Search Results

Khabib Nurmagomedov had some tough words for Khamzat Chimev after the latter failed to make weight for UFC 279 last week. Speaking at a recent event hosted by the non-profit organization Human Appeal, the former UFC champion questioned Chimaev's team, claiming that the young wolf is not surrounded by enough Muslims. “If you are a Muslim, you should have good people around you – Muslims who can say: ‘Hey, don’t do this,’” Nurmagomedov said. “I recently watched the weigh-in of Khamzat Chimaev. I followed what was happening with his weight and looked at his team. There are no Muslims around him and this is very bad. Because if you are a Muslim, you need good, strong people around you. [They] will say: “Come back, do this. “When you become famous and rich, when you gain power and [around you] there are no people who will give advice or you do not listen to them, then something will happen. You need good people, even if you don’t like it, you need them,” he added. Chimaev failed to make weight for his scheduled UFC 279 main event against Nate Diaz, weighing 178.5 pounds, 8.5 pounds more than his contracted weight of 170 pounds. The undefeated welterweight was later consigned to the co-main event, where he faced Kevin Holland, while Diaz faced Tony Ferguson in the main event. Both Chimaev and Diaz went on to win their fights via submission. It is also worth noting that Nurmagomedov has failed to make weight on numerous occasions during his UFC career. In May 2013, he missed weight for his fourth UFC fight against Abel Trujillo at UFC 160 and was hospitalized two hours before his scheduled weigh-in to face Ferguson at UFC 209. The former champion also struggled to cut weight before defending his lightweight title at UFC 254. Perhaps, the GOAT should look over his own record before criticizing others. What do you think of Khabib’s comments on Khamzat Chimaev?

Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen's rivalry ranks among the greatest in mixed martial arts (MMA) history, despite their current friendliness. Trying to explain to someone in 2012 that the reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) kingpin, Silva, and brash top contender, Sonnen, would one day be friends one day seemed far-fetched. That is not the case in 2022. In his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Silva invited Sonnen to a barbecue at his house following Silva's second round technical knockout victory in the highly anticipated rematch at UFC 148 in July 2012. Sonnen's claim that he would play touch-butt with Silva's wife enraged the traditionally cool, calm, and collected Brazilian, who vowed to "break his teeth." 10 years forward at the Jake Paul vs Anderson Silva press conference the row between the two seems to have cooled down. Sonnen also explained why he had to miss out on the invite from Silva. “You never come to my house for the barbecue, why?” Silva said. “Okay, okay, here’s the thing,” Sonnen said. “I didn’t think it was a sincere offer. If I knew I was really invited ...” “Of course!” Silva chimed in. “Then I didn’t know if your wife forgave me, it was a whole thing,” Sonnen continued. “That’s the real answer why I didn’t come.” “You need to come, please,” Silva said. “In Brazil?” Sonnen responded. “No, here. In Brazil, a lot of people try to kill you, trust me.” Silva answered as they laughed. “People hate you in Brazil. But I’m not, I love you, man.” “I accept, thank you very much,” Sonnen said. Sonnen's outrageous and witty trash talk helped propel the Middleweight division, and thus the UFC, to new heights near the end of Silva's lengthy title reign. Throughout the saga, Sonnen's verbal jabs knew no bounds, famously going after Silva's home country of Brazil alongside his wife. Silva maintained his cool throughout the rivalry, with the exception of their rematch weigh-ins. Even after all these years, it's not surprising to see the kindness displayed among the UFC legends after all this time.

