Khabib Nurmagomedov – Page 19 – Syndication Server

Twitter Mailbag: What is Curtis Blaydes’ next move if he wins at UFC Fight Night 185?

What’s Curtis Blaydes’ next move if he wins at UFC Fight Night 185? Should Cory Sandhagen get the next title shot? MMA Junkie’s Nolan King answers these questions and more.

Questions on your mind about recent happenings in the UFC or sport of MMA in general? MMA Junkie’s Twitter Mailbag is here – and this week, @mma_kings answers:

Where does [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] go if he wins at UFC Fight Night 185?
Does [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag] get the next UFC bantamweight title shot?
Could [autotag]A.J. McKee[/autotag] leave Bellator for the UFC?
What’s up with the UFC lightweight title picture – and Dana hounding [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]?
Would you rather get hit by [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] or [autotag]Derrick Lewis[/autotag]?

Watch the video above for answers to those questions.

To ask a question of your own, follow @MMAjunkie on Twitter and let us know.

Khabib shares crazy photo of himself with mumps before UFC 254, details the struggle

Wow, look at this.

To say [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] faced serious adversity leading up to his fight with Justin Gaethje would be an understatement.

We’ve heard before from his coach, Javier Mendez of American Kickboxing Academy, about Nurmagomedov’s pre-fight obstacles, including a hospital stay. Now, in an interview with ACA fighter Magomed Ismailov, Nurmagomedov has shared details of having to overcome the mumps and a broken thumb just weeks out from UFC 254.

First, the mumps: Nurmagomedov said he fell ill on Sept. 9, one day before he was scheduled to fly out to Abu Dhabi for the fight on Oct. 24.

His face swelled up, and this is what he looked like:

“I started feeling worse on the plane and when we arrive, I get a high fever,” Khabib said in Russian, via English subtitles. “It was getting really bad and after a while, I was taken to the hospital, and I had intensive care for five days. It was really bad.”

As a result, Nurmagomedov said he didn’t start his training camp until Sept. 24.

“But after 10 days, I broke my thumb,” he said. “I broke my thumb on October 7.”

Nurmagomedov said he “wanted to cancel the fight,” but he and his team ultimately decided to push forward.

“I was having so much (to deal with) with this fight, the disease and fractures,” he said. “At the end of the day, we decided to keep the fight on.”

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The obstacles turned out not to hinder his performance, as Nurmagomedov looked impressive before submitting Gaethje in the second round to retain his lightweight title. Given what he’d endured and the talking he did with Gaethje during the fight, Nurmagomedov believes the victory was mental more than anything.

“You may not see this, but I felt it: He gave up,” Nurmagomedov said of Gaethje. “I mean, his will was broken. He gave up mentally. I don’t think that I won this fight physically, but rather mentally.”

Hearing stuff like this is why we wish Khabib hadn’t announced his retirement after the win. Because, as Mendez has said, he still has more to give. Whether Khabib is truly finished or will try for a perfect 30-0 record remains to be seen, as he still remains the UFC lightweight champion.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Daniel Cormier approves of Dana White’s persistence with Khabib: ‘You have to do that’

Daniel Cormier doesn’t have any issues with Dana White’s relentless attitude to getting Khabib Nurmagomedov back in the octagon.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] doesn’t have any issue with Dana White’s relentless approach to getting UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] back in the octagon.

Since Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) retired from MMA in October following his second-round submission of Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, White has remained confident he can persuade the undefeated Russian to return, even despite Khabib’s promise to his mother that he would stop fighting after his father and coach Abdulmanap died.

White showed deflation about Nurmagomedov’s fighting prospects in the wake of Dustin Poirier’s knockout of Conor McGregor at UFC 257 in January, admitting that a comeback didn’t look likely following a meeting in Abu Dhabi. White has again changed course in recent days, though, and stated on Friday that he’s going to keep pushing until he gets an unequivocal no from “The Eagle.”

Dana White won't stop chasing @TeamKhabib to fight until he hears, "Leave me alone. Stop asking me. I'm done."

Full interview: https://t.co/CSPo26axst pic.twitter.com/VqAVp30ruE

— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) February 12, 2021

Cormier, who is a good friend of Nurmagomedov and longtime training partner at San Jose’s American Kickboxing Academy, isn’t among those who believe White should stand down and let go. White has received some criticism from fans for his persistence, but Cormier said he approves.

“As a promoter, you have to do that,” Cormier told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Friday following UFC 258 weigh-ins. “We have to understand that as a promoter, you have to get one of the biggest stars in your organization to try to fight. So if there is an inkling of a chance, you continue to press down that path (and) that’s what Dana’s doing.”

Part of White’s argument is that, despite Nurmagomedov publicly stating he’s not interested in fighting and willing to give up the 155-pound title at any point, he has not made the type of definitive statement that has the UFC boss convinced.

