Tag: Khabib Nurmagomedov

Video: Reaction to UFC 300 main event announcement Alex Pereia vs. Jamahal Hill

Is Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill really a blockbuster main event to headline UFC 300?

It seems like it took forever, but we finally have an official main event for UFC 300.

There wasn’t a big video package or surprise announcement during the UFC 298 pay-per-view event or anything like that, but minutes after the main event, UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] announced the light heavyweight title will be on the line in the main event of the upcoming milestone event when [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] takes on [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag].

The announcement of the matchup drew plenty of criticism online. Some were fantasy booking the whole time, holding out hope for the inclusion of one of the sport’s biggest stars like [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] or a surprise return of [autotag]Ronda Rousey[/autotag] or [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

While we didn’t get any of those things, we do have a former champion in Hill returning from injury and attempting to reclaim the title he vacated due to an Achilles injury against an exciting, dangerous champion in Pereira.

Is this the fight to headline one of the biggest cards of the year? It’s a stacked event from top to bottom, but is Pereira vs. Hill a nice cherry on top?

That’s what our “Spinning Back Clique” panel Mike Bohn, Matthew Wells and Brian “Goze” Garcia discussed along with host “Gorgeous” George Garcia.

Check out the conversation in the video above, and check out this week’s full episode below.

 

Murad Ramazanov details Khabib Nurmagomedov mentorship, jump from ONE Championship to PFL

Khabib Nurmagomedov underling Murad Ramazanov is the newest member of PFL roster after jumping over from ONE Championship.

[autotag]Murad Ramazanov[/autotag] might be a newer name to some North American viewers, but his credentials and trajectory solidify him as a legitimate pickup for PFL. Just ask Darren Till.

Born in Makhachkala, Dagestan, the same Russian hometown that grew [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag], it’s no surprise Ramazanov caught the MMA bug.

Wrestling in Greco-Roman, Ramazanov indulged in MMA training shortly before the country was captivated by the rise of Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC).

“I started attending classes to make sure I had no defense and nobody can jump me on the street to apply some simple stuff, so I can defend myself,” Ramazanov recently told MMA Junkie through a Russian interpreter. “I started attending extra classes and working on my chokes. The only chokes I remember I could do was playing video games. That was the only one, and what’s the use in that? Then I started applying it to real life.”

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As Ramazanov’s skills grew, he was eventually adopted into the Nurmagomedov training room – a big feat for a young rising fighter. While he learned many lessons in one of the most legendary training environments in MMA history, Ramazanov singles out focus optimization as the biggest pickup.

“It was great motivation for me to end up in such a gym,” Ramazanov said. “Khabib was getting in his prime. I was fully aware he is one of the best. I’m lucky to train with people like him. Every day I was training, making sure not to miss any submission. I was trying to be perfect with everything. It was a perfect opportunity to learn as much as I can and improve myself. I was learning from that and getting a lot of motivation. I’m very thankful that I ended up training with them. These guys helped me become who I am.”

A decade-plus later from the start of his MMA journey, Ramazanov was one of ONE Championship’s top talents at middleweight. He picked up wins in the promotion over Myung Ho Bae, Hiroyuki Tetsuka, and Zebaztian Kadestam. Following a December 2022 no contest against Roberto Soldic, Ramazanov signed with PFL.

“Whenever I represent the league, I always want to stay active,” Ramazanov said. “I want to be the best. So with ONE, I fought everybody. I fought all the good opponents. Still, I was not able to get the belt and title shot, so I was just not sure if it was going the right way. With PFL, I just see it as a better opportunity for me now. I just feel like I can expand here and grow and have better opportunities, better opponents. Yeah, I’m going to put all of my efforts now in training and show and prove I’m the best in PFL.”

While nothing is finalized, Ramazanov indicated he’ll compete at welterweight for PFL – likely in the 2024 league format. No debut date or opponent is set yet, but Ramazanov likes his odds against any challenge placed in his path.

“I’m not going to hide it. My strong side is wrestling,” Ramazanov said. “That’s what I’m very comfortable with. But also, with the way I fight, I usually put on a lot of control and pressure. A lot of my opponents have a difficult time with that. I have pretty good cardio, so I always move forward. I put pressure. Another thing, I keep working on my striking. Now, everybody is going to be trying to be aware of my wrestling. I have a couple surprises coming in for them from the striking (and) punches. They will have to pay attention and I’ll try to make sure to keep putting a lot of pressure on them to the point they cannot resist. That is going to pretty much be my strategy.