Following his contentious behavior and astonishing victory at UFC 279, Khamzat Chimaev is fast emerging as the organization's top villain according to UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping. The legend Nate Diaz was initially scheduled to face Chimaev in the pay-per-main view event this past weekend. But when it came time to weigh in, "Borz" went on to the scale and registered a surprising 7.5 pounds over the limit. Additionally, the UFC 279 press conference was canceled due to a backstage altercation between Kevin Holland and Chimaev that occurred before the PPV. Chaos resulted, and the fight card underwent a significant restructuring that saw the Swedish fighter of Chechen origin moved down to the co-main event position to meet Kevin Holland in a catchweight contest. The 28-year-old's attitude infuriated fans, but Chimaev Holland beef was later settled in the octagon. Chimaev didn't seem to be sorry for any of the things he did throughout the weekend as he received boos from the crowd at the weigh-ins when he entered the ring, and during his post-fight interview. He was unfazed and was able to dash through Holland. Chimaev told the fans he "didn't care" that he failed weight during his post-fight interview. Discussing the weekend's events and Khamzat Chimaev's performance on his YouTube channel, Michael Bisping stated that Khamzat was in dire need of the win after such a chaotic week. “Chimaev needed that kind of performance,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He caused the press conference to be canceled, he didn’t make weight, the entire card got a shakeup in terms of who they were fighting, and that was all down to Chimaev, right? “And if you go out there and you lose, or you go out there and have a boring fight, or you just scrape by a decision, it’s not the best look – certainly considering what you caused. The hassle, the stress, the expense, all of that, but it doesn’t matter. That is eradicated because he went out there, and he destroyed Kevin Holland.” Bisping who is not a stranger to being a heel, says he likes Chimaev's new look. When the crowd reacted angrily, the unbeaten welterweight was unashamed about his missing weight and was giving them the middle finger. “The UFC officially has a new supervillain,” Bisping said. “I am, of course, talking about Khamzat Chimaev, ‘Borz,’ the ‘Wolf.’ Come on, when he walked out to that fight, the boos from the crowd were like nothing I’ve ever heard. I used to get booed a fair bit, as well, but that took the biscuit. That was mental.” He continued, “He didn’t give a sh*t, and then he’s flipping off the crowd, then he’s talking sh*t, and he’s talking about killing people left, right, and center. Listen, I absolutely love it. It brings a lot of controversy, it brings eyeballs, and it’s very, very polarizing. … He’s a legit bad guy. He’s straight out of a Bond movie.”

The Canadian native Elias Theodorou, a former UFC fighter and “TUF Nations’’ winner, passed away from cancer over the weekend, shocking the MMA world. Aaron Bronsteter, a reporter for TSN, reported that Theodorou had been identified as having stage 4 liver cancer. Theodorou hadn’t publicly disclosed his illness preceding his death. Theodorou competed in 11 bouts in the UFC between 2014 and 2019. His rise to fame in the MMA world began when he defeated Sheldon Westcott to win the "TUF Nations." Later, he defeated notable opponents including Trevor Smith, Sam Alvey, Eryk Anders, and Cezar Ferreira. His three lone defeats in promotions occurred at the hands of opponents Thiago Santos, Brad Tavares, and Derek Brunson. Theodorou left the UFC in May 2019 following his defeat to Brunson. UFC President Dana White claimed that despite Theodorou's 8-3 UFC record, the decision to split ways was made because it was unlikely that Theodorou would rise to the status of a top-five fighter. Theodorou accepted his release gracefully and decided to rebuild himself to improve his success rate. Returning to the local comp, Theodorou went 3-0 and won his final fight against Bryan Baker by unanimous decision in a Colorado Combat event in December. As a professional fighter, Theodorou appeared on season three of "The Amazing Race Canada" in 2015 and worked as a "ring boy" for Invicta FC. Theodorou was best known for supporting the use of medical marijuana in combat sports, in addition to his career as a fighter. The British Columbia Athletic Commission granted a medicinal purpose authorization for medical cannabis to the Canadian veteran in 2020, making him the first fighter to do so. Fighters and supporters paid tribute to the Canadian veteran and The Ultimate Fighter: Nation’s champion soon after word of his passing spread. Dana White, the president of the UFC, paid tribute to Theodorou via Instagram story while numerous fighters expressed their grief in their tweets.

