UFC against Nurmagomedov's fight with Mayweather
Over the past year in the martial arts world, the idea of a possible boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Habib Nurmagomedov has been widely discussed. The Russian fighter has expressed a desire to repeat the path of Conor McGregor and face off with one of the greatest representatives of the prestigious form of martial arts. But despite the desire of both parties to meet in the ring, until now the battle has not been appointed.
One of the reasons was Mayweather’s decision to end his career. The victory over McGregor helped him to exceed the achievement of the legendary Rocky Marsciano and extend his unbeaten run to 50 battles in a row, after which he hung the gloves on a nail. After that, the American found himself only once in the ring, having dealt with Tensin Natsukawa in an exhibition duel.
But according to former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, the key factor in this issue is the reluctance of the leadership of the Absolute Fighting Championship to meet athletes.
“I do not think that the battle will take place, no. Mayweather and Habib talk about it. But it seems to me that the UFC will not allow the fight to take place, because we all have contracts with the company. They broke the pattern, having arranged such a duel with McGregor, but if they continue in the same spirit and the like will happen more often, then more and more fighters will want it. It will end with legal problems with contracts and the like, ”BoxingScene quotes Bisping.
The Englishman also noted that he himself was skeptical about the conduct of fights between boxers and fighters of mixed martial arts, but added that he would not refuse to see the battle between Nurmagomedov and Mayweather.
“Mayweather wins, everyone understands this. However, it is always interesting to look at the fight of a man who is at the top of Olympus of mixed martial arts and a boxer, ”Bisping concluded.
Challenge and insults at McGregor
As for the Irishman, even despite two defeats in a row, most UFC fighters dream of fighting with him. First, he is still incredibly popular, but because his next fight promises a huge fee, not only to McGregor himself, but also to his future opponent. Secondly, the defeat in the fight with Nurmagomedov once again demonstrated the weaknesses of the Irish, thereby giving confidence to other athletes.
One of these was Al Yakvinta. Throughout his career, an American of Italian origin could not boast of major successes in the octagon, but in 2018 he suddenly became a participant in the battle for the UFC title in lightweight. This happened due to the lack of an opponent to fight with Nurmagomedov at the UFC 223 tournament, which was remembered by the famous episode with Conor's attack on the bus with Habib. At first, Tony Ferguson, the holder of the temporary belt, withdrew from the match, and then neither the current featherweight champion Max Holloway nor Anthony Pettis could take part in the fight. Ultimately, none of the top fighters could not come on as a substitute, and the chance to fight with Habib went to the 11th rating number at that time.
After that Yakvinta held two fights in the octagon, in which he first took over Kevin Lee, and then lost to Donald Cerrone. But even despite not the most successful performances, he considers himself a worthy candidate for a fight with the ex-UFC champion in two weight categories.
“This will be the most sensible solution. He is recovering from a serious defeat. Habib laid him down, although he had plenty of time to prepare for that fight. I agreed to a duel just the day before, and showed what I can do. Do not be a judge and time limits, the fight would have been going on so far. I will never stop and will fight until I die. Conor is not like that. So this fight seems to me the most reasonable option, but he sells whiskey and does other things, ”said Yakvinta TMZ.
At the moment, MacGregor has not decided on the date of his return, or the name of the future enemy, and the last six months he tried to achieve a rematch with Nurmagomedov. In particular, the Irishman very often crossed the line, insulting both the Russian himself and his relatives.
Al himself believes that Conor is not worthy of a re-fight with Habib, because he suffered an early defeat from him.
“His position is no longer as strong as he thinks. In the last battle he was killed. For all the rest he is a corpse. The judge had to drag Habib away from him. Surrendering in this way, he looked like a complete weakling. Conor needs to come back and win, but this does not happen. In the event of a rematch, everything will repeat one to one For such a fight, you need courage, and this is not about him, ”concluded Yakvinta.
However, not only he is interested in a fight with McGregor. Jorge Masvidal, author of the fastest knockout in UFC history, reiterated his desire to fight the Irishman. Unlike Yakvinta, he paid tribute to his possible counterpart, but added that he could easily knock him out.
