now beaten two great former champions in back-to-back fights, finishing both Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. It wasn’t that long ago that the champion of the weight class below was eyeing up a fight with him.

Before Sean O’Malley lost his bantamweight belt to Merab Dvalishvili, who certainly isn’t going to fight Topuria, “Suga” had teased the idea of moving up in weight. Topuria appeared to welcome it but after what he did in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, O’Malley jokingly remarked that he’s no longer interested.

Despite this, O’Malley’s long time coach Tim Welch believes that the 135-pounder could cause Topuria some issues due to the strengths be brings to the table. Many are looking at the featherweight champion and his undefeated record as an unbeatable fighter in this current form.

Welch explained in a recent interview with Submission Radio why this is never the case and how O’Malley would be able to have success against him.

“No, I don’t think it’s past. I mean, you never know what’s going to happen in the UFC. It’s not impossible that Volkanovski goes out there and beats Ilia Topuria. I mean, that’s possible so you never know and I do think stylistically, Sean could give Ilia problems. He really could but Ilia Topuria is a very, very scary fight.

“That’s not a fight that you go in there and be like, ‘Oh yeah man we’re gonna…’, it’s like you make one mistake with Ilia Topuria and you’re going to be lights out, looking up at the ceiling or whatever but that’s a scary, scary fight. But I do believe that Sean, with his range and with his speed and with his, with his I mean, just his, his overall skill set, he could give Ilia problems. I do believe that.”

Continue Reading Sean O’Malley’s Coach Analyzes How He Would Fare Against Ilia Topuria at MMA News.

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