Merab Dvalishvili still believes Sean O’Malley deserves a rematch before Umar Nurmagomedov gets his chance to fight for UFC gold.

Dvalishvili captured the bantamweight title with a unanimous decision win over O’Malley at UFC 306 in September. Following the win, it appeared the surging Nurmagomedov would be next in line after his dominant win over Cory Sandhagen at UFC Abu Dhabi, but reports have circulated that Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong are in talks for a bout. Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting recently that, as of now, the fight is not a done deal.

At Friday’s UFC 308 fan Q&A, Dvalishvili was asked by a fan why he’s afraid to face Nurmagomedov, and leaning more towards a rematch with O’Malley.

“Let’s boo to this guy,” Dvalishvili said. “I’m not scared of no one, only God.

“Where is this guy? He’s taking [another] fight. He’s scared. He’s fighting somebody else. Where is [he]? Where is [he]? Tell me. He wants to get knocked out by somebody else, and then he’s going to make excuse. He’s not going to make this fight. I’m not making fight. Dana White and Hunter [Campbell] make decision [for] who I’m going to fight next. I don’t know. I don’t make decision. I never make decision.”

So what will ultimately be next for the new bantamweight champion? Dvalishvili says he’ll let the UFC brass make the determination. But if it were his call, “The Machine” says O’Malley should be the rightful foe, as Nurmagomedov has more to show before getting his opportunity.

“If Dana White tells me I have to fight Umar, I’m fighting Umar, OK?,’ Dvalishvili said. “But, you know what? Umar doesn’t deserve to fight me. Sean O’Malley deserves to fight me, and I’m going to rematch him. He deserves it, and after, Umar has to prove [himself], and I will fight him.”

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Welterweight
| BJPenn.com

With the UFC 308 early (and official) weigh ins already in the books (get full results and video here), the cast and crew of tomorrow’s (Sat., Oct. 26, 2024) “Topuria vs. Holloway” pay-per-view (PPV) mixed martial arts (MMA) event will head to Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE, for the ceremonial weigh ins and corresponding staredowns, streaming LIVE at 10 a.m. ET (7 a.m. PT) in the embedded video above. UFC 308 will be headlined by the featherweight title fight between current 145-pound champion Ilia Topuria and former division kingpin Max Holloway. In the UFC 308 co-headliner, former 185-pound champion Robert Whittaker collides with undefeated middleweight phenom Khamzat Chimaev.

“He doesn’t even know what to say anymore,” Topuria said during the UFC 308 press conference. “Why doesn’t he talk about what we’re here to do? Which is the fight. That’s because he doesn’t see any flaws i me. He doesn’t know where to grab from. He knows I’m much better than him, and now he has to resort to other things, just like when Conor (McGregor) was saying I wasn’t Spanish. Because I don’t have any flaws as a fighter, and I’m much better than them, they go to that. But we’ll see on Saturday, he shows up, and I’m shutting his mouth.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 308 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 10 a.m. ET, followed by the UFC 308 PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 308: “Topuria vs. Holloway” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the complete UFC 308 fight card and PPV lineup click here.

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The anticipated clash between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway at UFC 308 is almost here.

The other fighters at UFC 308 media day gave their opinions on how it will all go down at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Saturday afternoon.

Ilia Topuria (15-0) makes his first title defense at the event. Topuria won the belt in his last trip to the Octagon when he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the second round at UFC 298 this past February.

Holloway (26-7) has won four of his last five fights. The former UFC champion is coming off of one of the most iconic performances of his career when he delivered a fifth-round knockout of Justin Gaethje in the UFC 300 main event to win the “BMF” title belt. He earned Performance of the Night and Fight of the Night honors for this memorable clash.

Holloway has had three title shots since he last had the belt at UFC 240, coming up short each time against Volkanovski.

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UFC 308 takes place on Saturday, and MMA News is here to bring you the final faceoffs from the ceremonial weigh-ins!

The upcoming pay-per-view event at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates provides a chance for UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria to further enhance his legacy on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.

After capturing the gold this past February by brutally knocking out the previously long-reigning Alexander Volkanovski, “El Matador” is next tasked with stalling Max Holloway’s ambitions of a return to the 145-pound mountaintop.

The stakes will also be high in the co-main event, which will see former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker look to secure another shot at regaining the crown by blemishing the currently perfect professional record of Khamzat Chimaev.

Elsewhere on the UFC 308 card, Magomed Ankalaev and Aleksandar Rakić do battle for a potential shot at Alex Pereira’s light heavyweight title, Dan Ige becomes the latest threat to Lerone Murphy’s ‘O’, and middleweight prospect Shara Magomedov looks to impress once again.