Daniel Cormier claims Khabib Nurmagomedov once turned down $40 million to make UFC comeback

Daniel Cormier doubts Khabib Nurmagomedov would entertain coming back for UFC 300.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] doubts [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] would entertain coming back for UFC 300.

With UFC CEO Dana White teasing a mega card for April 13, Chael Sonnen theorized a potential return for Nurmagomedov on that card.

But “The Eagle’s” longtime teammate Cormier revealed that former undefeated UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov recently turned down a massive offer to fight again.

“We did a top 30 UFC fighters of all time. Khabib told us he turned down $40 million,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “That dude said $40 million to come back – to fight in the UFC. I don’t know how many fights he was meaning. I don’t know what he meant. But he just said, ‘I turned away $40 million, brother. I am done.’ I don’t know what would prompt him to come back if he’s turning that type of money away two years ago.”

Cormier says Nurmagomedov has even been shying away from life under the spotlight as a coach.

“In Abu Dhabi, when Islam (Makhachev) fought, he didn’t even go – he didn’t even come to the arena,” Cormier said. “He was like, ‘Tonight is about Islam (Makhachev).’ And a lot of times, when you have a guy like Khabib – dude, Khabib has gotten to the point now, he’s one of those guys, no bullsh*t, he’s like f*cking (Lionel) Messi and all them other dudes.

“When he goes out publicly, it’s crazy the level of attention and stardom this man has. So, he tends to overshadow people when you’re around them. He didn’t even go in Abu Dhabi because a lot of times, it will turn into coach Khabib, and he’s trying to step away to make sure he’s not taking anything away from the guys that are inside the octagon.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.

Belal Muhammad plans Dagestan training, working with Khabib Nurmagomedov for UFC title fight

Belal Muhammad will look to old pal Khabib Nurmagomedov for advice ahead of his potential UFC title fight vs. Leon Edwards.

[autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] will head across the world ahead of his potential UFC title fight vs. Leon Edwards and hopes to pick the brains of one of the all-time greats.

It won’t be the first time, but Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will travel to Dagestan to get work in with notables from the region. He hopes to once again get advice from [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], whom he’s become close with over the years as the two share the same manager.

“I’m planning for sure to go to Dagestan and train with those guys, like you said, to get a new look, to get different feels,” Muhammad recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “Those guys don’t let you take any days off or any easy rounds. That’s always perfect for me. Last time I trained with those guys, we got a dominant finish and I plan to do the same thing.”

When asked if Nurmagomedov has ever led him astray, Muhammad said never. He takes the advice given to him by “The Eagle” as invaluable, a great compliment to the unique training environment Nurmagomedov has established in his team’s training sessions.

“A lot of their stuff that we do when we go live or we go hard is like we’re working,” Muhammad said. “Over here, I do a lot of specific drilling with my team, my guys here. When it’s over there, I’ve got to be ready to go. I’ve got to be ready to be in shape. It’s an uncomfortable feeling. A lot of these guys, they’re not who I’m with every single day. So every round is a lot harder. Every round feels like it’s a new fight. I think that’s an advantage for me because with a lot of these fighters, you don’t get that uncomfortable feeling until you get to fight night where it’s like, ‘Alright, now it’s finally here. I’ve been thinking about this guy for a month.’ You’ve had looks, but you haven’t had the specific guy who’s in front of you right now.

“For me, when I’m over there with those guys, every single one of those guys is a beast and they all have their own style. Every round, you have that uncomfortable feeling of butterflies in your stomach. Here, when I go with my guys, my teammates, you know who’s a hard round. You know what they do. You see them every day. You know what they’re good at. You know what they’re not good at. It’s more of a calm feeling. But when you go with somebody new, somebody different, a new training partner, it gives you that ‘all right’ in your chest a little bit. It makes you go that much harder. It makes you go that much harder. It makes you get a little bit more tired. It makes you have to think more on your feet.”

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Muhammad, 35, is thought by many to be the next likely title challenger for Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC), but nothing is set quite yet. UFC CEO Dana White said in May that Muhammad would be next but was noncommittal at the UFC 296 post-fight news conference in December.

