Tag: Khabib Nurmagomedov

Conor McGregor fires back at Khabib Nurmagomedov’s diss: ‘I’m still here if you wanna go again’

Conor McGregor didn’t take kindly to Khabib Nurmagomedov using one of his famous quotes to take a shot at his rival.

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] didn’t take kindly to the jab [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] threw his way on Sunday.

During a public speaking event in Toronto, Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) talked about the recent success of his fight team, including new champions in UFC lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev and Bellator lightweight champ Usman Nurmagomedov within the past month.

Nurmagomedov used a famous McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) quote to revel in the success of his team: “I hear long time ago when one guy was talking about ‘We’re here to take over.’ But we here to take over.”

That comment did not sit well with McGregor, who fired back in expected fashion (via Twitter):

I fight on! Your fathers plan is never complete because you quit and ran, brother. God bless. I’m still here if you wanna go again. But your fear of defeat means you’ve already lost. Run from it all you want. We all lose in the end. Death takes us all. I fear nothing but God 🙏☘️

During the same interview, Nurmagomedov made it clear he has no intention of returning to MMA competition and is happy with his role as a coach.

Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in the fourth round of their highly anticipated grudge match at UFC 229 in October 2018. The event stands as the highest selling pay-per-view in company history, but the end of it was marred when Nurmagomedov jumped the fence and kicked off a post-fight melee.

The disdain between McGregor and Nurmagomedov has remained strong since, and it’s clear they still have no love lost for each other.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov predicts Islam Makhachev ‘gonna finish this guy’ Alex Volkanovski at UFC 284

Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks Alexander Volkanovski will present a threat to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284, but it won’t be enough.

TORONTO – [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] will present a threat to [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] at UFC 284, but it won’t be enough.

Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC), the UFC featherweight titleholder, will move up a weight class when he challenges UFC Hall of Famer Nurmagomedov’s star pupil Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) for lightweight gold in the Feb. 11 headliner at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. The event airs on pay-per-view following prelims expected on ESPN and ESPN+.

The fight will mark the first opportunity for Makhachev to defend the belt he claimed with a second-round submission of Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 in October. Makhachev won the fight in a largely one-sided fashion, and although his coach Nurmagomedov predicts Volkanovski will provide more resistance, he said it won’t matter in the end.

“I told Islam like even before last fight with Charles Oliveira, I told him, ‘Volkanovski is gonna be tougher than Charles Oliveira,'” Nurmagomedov said during a speaking appearance on Sunday for Class A Events/Penny Appeal Canada. “Like, before the fight because it was like if Charles don’t make weight, it’s going to be Volkanovski who is supposed to fight with him. I think he have good experience. Of course experience – Charles and Volkanovski, they have the same.

“They both have good experience. But if you talk about fighting IQ and big heart, I think Volkanovski’s better than him. I think Volkanovski is gonna be tougher opponent for Islam than Charles Oliveira. But, anyways, who cares? We’re gonna finish this guy.”

Makhachev vs. Volkanovski will mark the first time in UFC history a pair of fighters on winning streak of 11 fights or more meet inside the octagon. It’s also just the seventh champion-vs-champion fight the promotion has ever put together.

It’s a crucial fight between Volkanovski, the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC’s official rankings, and No. 2-ranked Makhachev, and there’s plenty at stake on both sides.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.

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UFC Fight Night 214’s Nate Maness out to ‘get some respect back’ from Team Khabib in flyweight debut

Nate Maness makes his debut in the flyweight division against Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege Tagir Ulanbekov at UFC Fight Night 214.

LAS VEGAS – After four fights in the UFC’s bantamweight division, [autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag] discovered it was time to make a change.

At UFC Fight Night 214, Maness (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will drop down to the flyweight division for the first time in his career, where he will face Tagir Ulanbekov. The event takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+.

Despite winning his first three fights under the UFC banner at bantamweight, Maness believes the switch to a lighter division makes sense because he was arriving at each fight week weighing less and less.

In his last outing, Maness’ four-fight win streak was snapped in a unanimous decision loss to Umar Nurmagomedov. On Saturday, he will get a chance to rebound against another [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] product in Ulanbekov (14-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who will also be looking to get back into the win column.