Nurmagomedov has agreed to a meeting with White sometime over the next month in Las Vegas, and Cormier said that could be as sign the door remains opened.

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“(Khabib is) constantly going in there,” Cormier said. “So if he’s meeting with him, he’s talking to him. You don’t know. But Khabib’s respectful. If Dana White asks him to dinner, he will go. So you never know. I actually don’t spend much time thinking about it at this point.”

Although Cormier is trying to remain neutral in this situation, he can relay one bit of knowledge about Nurmagomedov that, in his mind, is unwavering. Cormier said Nurmagomedov is a man of his word, and if he’s already deciding fighting isn’t part of his future, he won’t go back on it.

“If it happens, it happens (and) if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” Cormier said. “One thing I do know: If Khabib has his mind set on something, it ain’t going to change.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38kRyPGIfyA

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Khabib Nurmagomedov set to meet Dana White, says Dustin Poirier ‘deserves to be champion’

Khabib Nurmagomedov is set for a Las Vegas meeting with Dana White, but said he wants to see the UFC lightweight division move on.

UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] restated his intention not to hold up the 155-pound division, but also revealed that things still haven’t been fully agreed upon with regard to his or the division’s immediate future.

Nurmagomedov spoke at length to Match TV in Russia, where he laid out his thoughts on the UFC lightweight division and his hopes for the year ahead. He also revealed that he’s set for another meeting with UFC president Dana White and has already messaged him regarding his own fighting future.

“I’m focused on my own big projects, four or five of them. I have to spend time on them,” Nurmagomedov said, according to RT Sport translation. “As for my career as a fighter, I don’t want to go into details. Dana’s an honest person; we always had an honest relationship. I think he’ll let the media know the message that I sent him a week ago.

“It’s not a secret. I just told him how I’d like things to develop, not only related to me but the lightweight division in general. I told him I don’t want the division to be held up. But, on the other hand, fighters have only just been in action, and people already understand in general who we’ll see fighting for the title. I know they’re already making plans, I think for around May or June, for a title fight. But between who?”

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Nurmagomedov also appeared to suggest that White hasn’t fully given up on trying to lure him back to the cage, with the UFC boss planning a final meeting between the pair to nail down what’s next.

“Dana told me he isn’t done yet. I can say that,” Nurmagomedov said. “When I told him the lightweight division needs to move on, he told me he isn’t done. He said to me, ‘When you fly to Vegas at the end of February, we’ll sit down and talk.’ Dana needs to make some kind of decision. But whatever the decision, I’ll agree with it.”

As for the lightweight division itself, Nurmagomed said he’s keen to see things move on and stated that former interim champ [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag], coming off a finish of Conor McGregr, is the most worthy candidate to hold the championship belt moving forward.

“Poirier deserves to be champion, that’s my personal opinion,” he said “Look at who he’s fought. Jim Miller, Eddie Alvarez, Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway. He’s fought me, Conor. These are all top fighters, maybe fighters who will end up in the UFC Hall of Fame. I think intrigue will appear in the lightweight division as soon as they decide the title fight and eliminator.

“At the moment, it’s held up and not clear what Dana’s thinking. I think it’s going to be on fire in the lightweight division this summer. The lightweight division has always been the most competitive, the most interesting, with big stars. It will take new turns this summer. A new, younger, generation is already coming, plus there’s Chandler, Oliviera, Poirier, Gaethje, a lot of good fighters. With that mix, it will be interesting this summer and towards the end of the year.”

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Javier Mendez believes Khabib still has a lot left to give

Javier Mendez chats to MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura

Watch Khabib give Daniel Cormier so much flack for not wearing dress shoes with his suit

“Those shoes kill your suit!”

There’s nothing quite like a bit of banter between [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag].

In their latest friendly spat, UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov couldn’t help but notice the shoes Cormier opted to pair up with his suit during his commentary duties for UFC on ESPN 20.

The conversation took place in the locker room just moments before Umar Nurmagomedov made the walk for his UFC debut, and it was all captured on video by their head coach Javier Mendez.

Nurmagomedov is seen lecturing Cormier on his Cole Haan tennis shoes and gives him an earful on how he should have invested in a pair of formal shoes to go with his suit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA_YeaBMHA0

A day later during a media scrum with MMA Junkie and other reporters, Cormier recounted what Umar told him in the locker room, where he promised to buy him a pair of $1,200 Loro Piana shoes if he won his fight. Sure enough, not only did Umar win, but he cinched the “Performance of the Night” bonus when he submitted Sergey Morozov in the second round.

We are yet to see if Umar came through…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gra3BAigNYM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pKrFxnY6ik&t=0s

UFC 257 on social media: Poirier gains 520,000 new followers, but McGregor still dominates

UFC 257 proved to be a big hit, with fans flocking to their devices to talk about the rematch between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor.