Following this weekend's pay-per-view main event with Tony Ferguson, Nate Diaz decided to leave the UFC, UFC president Dana White says he will have nothing but admiration for the veteran. One of the most popular UFC fighters, Diaz joined the team in 2007 and won the 16-man competition known as "The Ultimate Fighter 5". Since then, he has made 26 appearances for the promotion, including two illustrious fights with fellow superstar and former two-division champion Conor McGregor. He will also face Jorge Masvidal in 2019 for the specifically created "BMF" title. Just prior to UFC 279, Diaz announced the formation of his own promotion Real Fight, Inc. where he plans to hold boxing matches, MMA fights, and even grappling competitions. In addition to those plans, Diaz said he hopes to conquer other sports outside the UFC, with many believing a transition into boxing would be a natural fit, especially with lucrative fights against names like Jake Paul potentially awaiting him. Diaz has always been a person who follows his own path, but despite the chaos of a wild fight week, which included a postponed press conference and rescheduled fights with only a day's notice, Diaz did his job at every turn and turned up to compete in the pay-per-view event at T-Mobile Arena, where he prevailed. White is fully in support of whatever Diaz decides to do next for all of these reasons and many more. He said while talking to the media “ Listen, they’re both older guys that have been around here for a long time. It was what I expected,” White said. “[Nate Diaz is] so durable and so tough. Literally, I don’t know if you guys have monitors or you can hear what’s going on, but we went into Tony’s corner that round and his corner for some reason told him to take [Diaz] down. [They] said, ‘Take him down.’ He was chopping that leg, kicking that front leg, obviously doing damage and his corner told him to take him down. Nate capitalized on that the minute he did it.” He further added “He and I had this discussion months ago at the offices. Whatever he moves on to do, I wish him nothing but the best. If he’s starting his own organization or getting into promoting or doing something else, I wish him nothing but the best of luck. It’s been awesome having him here.” It is obvious that Nate Diaz will be an instant star in any promotion he chooses to go. Let us know in the comments where you think Nate Diaz will be fighting next?

Kevin Holland, who lost to Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event of UFC 279, was naturally disappointed with the outcome of the fight. Holland hopes to recover from a busy UFC 279 fight week by engaging in one more battle before the end of the year. Chimaev attempted to take down Holland in the opening exchange before locking on a D'arce choke to secure the submission, the bout ended without Holland landing a single punch. Holland offered praise to the undefeated Chechen for his effort despite having to criticize how the bout turned out, even though he took the fight against Chimaev with only 24 hours' notice due to numerous last-minute alterations to the card. Holland took to instagram to express his disappointments on his loss at UFC 279. He said “I lost an amazing grappling match last night – I mean fight, my bad,” Holland said in an Instagram video. “Chimaev is one hell of an athlete. I’m still gonna be talking sh*t, because you know who I am.” He further added “ Hate ending the year like this,.So, would love to go in there against a striker. I don’t know if I’m still deserving of a ‘Wonderboy’ fight, but would love a ‘Wonderboy’ fight. If not a ‘Wonderboy’ fight, ‘D-Rod,’ we were all the way on task to getting it done. We had to switch it up to save the card. So, maybe we can get something nice and get it going, and collect another check before the end of the year. My guy.” Holland is prepared to continue and enter the octagon one final time to finish his 2022 campaign, ideally against Rodriguez or a different opponent in previous title contender Stephen Thompson. Considering that Holland has previously mentioned numerous times that he prefers to maintain a very busy schedule, it appears that his mindset isn't altering just because he suffered a setback at UFC 279 as some have speculated. Holland came into UFC 279 fresh off consecutive victories. At UFC 272, he defeated Alex Oliveira. Tim Means was then submitted in the second round via a D'arce choke on UFC at UFC Austin. If his wish comes true, Holland will fight four times in a single year, second only to his five-bout campaign in 2020.