“If he wants to come back and meet a rival who can fight him on an equal footing and in the way he likes, he can no longer look for ... Everyone says about me, because I am sending knockouts to my rivals. He is incredibly popular for the same reason. Everything is very simple. No need for superfluous chatter and stupid flirting, as if we were schoolchildren. If we fight, let's fight. But no, so the next one, ”said Masvidal.
New rivals for Russians
In the meantime, several domestic UFC and Bellator fighters learned the names of their future rivals. Already on August 10, Aleksey Kunchenko will enter the Octagon in the Uruguayan city of Montevideo, and on the other side of the cell will be Gilbert Burns. The Brazilian will try to interrupt the winning streak of Russians, which currently has 20 fights.
Initially, Kunchenko was supposed to fight Laureano Staropoli, but he broke his nose during preparation and was forced to abandon the fight. The Argentine not only lost his fee, but also confused the cards to his failed vis-à-vis. Now the Russian has to meet not with a young drummer, behind whom there are only two fights under the auspices of the UFC, but with an experienced wrestler in the pit. Burns possesses a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and two of his last five victories won precisely with pain.
However, these results should not be overestimated, since Gilbert was not opposed by the strongest opponents. At the moment, his loudest successes occurred in battles with strong, but not stellar athletes - Alex Oliveira and Olivier Aubin-Mercier. At the same time in his passive there are three defeats in the octagon at once. So, Burns conceded to Dan Hooker ahead of schedule, and lost to Rashid Magomedov and Michel Prazerez by judicial decision.
In his second fight after returning to Bellator, Vitaly Minakov will meet with Jevy Ayala. The fight will take place on August 24 at the Bellator 225 tournament and will be one of the two main events of the evening. Will lead the show revenge between Sergey Kharitonov and Matt Mitrion.
The first fight of the ex-champion of the organization was a real disappointment for his fans and ended in defeat against Cheyk Congo. The Russian could not pick up the keys to the 43-year-old rival at that time and lost the chance to become the first contender for the heavyweight title.
Throughout his career, Ayala alternated victories with defeats, but recently he recorded at his own expense several beautiful victories over famous veterans. Ex-UFC champion Frank Mir and all the same Kharitonov, who was knocked out at the 16th second of the bout, fell from his hands. Thus, Minakov certainly should not underestimate his future opponent.
The main battle of the UFC tournament in Moscow
However, the most anticipated event of the fall for Russian fans of mixed martial arts will be the second UFC tournament in Moscow, which will be held on November 9 at the CSKA arena. At the moment there is no information about the composition of the participants of the show, but in the main fight of the evening a battle is expected between two heavy weight stars - Alexander Volkov and Junior dos Santos.
For the Russians, this fight can be one of the most important in his career. In October, he suffered an insulting defeat from Derrick Lewis and missed a chance to fight for the belt. Already in April, he could make up for lost time, but was unable to speak at a tournament in St. Petersburg for health reasons. His place in the main event of the evening was taken by Alexey Oleinik, but he did not offer decent resistance to the famous Alistair Overim.
The victory over Dos Santos is able to return to Volkov self-confidence and again bring him closer to the battle for the title. The UFC management is unlikely to ignore success in the battle with the ex-champion, who for the past ten years has been in the elite of his weight class.
Despite his age of undead (35 years), Junior is still dangerous in the stance and can give odds to many opponents. This is evidenced by the fact that in the last five battles he won three victories, and was second only to ex-champion Stipe Miočić and Francis Ngann, who again regained the title of one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the world.
In this fight, Volkov will have a very hard time, because the Brazilian has excellent boxing skills, and also works great legs. His skills in wrestling always left much to be desired, but Alexander himself is not famous for these qualities. Athletes, of course, will fight in the rack, where both will have almost equal chances. On the side of the Russians will be an advantage in size, but the Brazilian has repeatedly shown that he can quickly reduce the distance and instantly go on the defensive.