UFC 257 proved to be a big hit, with fans flocking to their devices to talk about [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag], [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] and [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] during a huge week of social media exposure for the UFC and their three biggest lightweight stars.

Sports industry analytics specialists Nielsen Sports have produced a report revealing that, despite his defeat to Poirier at UFC 257, McGregor was by some distance the most discussed figure in the sport during the weekend.

McGregor generated a staggering 22.7 million engagements across social media in the build-up to fight night in Abu Dhabi, with the Irishman attracting 1.7 times more mentions than the man who went on to defeat him on fight night.

McGregor’s social media profiles received a hefty bump in numbers, with the Irishman picking up a combined 439,000 new followers. But those numbers represent a noticeable drop in pick-up compared to the 1.4 million new fans he gained ahead of his bout with Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.

It was a hugely encouraging weekend for Poirier on social media, with the Louisiana native gaining a whopping 520,000 new followers across his social media channels. That compares favorably to McGregor’s previous opponent Cerrone, whose numbers grew by 341,000 during his fight with the Dubliner in January 2020. For a man looking to spread the word about his charitable projects, that’s a number that could potentially translate to big contributions for his charity The Good Fight Foundation. It might even help him sell a few extra bottles of his Louisiana hot sauce, too.

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As you might expect, the event was also a huge social media win for the UFC’s official accounts, with Nielsen reporting that the brand generated almost 43 million engagements and close to 100,000 mentions throughout fight week.

U.K. managing director of Nielsen Sports, Spencer Nolan, said, “Conor McGregor has once again shown that his popularity on social media continues to remain at unprecedented levels, despite spending a year out of action. Online conversation centered on the fact that McGregor lost, and not that Poirier won. This tells us that, win or lose, he remains a pivotal character that has transcended an entire sport.”

In addition to talk about the McGregor-Poirier fight at UFC 257, there was also a huge amount of social chatter about the much-debated potential rematch between McGregor and UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov, with Nielsen identifying 12,000 separate discussions simultaneously mentioning the two fighters over the course of just three days.

“Analyzing the conversation across social media during fight week in more detail, it’s clear there is a demand from fans to see a rematch between McGregor and Nurmagomdov,” said Nolan.

“Driven by Khabib’s presence in the UFC’s own channel content during fight week, we can see that conversation was rife regarding the promotion’s two biggest assets meeting again.”

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Spinning Back Clique: UFC 257 overreactions edition

The latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique” focuses on the fallout from Dustin Poirier’s TKO of Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler’s win.

Welcome to “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly show that takes a quick spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week, host Simon Head is joined by panelists Brian “Goze” Garcia from MMA Junkie Radio, as well as MMA Junkie’s Nolan King and Danny Segura. We did something different this week, putting out some bold statements coming out of UFC 257 and asking: Overreaction or on the money? Let’s get into it!

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] came up with a huge TKO victory over [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] in the UFC 257 main event. It means McGregor still hasn’t beaten a quality opponent since November 2016. Statement: Conor McGregor will never win a UFC title again. Overreaction or on the money?
On the flip side of the UFC 257 main event, Poirier is riding high after avenging his 2014 loss to McGregor, and he now has wins over five former world champions on his resume. There was no title on the line in the McGregor rematch, but Poirier is considering himself the king of 155. Statement: After his performance at UFC 257, Dustin Poirier is the uncrowned UFC lightweight champion. Overreaction or on the money?
Also at UFC 257, [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] made a huge statement about his status as one of the lightweight division’s elite fighters by taking out contender Dan Hooker inside the first round. It was one heck of a UFC debut for the former three-time Bellator champion. Statement: Michael Chandler deserves an immediate title shot after that win over Dan Hooker. Overreaction or on the money?
The shadow of [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] hung over UFC 257 after UFC president Dana White indicated before the show that Khabib would consider fighting whomever did something spectacular. Then after the event, White didn’t sound optimistic about Khabib coming out of retirement – even though both Poirier and Chandler did something spectacular. Statement: The Khabib sweepstakes were all a hoax, and it was just about setting up Khabib vs. McGregor 2, and nothing else. Overreaction or on the money?

Hope you enjoy this week’s show. Watch Episode 64 of “Spinning Back Clique” above.

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Callout Collection: Who UFC 257 winners want next – and how likely they’ll get them

Michael Chandler and Julianna Pena were among those who name-dropped their preferred next opponents at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi.

Earning wins in the UFC is certainly no easy task, but what comes next is often even more important: the post-fight callout.

So, after Saturday’s UFC 257 event in Abu Dhabi, who took advantage of their time on the mic?

See below for this week’s Callout Collection – and just how realistic each one is.

Tag: Khabib Nurmagomedov