Khamzat Chimaev and Nate Diaz didn't end up fighting, but at UFC 279, both guys had the most memorable nights of their lives. The last three fights of the night were forced to be swapped around when Borz weighed in at 178.5 pounds to get into the fight. In his last fight of UFC, The Stockton Native ended up facing former interim champion Tony Ferguson who returned to the welterweight division with the hope of snapping his losing streak. Nobody expected this to be how the pay-per-view event would end. But in the headliner of UFC 279, Nate Diaz added another guillotine submission win to his record by defeating Tony Ferguson in the fourth round. An exciting night of fighting had a suitable conclusion. It was a significant victory for Diaz because he got to put on a thrilling battle with Ferguson that featured lots of punching, taunting, and, of course, the guillotine choke that Diaz used to submit to numerous opponents. Later in the post-fight conference, Tony Ferguson admitted that he regrets his late takedown attempt and that he should have kept standing. Khamzat Chimaev dominated in the cage on Saturday despite losing on the scale on Friday. Borz defeated Kevin Holland in the first round by submission to extend his winning streak. At the start of the round, when Holland reached for the gloves, he jumped on the takedown. After then, there was a mad dash until Chimaev applied the choke. Although the D'Arce choke wasn't quite effective the first time, Chimaev changed his grasp and eventually got Holland to submit. The major news here is the serious mistake Chimaev made by exceeding the 171-pound limit at welterweight by 7.5 pounds. It would be fascinating to see if Chimaev receives a championship opportunity next after the error cost him the chance to compete in the main event versus Nate Diaz. He undoubtedly has the abilities, but he must demonstrate that he can make the required weight. Although the Swede made it clear in the post-fight conference that whether it's welterweight or middleweight division, he demanded the top fights so that he could grab UFC gold. Li Jingliang was forced to face Daniel Rodriguez in the 3rd contest of the night despite the American having the weight advantage as he was scheduled to face Kevin Holland in a catchweight bout. The fight was closely contested, and Rodriguez won on a split decision. Rodriguez got things going quickly. He started off getting in Jingliang's face and quickly gained the upper hand. Jingliang, though, countered with several of his leg kicks. The scoring for all three rounds was challenging because both fighters had their moments, and the overall striking totals were close. In the 2nd fight of the main card, Irene Aldana achieved one of the most unusual knockouts you'll ever see against Macy Chiasson. In a crucial third round, Aldana was on her back when she fired an upkick to the liver that abruptly put an end to the contest. Aldana threatened with submission in the opening round, which she certainly won, and came close to being tapped. However, Chiasson owned the second round to create a winner-take-all scenario in the final round. In the very first fight, the 6'6" Walker used his length to his advantage and applied a rear-naked choke in the first round. Early in the bout, Cutelaba secured a takedown and was working from the top position, but Walker snatched his opponent's back and repeatedly attempted the choke before finally forcing the tap.

The only two fights Gennady Golovkin has lost in his stellar career have come versus Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, but the Kazakh boxer has stated that he is not taking that as encouragement ahead of their long-awaited trilogy clash. In 2017, the longtime opponents battled to a controversial draw in the ring for the first time. In their rematch in 2018, Alvarez of Mexico won an even more debatable points decision that many analysts thought may have gone the other way. In their trilogy fight on September 17 in Las Vegas, undisputed world super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (57-2-2) and 40-year-old Golovkin (42-1-1) will square off again, although Golovkin believes his motivation to clash again is not fueled by previous defeats. He has not any grudge against the Mexican. "I'm totally looking at the third fight as a brand-new fight from scratch," Golovkin told Reuters through an interpreter. "I don't draw any motivation from previous fights." The Golovkin-Alvarez fight will be the first time the Kazakh fighter moves up to super middleweight to compete above 160 pounds. Golovkin is arguably the most dominant middleweight of his generation. Although Golovkin acknowledged he has not made many changes in his training since moving up to a larger weight class. But he does anticipate Alvarez, 32, to use a different approach than in their prior encounters. Golovkin expressed his feeling: "He's going to change a lot of things because this fight is taking place in a different weight division and his attitude will definitely change, so there will be a lot of surprises during this fight," The enormous Kazakh, who formerly recorded 20 successful title defenses, may be past his prime, but his lethal combination of technique, patience, and devastating force still makes him a menace. There have been whispers that Golovkin would quit early rather than later if he suffers a humiliating defeat in his upcoming match, but the Kazakh boxer insisted that the result alone would probably not have any influence on his decision. "It's very difficult to point at just one particular factor that might influence my decision to end my career, unless something bad happens," he said. "But there are a lot of nuances, and they might play a role in making a decision to continue, but I am not going to spend a lot of time on those. We'll see how it goes."

