Press Conference Announcement and Rematch Nurmagomedov - McGregor

Before the fight for the title of the Absolute Fighting Championship in lightweight between Russian Habib Nurmagomedov and American Tony Ferguson in the UFC 249 tournament, less than two months remain. The organizers of the event announced the date of the press conference at which the fighters will meet. The event will take place on March 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

FACE-TO-FACE. # UFC249pic.twitter.com / E8IBAxZzft

- UFC (@ufc) February 26, 2020

Both athletes took the preparation process extremely seriously. So, according to Nurmagomedov, Ferguson is the strongest rival of all whom he has had to meet lately, in connection with which he is especially tuned in for the upcoming battle.

“I had to compete with guys like Edson Barbosa, Rafael dos Agios, Conor McGregor, Dustin Porrier, Al Yakvinta, but not one of them can be compared with Tony. That is what became a real incentive for me. Before, before every fight, I thought, “OK, I can win.” Of course, I am always concentrated and work a lot, but now my opponent is especially strong, and I need to be even more attentive and give my best, ”Nurmagomedov said in an interview with TMZ.

It is worth noting that the opponent also refers to the current owner of the belt with great respect. For example, his jiu-jitsu trainer Eddie Bravo called Nurmagomedov one of the best fighters of all time. At the same time, he expressed confidence that Ferguson will be able to surprise the Russian with a rich arsenal of techniques.

“We have been preparing for the fight with Habib for a long time. We always count on the worst case scenario, and Nurmagomedov is just that case. Perhaps the strongest fighter in the stalls. This is the biggest challenge for our team, ”the MMAJunkie portal quotes Bravo.

As the date of the third title defense approaches, Nurmagomedov is talking more and more about who the Russian will meet in case of victory. Of course, many MMA lovers still expect his revenge with McGregor, although at the moment there are no prerequisites for this.

The current UFC champion himself noted that he does not consider Conor a serious opponent. In his opinion, the Irishman deliberately avoids difficult fights, as evidenced by his victory in the first round over Donald Cerrone. He also suggested that many really want a repetition of their confrontation, but this is not part of his plans.

“Such a meeting is good in terms of money and efficiency. But there is no applicant from him, and this is not a fight for the lightweight champion title. I take part in battles to leave a legacy. To do this, I need to defeat rivals such as Porrier, Yakvinta, and now Ferguson. I need to defeat real applicants, not fake ones, ”Nurmagomedov explained.

Mayweather's challenge and rival for Makhachev

However, at the moment, McGregor himself does not speak about the desire to go into the octagon with Habib, and several fighters are called as his next rivals. Insider Jed Goodman said the Irish team is counting on a duel with Justin Gatgi. According to him, negotiations are in the initial stage, but it is expected that the meeting will take place this summer. At the same time, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdel-Aziz denied these rumors.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., the former world boxing champion in five weight categories, announced his readiness to revenge with Conor. Their fight took place in August 2017. Then the American won by TKO.

“If they pay, then I'm in the game. And if they pay in cash, then, Conor, I’m ready to kick your ass again, ”said Mayweather.

To the delight of Russian fans, the situation with the rival of Islam Makhachev will soon become clear. It is already known that he will also hold his next fight in the framework of the UFC 249 tournament, however, the organizers did not manage to negotiate with a potential opponent for the Russian. Now the fighter reported that the problem has been resolved.

"Good news. Not to say that I’m satisfied, but it’s not bad either, as we sign the contract, I’ll immediately tell the name of the opponent, ”Makhachev wrote on his Instagram page.

View this Instagram post

Published by Islam_Makhachev (@islam_makhachev) Feb 25, 2020 at 11:08 PST

Accident with Evloev and the charge against Volkov

But the confrontation between Peter Jan and Henry Sehudo remains virtual for now. In order to get the right to meet the current UFC bantamweight champion, a Russian needs to have at least one fight.

At the same time, commenting on a possible meeting, the American admitted that he would like to go into the octagon with a Russian, however, for this he needs to learn English. In addition, he called his opponent "disgusting communist potatoes."

Ian calmly accepted the insult addressed to him.

“I reacted normally to this. Now, should I, for every attack, try to insult and offend him? Henry sets fire to it a bit. But the point is that he already answers, and does not keep silent, as he did before, ”RIA Novosti quotes Yana.

And on March 29 in American Columbus, a battle will be held between heavyweights Francis Ngannu and Jairzinho Rosenstrike. Alexander Volkov also claims to fight with Cameroon. However, the ex-candidate for the UFC championship accused the Russian man of several times rejecting the offer to meet.

“Objectively, a fight with Volkov would make sense to me, but it was he who repeatedly refused to meet with me. But Rosenstrike himself called me - this does not happen very often. With him, I can at least be sure that the battle will take place, ”Ngannu said.

Interestingly, in December last year, Volkov said the opposite. According to him, the Cameroonian himself avoids their confrontation.

Meanwhile, on Thursday morning, it became known that the UFC fighter Movsar Yevloyev had an accident in Thailand, where he was preparing for the fight with Jamall Emmers. The athlete went to training on his moped when a car crashed into it, violating the rules of the road.

Fortunately, the Russian escaped fractures and other serious injuries. The athlete’s team did not plan to cancel the fight, but after consulting with the doctors, it was decided to refuse it.

“There are strong abrasions, they won’t heal before the fight,” said Soyat Abdrakhmanov, TASS manager Yevloyeva.

Yevloyev and Emmers were due to meet on March 7 as part of the UFC 248 tournament in Las Vegas. For the 26-year-old Russian, this fight could become the third under the auspices of the promotion.