In the weeks that have followed, rumors of a Muhammad title shot at UFC 300 have surfaced after Edwards said the bout was happening during a public appearance.

MMA Junkie’s 2013 top 25 fighters 25 or younger revisited: 10 years hence, where are they now?

A little more than 10 years later, how do our 25 best fighters 25 or younger hold up?

In 2013, MMA Junkie, with the backing of the USA Today mothership, put out a specialty magazine.

MMA Junkie’s “Power” issue was our look, in the middle of that year, at the most influential people in the sport.

The Power list of influential people, not surprisingly, has shifted over the past 10 years. But another key component of the magazine was our look at the top 25 fighters who were 25 or younger at the time.

In mid-2013, when the issue was released, Jon Jones was the light heavyweight champion and working on his fifth title defense – and hadn’t yet turned 26 when the issue was in production. And you’d be safe to presume he made the list.

But who else was on there – and more importantly, how did those fighters pan out? We hit some home runs with our predictions, but there may have been a misfire or two.

Here’s a look back at the Top 25 25 and Younger from our 2013 “Power” issue.

Henry Cejudo: Belal Muhammad stylistically ‘the closest person to a guy like Khabib Nurmagomedov’

Henry Cejudo sees a lot of similarities between Belal Muhammad’s fighting style and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag] believes [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag]’s fighting style resembles former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]’s.

Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC), who’s unbeaten in his past 10 fights, spent his training camp leading up to his fight against Sean Brady with Nurmagomedov and his team in the United Arab Emirates. Muhammad ended up having one of his most standout performances, handing Brady his first-career loss when he stopped him by TKO at UFC 280.

After finishing Brady, Muhammad defeated former title challenger Gilbert Burns to emerge as a top contender. If Muhammad gets his long-desired rematch against welterweight champion Leon Edwards next, Cejudo sees him giving Edwards a tough time.

“It’s going to be a great, competitive fight,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel.. “… Stylistically, the way that Belal Muhammad – what he did to Gilbert Burns and how he did it to him, he’s only gotten better. I will say this: The closest person to a guy like Khabib Nurmagomedov, his name is actually Belal Muhammad. They do the same kind of cross steps. They kind of run and shoot. They do the same kind of feints with that lead hand to eventually level change for the takedown.”

Muhammad’s first fight with Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC) in March 2021 ended in a no contest after he was inadvertently poked in the eye and rendered unable to continue. Since then, Cejudo believes Muhammad is the one who’s progressed more as a fighter.

“I’m going to have to go back and rewatch their fight the first time and see how that actually went,” Cejudo said. “I will say this: They both have gotten better, but if there’s one person that I would say that has evolved more than the other, his name is Belal Muhammad. He’s just gotten so, so freaking much better. He’s a freestyle fighter.

“It’s not like he has this crazy, swift technique like Leon or beautiful knees up the middle or front kicks that are extremely dangerous. What he does know how to do is mix his damn fighting. He knows how to level change at the right time. He knows when to bait you to eventually go in for a takedown. He knows when to press and when someone is fatigued and tired, like he did to Sean Brady.”

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30 greatest UFC fighters of all time: Was Khabib Nurmagomedov’s No. 5 ranking too high?

Khabib Nurmagomedov stirred debate with his position at No. 5 on MMA Junkie’s list of the 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time.

The UFC’s 30th anniversary date has come and gone, and in the build-up to the milestone date, MMA Junkie counted down its 30 greatest fighters of all time to compete for the promotion.

There was plenty of debate about the entire list from top to bottom, and one of the major discussion points was undefeated former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] getting the No. 5 position after a dominant octagon tenure that, in the minds of many, ended prematurely due to his retirement.

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The final list was tabulated through a points system after voting from MMA Junkie’s 12-person staff, with “The Eagle” landing just outside the Mount Rushmore.

Still, was No. 5 too high for Khabib? That was a major point of conversation on MMA Junkie’s special edition of “Spinning Back Clique,” where the majority of our staff came together to discuss and debate the finer points of the list, including Nurmagomedov getting such a prominent position despite just 13 promotional appearances.

Check out the discussion in the video above, or watch the entire 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time podcast below.