Because of his physique and power-hitting capacity, Paulo Costa has doubts that Khamzat Chimaev will agree to a bout. Earlier in UFC 279 fight week, Chimaev and Costa got into an altercation at the UFC Performance Institute, where his team had to restrain him. During the press conference, the Swede was questioned about his desire for a match-up with Paulo Costa. Chimaev ruled out a fight with Costa, and the Brazilian accused "Borz" of exclusively choosing weaker opponents, citing his most recent triumph over Gilbert Burns at UFC 273. Talking to an interview with The MacLife, Costa accused Chimaev of picking easy fights which have put a dent in the welterweight’s hype. “I know you just want to fight small guys, short guys, shy guys like Burns,” “Guys who you can beat and be a bully, but I’m not. I’m a big one, I’m the biggest middleweight in the UFC so you cannot bully me. When you show up, I will be here, ready for you because you are a ‘Gourmet Chechen,’ you are a fake gangster so that’s it.’’ “I know this guy don’t want this fight. He will try and fight somebody else who has no grappling, no jiu-jitsu, no wrestling. I have nothing more to say about that guy. I’m fresh, I can fight him with just one hand because it’s broken, but I don’t care man.” ‘’The Eraser’’ is coming off a bloodbath victory over the UFC veteran and former middleweight champion, Luke Rockhold. With still one fight left on his UFC deal, Costa is open to smash Chimaev, who faces Kevin Holland in a co-main event of UFC 279 on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. If Chimaev is unavailable, Costa has alternative plans. “We have Robert Whittaker, he’s a great fight,” Costa said. “Chimaev would be good because I’d like to beat his ass, but we have a couple of nice fights coming up.” With Chimaev's fight in his mind, Costa didn’t deny facing his bitter rival in a rematch for the UFC gold. “I have my business to do with Israel (Adesanya) and I will face him very soon. But Chimaev, you don’t need to call somebody to help you. Just me and you – I know, you’re scared. So shut up and do your thing, call to fight these shorter guys because you can’t handle me.” After the scuffle, the backstage before UFC 279 presser, and his controversial weight miss for the UFC 279 main event, Chimaev's reputation has been badly hit among the fans. He was booed when he stepped in for the ceremonial weigh-in. To restore his hype and glory, he must choose a worthy opponent like Paulo Costa if it is feasible for UFC.

Prior to his probable final UFC fight, Conor McGregor had nothing but love for his longtime foe and "bonafide superstar," Nate Diaz. Diaz (20-13 MMA, 15-11 UFC) will battle Tony Ferguson (25-7 MMA, 15-5 UFC) on Saturday night at UFC 279 in a welterweight main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to see out the remaining fight on his current contract. Diaz's journey to this point hasn't been simple. To the verge of free agency, he had to maneuver through UFC strategies, get demoted to the sidelines, and be given absurd matchups. At UFC 279, he was scheduled to face Khamzat Chimaev, an undefeated wrecking ball, but the bout was moved after Chimaev missed weight by 7.5 pounds. Mcgregor and Diaz have mutual respect for each other as they shared the octagon back in 2016 at UFC 196 and UFC 202. The first time they met Nate Diaz secured a win over a then unstoppable Conor Mcgregor by submitting in the second round of the fight. Since that fight Nate Diaz became a global superstar and has the ability to draw attention whenever he steps foot inside the octagon. However, Conor Mcgregor avenged his loss at UFC 202 when the fight went full 5 rounds and they went to a decision. The second bout was a really close fight which could have gone either way. That fight also caused Diaz’s stock to rise even higher. Conor Mcgregor also had some salty words for Khamzat Chimaev and he thinks that ‘Borz’ should have been pulled from the card entirely instead of being handed a more favorable matchup. He thinks that other fighters might follow this strategy in the future. The notorious himself is eyeing a return to the octagon in 2023 as he has been regularly training and posting videos of himself working out on social media. He has hinted that his return would be at welterweight as does not intend to cut weight in order to compete at 155lbs.