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But facing back-to-back fighters under the tutelage of the UFC Hall of Famer isn’t about revenge for Maness.

“All those guys are super nice to me, I wouldn’t say revenge,” Maness told reporters including MMA Junkie at Wednesday’s media day. “But I definitely want to have a better and stronger performance and get some respect back.”

You can watch Maness’ full media day interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 214.

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Video: Can Islam Makhachev surpass Khabib Nurmagomedov’s greatness as UFC champ?

The landscape of the lightweight division could be ripe for new UFC champ Islam Makhachev to rule for years to come.

The [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] era is upon us after UFC 280.

This past Saturday in Abu Dhabi, Makhachev became the UFC lightweight champion when he submitted former champ Charles Oliveira in the second round to claim the vacant title – and it wasn’t even close. For as long as the fight lasted, Makhachev put on a dominant performance reminiscent of his mentor, UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], as he pushed his winning streak to 11 fights, which includes five consecutive finishes.

Nurmagomedov, as well as American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez, are on record as saying Makhachev is the better fighter, so here’s our question: Do you see Makhachev ruling the lightweight division for years to come and, dare we say, surpassing Nurmagomedov’s greatness?

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Our “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn, and Nolan King weighed in on that topic with host “Gorgeous” George. You can watch their discussion in the video above. You can also check out this week’s complete episode below.

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel.

VIDEO: Khabib reacts to Sean O’Malley’s decision win over Petr Yan: ‘How is this possible, brother?’

Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov react to Sean O’Malley’s decision win over Petr Yan at UFC 280 in real time.

[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] did not agree with the verdict in the [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Petr Yan[/autotag] fight.

The former UFC champion and UFC Hall of Famer was surprised to see O’Malley get his hand raised in a split decision reading against Yan on the main card of Saturday’s UFC 280 event in Abu Dhabi.

Although it was a competitive fight, many, including Nurmahomedov, question the scoring of the bout.

Below, you can see Nurmagomedov’s real-time reaction to the decision reading of the bantamweight bout:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CkD9fe1D0Vu/

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With the result, O’Malley surprised many. He was a big underdog stepping in against the former champion. Outside of a 2020 loss to Marlon Vera by TKO, O’Malley remains unbeaten.

Yan now finds himself on a two-fight skid for the first time. He’s lost three of four, with the other two defeats in title fights against Aljamain Sterling.

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Prophecy completed at UFC 280, Islam Makhachev pieces together rest of story and how Alexander Volkanovski fits

Following his UFC 280, Islam Makhachev explained what he hopes for his legacy to be now that Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s prophecy is complete.

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] has long surrounded himself with legendary counterparts. Now a champion in his own right, he has a specific legacy in mind.

The next in a long lineage of UFC title holders from American Kickboxing Academy, Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) differs from the rest of the pack.

[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] retired at 29-0. [autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] won two UFC titles and held them simultaneously prior to his retirement. So what’s Makhachev’s long-term goal now that he’s captured a title? How does he upgrade his status from champion to legend?

“I have to be No. 1 pound-for-pound champion,” Makhachev told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a UFC 280 post-fight news conference shortly after his submission of Charles Oliveira. “After that moment, we will see. We’re going to think about this. But right now, I have to defend this belt many times.”

Makhachev’s path was long on his mind. It played out exactly how his late coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov mapped it out. First, Khabib would become champion, then Makhachev. The story was written. Now nearing the end of the transcribed portion, Makhachev thinks the best way to achieve an even more ultimate goal would be to be recognized as the best – regardless of weight.

The pound-for-pound rankings are a crawl, not a sprint. That’s why Makhachev has his sights set on the current No. 1 placeholder in the UFC rankings, featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC).

“I have new target,” Makhachev said. “I have to be No.1 pound-for-pound champion. That’s why I have to go to Australia and beat this guy. … Volkanovski is tough. He has good skills, good striking, but he’s small for this division, I think. He wants to jump to 155. Let’s do this. This weight class is not his level.”

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In February, the promotion will return to Australia. UFC 284 is expected to take place Feb. 11 at RAC Arena in Perth, and it seems like the promotion is lining up a matchup between the two champions.