MMA Junkie’s 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time: Full list and videos

To commemorate the UFC’s 30th anniversary, this is our definitive list of the promotion’s 30 greatest fighters of all time.

To commemorate the UFC’s 30th anniversary, MMA Junkie has compiled its definitive list of the 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time. We revealed one every day until the anniversary of UFC 1, which took place Nov. 12, 1993.

Our complete rankings, along with videos for each fighter, can be viewed below.

About the list: All 12 members of our staff submitted their own individual 30 greatest UFC fighters list. Each fighter was assigned a corresponding numerical value based on where they were ranked on an individual’s list, i.e. No. 1 = 30, No. 2 = 29, etc. We took those numbers and added them up to get a total number for each fighter to determine the composite ranking of MMA Junkie’s 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time.

30 greatest UFC fighters of all time: Khabib Nurmagomedov ranked No. 5

Nobody on our 30 greatest UFC fighters list can lay claim to retiring undefeated except for Khabib Nurmagomedov, which puts him at No. 5.

The UFC is celebrating its 30th year and to commemorate the milestone, MMA Junkie has compiled its 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time. Every day until the anniversary of UFC 1 on Nov. 12 (1993), we will reveal one fighter on our list.

Today, MMA Junkie assistant managing editor Matthew Wells brings you No. 5: [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag].

You can watch Wells’ career retrospective on Nurmagomedov above; video produced by Abbey Subhan.

Also see:

About the list: All 12 members of our staff submitted their own individual 30 greatest UFC fighters list. Each fighter was assigned a corresponding numerical value based on where they were ranked on an individual’s list, i.e. No. 1 = 30, No. 2 = 29, etc. We took those numbers and added them up to get a total number for each fighter to determine the composite ranking of MMA Junkie’s 30 greatest UFC fighters of all time.

Dana White: Islam Makhachev could go on run that blows away Khabib, every other UFC lightweight champ

Dana White hasn’t been shy with his praise for Khabib Nurmagomedov and won’t be for dishing out propers to one of Khabib’s proteges, either.

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] has not been shy with his praise for [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]. He won’t be shy when it comes to dishing out propers to one of his proteges, either.

After lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) knocked out featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) in the first round of the UFC 294 main event Saturday in Abu Dhabi, UFC CEO White rejected the idea that Makhachev has to live in the shadow of Nurmagomedov, who retired and vacated the lightweight belt in 2020, which paved the way for Makhachev’s ascension and current spot on the throne.

Makhachev was supposed to fight Charles Oliveira, whom he beat to win the vacant title in 2022. But Oliveira pulled out with a cut, and Volkanovski took his second shot at becoming a two-division champ. After a close fight their first time around, Makhachev ripped through Volkanovski in a hurry in the rematch.

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“I don’t know if he really lives in Khabib’s shadow,” White said at his UFC 294 post-event news conference at Etihad Arena. “(Saturday) was a big step in the right direction. The guy’s been dominant. Then, all the controversy that came off that last fight, and he finishes this fight the way that he did. … He went in there and viciously, impressively finished this fight with a (Mirko) ‘Crocop’-esque kick to the head. It doesn’t get any better than that against a very tough, durable guy who has a great chin. You don’t ever see anybody do that to Volkanovski.”

Makhachev trained with Khabib and Khabib’s father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who died in 2020 not long before Khabib won his final fight and announced his retirement. Because of that, he’ll forever be compared to his fighting mentor – particularly because they’re in the same weight class and now have held the same title.

But White thinks Makhachev eventually could supplant Khabib as the best to do it at 155 pounds.

“(If) he keeps doing what he’s doing – you’ve just got to keep grinding and knocking them down one by one – and it eventually happens,” White said. “The truth is, when you look at Khabib – and nothing against Khabib; Khabib came in and won the title and defended – but (Makhachev) could go on a defense run that absolutely blows everybody away that ever held the belt in that division.”

White also thinks Makhachev could take a shot at a second title, himself – but at welterweight, where Leon Edwards currently holds the title.

But White pumped the brakes on that happening in the near future.

“I guess he’s talented enough (to win two belts),” White said. “I don’t see that happening any time soon. He’s still got some guys to fight (at lightweight). But if he defends the belt for another year and wanted to move up, why not?”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.