Ahead of the event, all 26 fighters successfully made weight but two bouts did undergo late adjustments. Nevertheless, every fight has remained intact, and all that remains on Friday is for the athletes to face off one final time at the UFC 308 ceremonial weigh-ins!

Check out a live stream via the official UFC YouTube channel below, commencing at 10 a.m. ET.

UFC 308 Ceremonial Weigh-In Live Stream

Continue Reading UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway Ceremonial Weigh-In Live Stream at MMA News.

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Francis Ngannou almost didn’t come back to fighting.

This past weekend, Ngannou made his long-awaited return to MMA, fighting Renan Ferreira in the main event of PFL Superfights: Battle of the Giants. But Ngannou’s return was far from a certainty. Earlier this year “The Predator” suffered a terrible tragedy when his 15-month-old son Kobe died due to a medical issue, and speaking with TMZ Sports, the lineal heavyweight champion admits after it happened, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever fight again.

“Yes, there was a point that I didn’t know anything,” Ngannou said when asked if he thought he might never fight again after his son’s passing. “Everything seemed so fragile. You didn’t know if maybe if it would not happen to you to, if it’s not some sort of genetic pandemic, genetic disease, I don’t know, a curse. If it was just bad luck that was going to keep happening. A lot of stuff happens in your head that you don’t usually think about, or you never think about.”

Ultimately, Ngannou did decide to fight on and returned in good form, finishing Ferreira with strikes in the first round. But though he made the performance look easy, Ngannou says the preparation was anything but.

“By far. It was by far the toughest [training camp of my life],” Ngannou said. “When I thought about retiring, it wasn’t an option, because retiring … was to put the responsibility on my son again, which is not his responsibility. Then I said maybe I should wait for a little while before going back to fighting but I didn’t know when exactly. I didn’t know when there would be a time that it’s going to go away, it’s going to be OK. It’s just one of those things you just realize at the beginning you better learn how to roll with it because it will always be there. …

“It was a way for me not only to have something to focus on but maybe do something to honor him, seeing as I didn’t have a chance to fight for him.”

The win was Ngannou’s first fight in the PFL, after taking the previous year and a half to pursue his interests in boxing. But given everything that’s happened to him this year, Ngannou doesn’t have any concrete plans about what comes next, be it boxing or MMA.

“I haven’t really thought about what’s next,” Ngannou said. “I have no idea. Not only will I take some time to rest, because I had a feeling that I took this fight too early. There were too many emotions, I was in a different space. …

“I’ll take some time, see what’s out there, what is offering itself. Then I will consider something if there is something good.”

TOP STORIES

Promotion. Dana White revealed he almost cut Francis Ngannou from the UFC in 2018.

Stand and deliver. Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway got into a heated exchange about the “stand and point” maneuver ahead of UFC 308.

Beef. Dana White had harsh words for PFL CEO Donn Davis as they continue to spar.

Champ. Belal Muhammad laughs off Ilia Topuria saying he wants to become a three-division champion.

Rules. New York State Athletic Commission set to adopt new MMA rules ahead of UFC 309.

PowerSlap. Paige VanZant penalized for illegal strike in her second PowerSlap outing.

VIDEO STEW

Between the Links.

UFC 308 press conference.

UFC 308 Open Workout highlights.

Dana White scrum.

UFC 308 Embedded, episode 4.

SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Jake Paul.

Jon Fitch.

Merab Dvalishvili really trying to book a fight no one wants.

Good decision.

Adrian Yanez.

FINAL THOUGHTS

People will underrate it because of a lack of interest in the PFL, and the lack of respect for Renan Ferreira, but Ngannou coming back like he did under these circumstances was incredibly, incredibly impressive.

Now, just one more sleep to the big event this weekend.

EXIT POLL

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

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway meet in the featherweight championship main event this Saturday at UFC 308, a fight the MMA community has been waiting for since it was announced.

Watch MMA Fighting’s UFC 308 Timeline video for an in-depth look at how both headliners got to this weekend’s pay-per-view at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The undefeated Topuria captured the UFC featherweight title with a Knockout of the Year contending finish of Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298 in February. Prior to that, Topuria competed in his first promotional headliner at UFC Jacksonville, earning a lopsided unanimous decision victory against Josh Emmett in June 2023.

Holloway looks to once again call himself 145-pound champ. Since losing to Volkanovski for the third time at UFC 276 in July 2022, “Blessed” has been on a roll, winning all of his fights, including a knockout for the ages of Justin Gaethje at April’s UFC 300 event to win the BMF title.

Will Topuria’s streak of dominance continue, or will the Blessed Express begin another championship journey?

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