Volkanovski weighed in as a backup for Makhachev’s fight against Oliveira. While not needed, Volkanovski also made an appearance in the cage during Makhachev’s post-fight interview for an impromptu staredown.

The potential matchup, should it happen, would be at 155 pounds. That means Makhachev would travel into enemy territory to defend his title – a situation that would turn off many champions, but not Makhachev.

“It doesn’t matter,” Makhachev said. “It’s good for us. We can travel to Australia. It’s a good country. We can make some camp there, training there. Before they announced the fight with Charles, Khabib told me many times, ‘Hey, if they’re going to give us a title fight in Brazil, we’re going to go to the Brazil.’

“Like one month ago, I had message with him where we talked about this. He sent to Dana text message, ‘Hey, let’s go do this in Brazil. We can go to the Brazil,’ but some people don’t believe. But we can show people the message what Khabib said (to) Dana.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 280.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov: Islam Makhachev is No. 1 pound-for-pound, Alexander Volkanovski next fight

“I told you guys, Islam Makhachev is the best fighter. Not in lightweight, he’s the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter.”

ABU DHABI – [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] is the best fighter and wants him to prove it against Alexander Volkanovski.

Makhachev (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) captured the vacant lightweight title when he ran through Charles Oliveira (33-9 MMA, 21-9 UFC) to score a second-round submission win in Saturday’s UFC 280 main event at Etihad Arena. In his corner was his mentor Nurmagomedov, who was elated to pass on the throne to his protege.

UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski weighed in as a backup, and was called out by Makhachev post-fight in the octagon for a showdown. With Volkanovski currently ranked as the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, Nurmagomedov wants Makhachev to dethrone him from that spot.

“All life, all life we train together,” Nurmagomedov said during the post-fight interview in the octagon. “22 years we train together, and last couple of years, I told you guys, Islam Makhachev is the best fighter. Not in lightweight, he’s the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter right now, today. And you know what is interesting? Charles Oliveira is No. 2 pound-for-pound, right? He finished Charles, now it’s our plan: fly all the way to Australia and fight in pound-for-pound king backyard. Volkanovski, let’s do it. We know we’re gonna finish this guy.”

The promotion returns to Perth, Australia on Feb. 11 for UFC 284. After Makhachev called Volkanovski out, Dana White said he’s on board with the idea.

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Michael Bisping: Charles Oliveira would replace Khabib as lightweight GOAT with win vs. Islam Makhachev at UFC 280

Do you agree with Michael Bisping that Charles Oliveira would be the greatest lightweight with a win at UFC 280?

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] wonders.

“Is [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag], in fact, the greatest lightweight of all time?” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Because he might just be. It all depends on what happens in Abu Dhabi.”

At UFC 280, former 155-pound champion Oliveira will meet Islam Makhachev for the vacant title he never lost – at least not inside the octagon. Oliveira was stripped of the belt this past May prior to his scheduled UFC 274 title defense against Justin Gaethje after he weighed in at 155.5 pounds under a cloud of controversy over the scale’s accuracy.

Oliveira (33-8 MMA, 21-8 UFC) went on to choke out Gaethje in the first round, leaving no doubt about his status as the best lightweight in the world despite no longer possessing the title. He has an opportunity to reclaim it Saturday against Makhachev and, at least according to Bisping, Oliveira can surpass UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] as the greatest lightweight of all time with a victory.

“Greatest lightweight of all time? I think if Charles beats Islam this weekend, I think that belongs to Charles now. I really do,” Bisping said. “I think he will have surpassed him simply because he’s taken out all the top contenders. And it’s not Khabib’s fault, but you cannot deny the numbers, the momentum, the history that Oliveira’s making.”

Oliveira, 32, is on an 11-fight winning streak – including Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, and Kevin Lee – in which he’s looked like a completely different fighter since earlier in his career when he lost eight times. Oliveira holds the UFC records for most stoppage victories (19) and submissions (16), and his 21 promotional wins rank fifth in UFC history.

While his case as the lightweight GOAT will be stronger with a win over Makhachev, Nurmagomedov record is unmatched as he finished his career an undefeated 29-0 overall with a 13-0 mark in the UFC before announcing his retirement in 2020. His most notable wins were against Gaethje, Poirier, Conor McGregor, Rafael dos Anjos, Al Iaquinta, and Edson Barboza.

