Tyson on the side of Nurmagomedov, a challenge for McGregor and a new rival of Koreshkov: major events in the world of MMA

Tyson Forecast

Nine months after the UFC 229 tournament, the duel between Habib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor still remains one of the most discussed topics in the world of mixed martial arts. Since then, none of the athletes have not conducted a single fight in the octagon, and their possible revenge remains desirable for millions of fans. At the same time, the Irishman himself repeatedly stated his intention to fight again with his eternal rival, but the Russian turned out to be against this idea and decided to meet with the owner of the temporary title in lightweight Dustin Porye.

On the eve of their opinion about the possible revenge between the athletes expressed the legendary boxer Mike Tyson. He said that the second fight between the fighters would cause unprecedented excitement in the world of mixed martial arts, but he noted that the victorious fight was known in advance.

“I believe that McGregor is a promo genius. Habib defeated him, right? But they want to fight again! People want to see their fight again. Conor will not get the better of Habib, he will never win. But the fans are still willing to pay to see this fight, ”Low Kick MMA quotes Tyson.

According to the former absolute world champion in heavyweight boxing, Nurmagomedov should think about a possible revenge with McGregor, because in this case he can earn a much larger fee than for a fight with an equal opponent.

“So why not fight with him at least 10 times? People will be willing to pay for it. Now everything depends on marketing. MacGregor is a genius, this is not to take away from him, ”Tyson concluded.

MacGregor's Future

However, at the moment the second fight between Nurmagomedov and McGregor is hardly seriously discussed in the manual of the Absolute Fighting Championship. The reason for this is the presence of two contenders for the UFC title in lightweight in the person of Dustin Porier and Tony Ferguson, as well as a long simple Irishman. Unlike the Russian, he could return to the Octagon in the spring, but instead he first announced his retirement, and then injured his arm. This damage further delayed his appearance in the cell and raised a number of questions about the future of the future champion in two weight categories.

Apparently, Conor still can not fully determine their plans for the future. At the moment, he is recovering from injury and is actively developing his own brand of whiskey, as a result of which he hardly misses the mixed martial arts. However, he decided so far to refrain from regular statements about the completion of a fighter's career.

“I would say that I’m leaving, but you still won’t believe me,” MacGregor wrote on his Instagram page.

However, even during the recovery period, MacGregor continues to receive challenges for the fight. One of the main characters of the UFC 239 tournament, Jorge Masvidal, said the last about his desire to fight with Conor. The author of the fastest knockout in the history of promotion stated that he would gladly face off with the Irishman.

“I want to break his face. I think it will be a very easy money for me. All these banknotes are painted on his face. Speaking directly, I do not see a situation in which he can beat me. McGregor surrendered during the fights, he did it more than once. I feel that I will crush him. It will be a simple duel, ”Mvid Fighting said.

Rival for Koreshkov

In the meantime, new opponent Andrei Koreshkov in Bellator became known. Ex-welterweight champion will compete with American Lorenz Larkin, famous for his UFC appearances. The fight will be held on October 4 at a tournament in the California city of Temecula.

It is noteworthy that the leadership of the promotion is already the second time trying to organize a battle between Koreshkov and Larkin. Athletes were supposed to meet in March at the Bellator 219 tournament, but the American was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury. The debutant of the organization Mike Jasper came on as a substitute, but could not impose a serious struggle. The Russian was very confident in the cage and took over, by a unanimous decision of the judges.

The victory over Larkin is able to bring Koreshkov closer to the return of the welterweight title. In 2015, he already won the honorary title, after which he held it for 482 days. During this time, he managed to defend, taking over one of the brightest representatives of MMA, the former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

Koreshkov's stay on the throne was interrupted by ex-champion Douglas Lima, from whom Andrei took the belt. Over the next three years, the Brazilian twice left out of business Russians, than seriously spoiled his resume and reduced the chances of getting a title match in the future. Thus, in order to earn the right to meet with reigning champion Rory MacDonald, the Russian may not have enough of one victory over Larkin.

As for Lorenz, he suffered four more defeats in his career than the Russian (seven), and in Bellator he won only two out of four fights. At the same time, his victories were fought with not the strongest opponents in the face of Fernando González and Ion Pascu. Among his offenders were all the same Lima, as well as mixed martial arts veteran Paul Daley. The American is known for being expelled from the UFC in 2010 after he hit Josh Koshchek at the end of the fight.

Russian UFC debutants

It also became known that the composition of the UFC fighters was supplemented by two more Russian athletes. According to Rizvan Magomedov, who is also the manager of Habib Nurmagomedov, Shamil Gamzatov and Askar Askarov will make their debut in the promotion soon, and the last one will hold their first fight in September.

Askarov spent almost all of his career in the Russian ACB (Absolute Championship Berkut) promotion and became a champion in the lightweight champion there. In total, Askar has ten victories according to the rules of mixed martial arts and not a single defeat. His first contender in the UFC will be Brandon Moreno, who has already had the experience of performing in the largest promotion of the world. There he spent five fights, three times he took the upper hand and conceded twice. Moreover, his offenders were quite strong athletes - Sergio Pettis and Alejandro Pantoja.

As for Gamzatov, in contrast to Askarov, he has experience in performing abroad. He managed to take part in one World Series of Fighting tournament (WSOF), and then signed a contract with his successor - the Professional Fighting League (PFL). There he won two fights, but both times he met with not the strongest opposition. So, for his career, Rex Harris never played in the UFC and did not fight top-level athletes, while Eddie Gordon was listed in the Absolute Fighting Championship, but did not win a single fight there. And this is despite the fact that in 2014 the native of Jamaica became the winner of the 19th season of The Ultimate Fighter.