Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out the key facts, figures and footnotes for Event Name, which is headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje.
Check out the key facts, figures and footnotes for Event Name, which is headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje.
Lauren Murphy spoke with the media ahead of UFC 254 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Lauren Murphy spoke with the media ahead of UFC 254 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Casey Kenney spoke with the media ahead of UFC 254 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Casey Kenney spoke with the media ahead of UFC 254 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Liliya Shakirova spoke with the media ahead of UFC 254 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Liliya Shakirova spoke with the media ahead of UFC 254 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.
Michael Chandler is readying himself to compete on Oct. 24, but he won’t fight just anyone.
[autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] is readying himself to compete on Oct. 24, but he won’t fight just anyone.
Chandler (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is serving as a backup fighter for the main event between lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, but said that he isn’t interested in fighting [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag], who recently lost his opponent.
Makhachev (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was slated to face Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 254, but the former UFC lightweight champion was forced out after he tested positive for COVID-19. Makhachev declared his interest in facing Chandler, but Chandler said he wasn’t interested. As a result, Makhachev was removed from the card.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, the former three-time Bellator lightweight champion explained that a matchup with 12th-ranked Makhachev wouldn’t make sense, considering that even if he doesn’t get to compete on Oct. 24, he’s still on the cusp of title contention.
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“The answer is no,” Chandler said. “I think there’s already been talks about the next move after this. The ship has sailed as far as – like I said, if Tony Ferguson did say, ‘Yeah OK, I’ll be your huckleberry Oct. 24,’ which if there’s anybody out there that might actually do something like that it would be Tony Ferguson, but at this point, I’m not changing courses. At this point I’m not taking a short notice fight against a guy, as I said, my words have been somewhat misconstrued and people are just hitting me up left and right.
“When I say people, I mean like Russians, Dagestanis, all these guys on the Khabib train – there’s millions and millions of them – they’re crushing me, calling me chicken and coward, but I didn’t sign this contract to go out there and fight anybody, especially on two weeks’ notice and change the opponent, change the plan and change everything. As of right now, I’m the backup for the world title fight, I’m keeping my body, my mind, my soul, my spirit ready for the next move.”
With a matchup between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier close to being finalized, Chandler mentioned that he has a hunch that he’d be matched up with Tony Ferguson next, which could potentially earn him a shot at the winner of Nurmagomedov vs. Gaethje.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov won’t entertain a title defense against Conor McGregor or Dustin Poirier unless they fight at 155 pounds.
[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] won’t entertain the notion of a title defense against [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] or [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] unless their fight is contested at 155 pounds.
In an interview ahead of his UFC 254 title defense against Justin Gaethje, the undefeated UFC lightweight champion was asked his thoughts about who could be the next challenger for his title.
With a blockbuster rematch between McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) and Poirier (27-6 MMA, 18-5 UFC) looming, Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) is open to potentially fighting the winner. However, the fight between McGregor and Poirier, which has been offered for January, must not take place at welterweight – if either wants an immediate title shot, that is.
“I still feel this but you have to fight at 155,” Nurmagomedov told TSN on Monday. “If they fight at 170 or 185, this is not lightweight contender fight. If you want to fight at lightweight contender for the belt you have to fight at lightweight. What is this, like? ‘OK, I’m champion at 155. OK, give me a fight at 170. OK, let’s make weight with Justin Gaethje at 170.’ Same thing. If you want to fight for the title at 155, you have to make 155.”
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Nurmagomedov and Poirier squared off at UFC 242 in September 2019, with the Russian champion winning by third-round submission via rear-naked choke. Though they were largely respectful toward one another at the time, and have remained that way since, Nurmagomedov was critical of Poirier’s decision to let McGregor dictate the terms of the fight.
“I don’t understand why Dustin show his weakness,” Nurmagomedov said. “This is just my opinion. You have to say something. Hey, this is my opinion. He has to do something to it. OK, they ask him to fight. Conor say ‘I’m going to donate you money.’ He said, ‘Yes, yes, yes, anywhere,’ but Dustin is a lightweight fighter. He’s not a welterweight fighter. Why are you going to fight at 170? If you want to fight for the title next, you have to make 155 (and) fight in the lightweight division. This is just my opinion. We’ll see. We’ll see.”
Nurmagomedov and Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) headline UFC 254 on Saturday at Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The main card streams on pay-per-view after prelims on ESPN 2/ESPN+.
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Javier Mendez says he’s confident Khabib Nurmagomedov’s wrestling will hold up against Justin Gaethje.
Javier Mendez is well aware of the narrative heading into Khabib Nurmagomedov’s next UFC title defense.
The head coach of American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) hears the fan and media chatter about Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) potentially facing his toughest challenge yet against a man considered by many to be the best defensive wrestler in the division, [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag]. The two are set to clash in a title unification bout at UFC 254, which takes place Saturday on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
Coach Mendez is aware Gaethje’s (21-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) skillset raises questions in the wrestling department for his student, with “The Highlight” having only been taken down twice in his seven-fight career with the UFC. The NCAA Division I All-American recently trained alongside UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman but, despite Gaethje’s mat credentials, Mendez says it’s hard to prepare for Nurmagomedov’s brand of high-pressure grappling.
“I know he’s working with the welterweight champion, so he does have someone good working with him, but it’s different when you’re fighting Khabib,” Mendez said on Monday’s episode of Hablemos MMA. “It’s different. Let’s see what happens, but he’s preparing well, he’s preparing with the champion and the champion is really good.”