One day before the scheduled pay-per-view event, the top three fights on the UFC 279 card have been totally rearranged, according to UFC president Dana White, who made the announcement in a live Instagram video on Friday. The UFC 279 main card featured a new main event on Saturday after one of the most chaotic weigh-ins in recent UFC history. Tony Ferguson will now compete against Nate Diaz in the Saturday night's main event at T-Mobile Arena. Khamzat Chimaev, Diaz's initial challenger, failed to make weight on Friday morning and weighed in at 178.5 pounds instead of the 171 pounds allowed for the contest. It makes sense that Diaz decided against fighting such a heavy opponent. Despite the severe financial repercussions of his error, Chimaev will continue on the card to compete against Holland at a catch weight of 180 pounds. Chimaev and Holland engaged in a physical altercation on Thursday before the UFC 279 press conference, which led the organization to cancel the event. The co main event between Chimaev and Holland will also be five rounds. Rodriguez will now face Li, who weighed 170.5 pounds on Friday. Rodriguez weighed 179 pounds, therefore there will be a significant weight difference. Additional weight changes were made to the card by the UFC. The fight between Macy Chiasson and Irene Aldana at bantamweight is now a 140-pound catchweight contest. Hakeem Dawodu, a featherweight, and Chris Barnett, a heavyweight, both failed to make weight for UFC 279, although they will still compete in their scheduled matches. Dawodu will forfeit 30% of his winnings to rival Julian Erosa, while Barnett loses 20% to Jake Collier. The events leading to UFC 279 was nothing short of drama when the fight week started. From altercations between Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC PI to cancellation of the press conference due to a backstage brawl between different fighters to Chimaev missing weight badly. It has been all box office for the organization. Majority of the fans are more excited with the shuffled card as compared to the initial one. Now it's up to the fighters to put an end to a dramatic week by putting their best performances inside the octagon come Saturday night.

The former Bellator lightweight champion was the favorite out of possible available options to welcome McGregor back to the octagon following a spectacular "Knockout of the Year" triumph over Tony Ferguson in May. Following his recovery from a broken leg sustained in his previous fight against Dustin Poirier, the Notorious posted training photographs, and videos to demonstrate just how far he had recovered from the catastrophic injury. He aimed to return to the cage by the end of 2022. Days stretched into weeks, and weeks into months before Chandler identified that McGregor most likely wouldn't make a comeback until 2023. And it was obvious that the bout wouldn't take place anytime soon because the former two-division champion was getting ready to film the new Roadhouse remake in the Dominican Republic. Chandler explained in The Fighter vs. The Writer that although there remains a doubt over the Irishman's come back, he has no issue in waiting for his wish to come true. “Truthfully, if there was a guarantee [that] ‘this fight is happening,’ I have no problem waiting a couple extra months into January, February, even March next year,” “But the sport of mixed martial arts, a lot changes every single day, and we’re also talking about the biggest combat sports icon on the planet. “There’s rumors out there of him fighting Floyd Mayweather. There’s rumors of him never coming back. There’s rumors of him coming back before the end of the year. We don’t know when Conor’s coming back, so with that level of uncertainty, it would be really foolish to hitch your wagon to that fight.” Chandler has often expressed his desire to face McGregor before calling it a day in his tenure. But it just doesn't make sense to have him sit out for months while still trying to win UFC gold. Instead, a crucial Lightweight matchup between Chandler and the former interim champion, Dustin Poirier, will now take place at UFC 281, which will take place on November 12, 2022, in New York City. There will be three rounds in the fight. All of that is not to say that Chandler won't eventually face McGregor, but as long as he stays, his main focus is on winning the 155-pound championship, that battle may have to wait. He continued, “Do I want that fight [with Conor]? Of course,” Chandler said. “Do I think that fight is going to happen eventually? Absolutely. But still, my No. 1 goal isn’t to fight Conor — it’s the win the title. “My No. 1 goal is to be UFC champion. To be the No. 1 guy on the entire planet. I’ve got to get through somebody else in the top five, get another win under my belt and then go fight Charles [Oliveira] or Islam [Makhachev], whoever wins that fight in October, probably in the first quarter of next year. I’ll be your champion in March, April, May of next year.” Chandler still values winning a UFC championship more than the glory and monetary gain that come with the McGregor clash. Since the first day he committed to MMA after his college wrestling career, it has been his goal so he could dedicate it to his family and loved ones who have sacrificed for him to get him there where he is now. He wants to repay his fans who have supported him throughout his career.