“Here’s the case for Khabib: his record, 29-0, 13-0 in the UFC, and he was one of the most dominant fighters that the UFC had ever seen,” Bisping said. “In 60 career rounds, this man only lost two rounds: Round 1 against Justin Gaethje, very, very close, and Round 3 against Conor McGregor, again very, very close. He was never even knocked down, and he was never even rocked.”

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While Bisping is keen to give Nurmagomedov credit for going undefeated, he ultimately holds it against him that he retired too soon while new challengers waited for their shot to knock him off.

“All we ever saw was him win and dominate people, but he retired at 32 years old after three title defenses and two-and-a-half-years as champion of the world,” Bisping said. “That’s fantastic, but if he had stuck around longer, would we have seen him lose the belt? Would we have seen him get challenged? We’ll never know, and that is one of the real arguments for Khabib not being the pound-for-pound No. 1. …

“The reality is, the reason we ask the question is because he didn’t stick around long enough. And we know why. It was a very honorable reason. He made a promise to his mother, and he stuck to that. Wow, what a guy. I respect that so much. But would he have beaten all these top new contenders? He’d have beaten some of them, but would he have beaten Charles? We don’t know. We can only imagine.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 280.

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Javier Mendez: Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘on track to being the greatest coach of all time’

Javier Mendez thinks former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will not only be remembered as a great fighter, but as a great coach.

Javier Mendez thinks [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] will not only be remembered as a great fighter, but as a great coach.

Nurmagomedov has assumed a coaching role since hanging up his gloves in October 2020 and will be in Islam Makhachev, Zubaira Tukhugov and Belal Muhammad’s corners at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.

But American Kickboxing Academy head honcho Mendez, who helped coach Nurmagomedov throughout his career, says “The Eagle” already has been training fighters long before he retired.

“He’s been coaching forever,” Mendez said on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. “Even when he was fighting, he was coaching. He’d be sparring through these five rounds and all of a sudden he’d be sitting there with us coaching the guys. He’s been doing that forever. His father had trained him from such a young age to take the responsibility over – as a fighter, as a coach – and he’s taking over his father’s footsteps.

“He’s learned from me, he’s learned from his father – mostly his father. But to me, he’s on track – in my opinion because of his age, what he’s doing, the camp I see, the fighters he has – he’s on track to being the greatest coach of all time, in my opinion. I see it. I see the writing on the wall.”

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Nurmagomedov has an opportunity to help corner his first world champion when Makhachev faces Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title in the main event of UFC 280 on Oct. 22 at Etihad Arena.

 

Khabib Nurmagomedov: Tony Ferguson’s ‘time is up,’ only fighting because ‘he needs money’

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s comments likely won’t sit well with Tony Ferguson.

UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Tony Ferguson[/autotag]’s main motivation to keep fighting is money.

Nurmagomedov’s old rival, Ferguson (25-8 MMA, 15-6 UFC), is enduring a rough patch having lost his past five fights in a row. At one point, former interim champ Ferguson was on a 12-fight winning streak and dubbed as the former UFC lightweight champion’s biggest threat.

Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were booked to fight each other five times, but they never got to settle their beef as all five fights were canceled. Nurmagomedov has since retired, and Ferguson is no longer a top contender, but he’s still eager to compete.

Nurmagomedov isn’t so sure that’s a wise move.

“His time is up, and there’s no way to get it back,” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with UFC Russia. “Not Khabib, not Tony, nobody. We had our time, and it passed. He continues to fight. He needs money. You have to pay your bills in the U.S., and I’m sure that since he’s a Californian, I know all the Californian fighters – everything he earned, take half of that. I think he keeps fighting for money to pay bills, taxes. He has a family, I think he has two kids. I don’t blame him, but you can’t get back time. When your time goes away it doesn’t ask your name.”

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A top lightweight contender throughout the majority of his UFC career, Ferguson will look to compete at 170 pounds moving forward. He won Season 13 of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a welterweight but was unsuccessful in his move back up when he was submitted by Nate Diaz at UFC 279 in September.

The loss marked his fifth straight, but Ferguson has no intentions of hanging his gloves up.

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