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Mendez admits there is an unknown factor with Gaethje as he hasn’t previously faced a fighter who predominately wrestles. But although unknowns may be perceived as dangerous, in this case, Mendez feels it favors Nurmagomedov.
“The thing with Justin is, when has he used wrestling?” Mendez said. “I’ve never seen it. Just to get up, but he hasn’t used the wrestling. So let’s see what happens. If we can’t get him down, we have a fight. If we get him down there’s not going to be a big problem because he doesn’t work on the ground, from what I’ve seen. If you’re not working wrestling in your fights, it’s going to be hard in your first fight given how big the fight is and that he’s taking on the master of the ground in Khabib. It’s going to be tough for him. However, if we can’t get him down, it will be hard for us.”
At the end of the day, Mendez is confident in Nurmagomedov’s ability to take the fight to the ground. The seasoned coach believes “The Eagle” can take anyone down in MMA, including Gaethje.
“He says he’s tough to take down, so let’s see what happens,” said Mendez. “I don’t think it’s going to be as hard as he thinks, but it’s possible that it’s tough to take him down. I don’t believe it will, because Khabib is a master at taking the fight to the ground. Look, if you’re an Olympic wrestler and it’s in MMA, he’ll take you down. He’s the master of this. He knows how to penetrate, how to enter with his striking, he knows. It’s different, it’s not the same.”
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The most highly anticipated fight week in quite some time kicks off with undefeated champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s arrival in Abu Dhabi.
One of the most highly anticipated fights of 2020 goes down on Saturday night.
UFC 254 takes place Saturday at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+ and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
In the main event, UFC lightweight champion[autotag] Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) takes on interim titleholder [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC). Additionally, former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler (21-5 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who recently signed a UFC contract, will be on hand as a standby main-event fighter in case either competitor needs to withdraw from the bout.
The first episode of “Embedded” follows the big-name stars at the top of the card. Here’s the UFC’s description:
UFC 254’s Walt Harris, Lauren Murphy, Justin Gaethje, Sam Alvey, Jared Cannonier and backup Michael Chandler train outdoors. Then everyone (including Buffer) boards the flight to Abu Dhabi. Khabib Nurmagomedov gets an enthusiastic welcome at the hotel.
You can watch “Embedded” above.
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BT Sport has released a touching teary-eyed tribute to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father, who died earlier this year.
BT Sport has released a touching, teary-eyed tribute to UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag]’s father, who died earlier this year.
Nurmagomedov’s father, Abdulmanap, who helped train and build the careers of a host of Dagestani fighters, diedd in July due to complications arising from COVID-19.
During Khabib’s fighting career, Abdulmanap had issues obtaining a visa to the U.S. but was finally able to corner his son for the first time in the UFC in September 2019, when Nurmagomedov submitted Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi.
Ahead of Nurmagomedov’s title defense against Justin Gaethje (22-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC 254 on Saturday, BT Sport put together an animated short story describing the relationship between Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) and his father, who had aspirations of his son hitting the 30-0 mark as a professional fighter.
Check out the emotional tribute in the video below.
From the mountains of Dagestan to UFC champion.
Whether in spirit, or in person, Abdulmanap was in Khabib's corner every step of the way.
"Father's plan" is not finished just yet. The job is not quite done…#UFC254 pic.twitter.com/iAGJJmrtXl
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) October 18, 2020
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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Russian bantamweight and cousin of UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Umar Nurmagomedov, has been ruled out of his octagon debut at UFC 254.
It’s third time unlucky for Russian bantamweight [autotag]Umar Nurmagomedov[/autotag], with his latest attempt to make his UFC debut nixed by illness less than one week from fight night in Abu Dhabi.
Nurmagomedov (12-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was all set to make his octagon debut against former M-1 Global bantamweight champion Sergei Morozov (16-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who was also set for his UFC bow, at UFC 254, which takes place Saturday at Flash Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The event streams live on pay per view following prelims on ESPN+ and ESPN2.
It was initially reported by Russian news agency TASS that Nurmagomedov had been hospitalized with “severe flu, fever and vomiting,” but it was subsequently confirmed by Nurmagomedov’s cousin and teammate, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, that the bantamweight’s symptoms were as a result of a staph infection that left his cousin hospitalized in Dubai.
Posting to his Instagram page, Khabib laid out the situation, saying (via translation), “The last few days, Umar has been in a hotel with a high fever, which was caused by a staphylococcal infection. But despite this, he and our entire team were determined that he would perform on October 24th. This morning, before our flight to Abu Dhabi, he got worse and was hospitalized in Dubai. Get well brother, so it was meant to be.”
The news means that Nurmagomedov has now been forced to miss three debut bookings with the UFC. His first, against Hunter Azure at UFC 249, was postponed due to restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic, while he withdrew from his second, against England’s Nathaniel Wood at UFC on ESPN 14, due to the death of his uncle and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, following complications from COVID-19. Now illness has ruled out Nurmagomedov’s third attempt to step into the octagon.
Khabib and Umar were both scheduled to compete together on the UFC 254 card, but now only Khabib will head to Abu Dhabi from the team’s Dubai training camp as “The Eagle” makes his final preparations to face Justin Gaethje on Saturday, with multiple UFC officials confirming to MMA Junkie on the ground in Abu Dhabi that Khabib’s main event fight remains “100 percent on.”
Not an ideal message to see today, but I have spoken with multiple UFC officials who assure me the @TeamKhabib fight at #UFC254 is “still 100 percent on." https://t.co/dECt2guIne
— John Morgan (@MMAjunkieJohn) October 18, 2020
