After a wild weekend or back and forth between UFC brass and a number of lightweights, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s dance card remains empty. The undefeated Dagestani standout has been getting a bit antsy about finding his next opponent, openly mocking some of the division’s elite. Things came to a head Saturday when UFC president Dana White tweeted that Nate Diaz had turned down a potential scrap with Nurmagomedov.
@EDLEZGIN @TeamKhabib Nate turned the fight down
— Dana White (@danawhite) January 11, 2014
Diaz, who quickly responded on Twitter himself, claimed that wasn’t the case.
@danawhite @ufc are full of shit I didn’t turn down anything …
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) January 12, 2014
Nurmagomedov issued the challenge again, but was met with no response.
@NateDiaz209 @danawhite @ufc @arielhelwani If you not scared, let’s fight!!👊
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) January 12, 2014
Who would have thought 2 years ago that the President would be the best organization in the world to… http://t.co/fjB9sdrVLq
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) January 12, 2014
Enter Diaz’ manager, Mike Kogan. On Sunday, Kogan admitted that while the fight was offered, the promotion refused certain conditions, effectively pumping the brakes on talks. “Nate has never turned down a fight against anyone,” Kogan told MMA Mania. “There are conditions that we asked for that were turned down by the UFC, so the fight didn’t happen.”
Elaborating on the issue to FOX Sports, Kogan explains where exactly the UFC wasn’t willing to budge:
“We asked for Nate’s contract to be redone. The UFC turned it down. We asked for a change to his contract, and changes to when the fight takes place. They said no and we said no thanks. This is supposed to be a professional sport, but then this resorts to these Twitter wars. This isn’t a street fight, it’s a professional sport. If it’s a street fight and they want to see who the better man is they know where the fuck Nate is, and then we can see who is the better man.”
Knowing an opportunity when he sees it, Michael Johnson joined the fray Sunday.
Well @danawhite if @NateDiaz209 don’t wanna scrap with me I think the people want me & @TeamKhabib @ufc
— Michael Johnson (@FollowTheMenace) January 12, 2014
Johnson had been campaigning to face Diaz, but told MMA Fighting he’s after anyone ahead of him in the divisional standings. With back-to-back wins over Gleison Tibau and Joe Lauzon, a win over Nurmagomedov (currently ranked No. 7) would undoubtedly push Johnson (No. 13) into the division’s top ten. To his credit, Jamie Varner also threw his name in the ring, but after dropping two of his last three and a tough short-notice fight with Abel Trujillo coming up at UFC 169 you would have to imagine it being a tough sell to Nurmagomedov and UFC brass, alike.
Nurmagomedov was originally slated to face perennial contender Gilbert Melendez at UFC 170 until White officially put the kibosh on it Jan. 3. According to Melendez’ training parter Jake Shields, it’s a fight ‘El Nino’ still wants down the line, but that nothing was ever agreed to before being prematurely announced late last December.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
‘It was an accident.’ Anderson Silva says he doesn’t consider his UFC 168 bout with Chris Weidman to be a true loss and believes he was well on his way to winning the fight before being injured.
Technique talk. Luke Thomas gets together with Ray Longo to talk Weidman’s infamous ‘destruction’ leg check.
‘One day I’ll fight at 155.’ UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo says competing in the heavier weight class is still very much in his plans.
No regrets. Former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre says he’s been loving his time away from MMA. “I just took a break. I spent Christmas time and New Years, with my family. That’s something I haven’t done for a long time.”
Moving on. Keith Kizer has resigned as executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission to take a position with the Nevada Attorney General’s office.
MEDIA STEW
Trailer for GSP’s upcoming documentary.
Urijah Faber wants dirty fight with Renan Barao.
Chael 40 feet high.
K-1 World MAX Quarterfinals recap.
Bellator 111 comes together.
Vitor Belfort and Thiago Alves doing some pad work.
My favorite of the Luke parodies.
Long watches.
Former Cage Rage boss and UCMMA promoter Dave O’Donnell talks the ups and downs (losing £10 million) of running an MMA promotion.
The MMA Beat on Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, Bellator vs. WSOF, Brock Lesnar, more
TWEETS
Fun.
I do this in case I slip and fall and @SugaRashadEvans does take me down 🙂 pic.twitter.com/IP0rCoT3km
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) January 11, 2014
@SugaRashadEvans whoa really? Are u talking bout the time I had to let u start with ur hands locked behind both legs haha
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) January 11, 2014
@SugaRashadEvans on February 22nd I’m dancing evs. So u know what that means 🙂
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) January 11, 2014
@dc_mma one ambition at a time my puggy friend!:) make weight and I will let the fight last at least 1rd for your efforts! I like you!
— Rashad Evans (@SugaRashadEvans) January 11, 2014
Putting the break to good use.
After hours of surgery in my shoulder I’m very well and I will be back 100% thank you… http://t.co/KvZqPaYf49
— Antonio Pezao Silva (@BigfootSilva) January 10, 2014
Impressive.
the list of call outs this week, Kennedy, cung le, Munoz, rovkhold, Philippou , lol was it something I said? I’m down for all @danawhite
— michael (@bisping) January 11, 2014
Just in case … water wings.
Depois de um treino forte em baixo de calor só mesmo fazendo uma hidro pra relaxar. @leosantosbjj… http://t.co/PnfZlCpni8
— Jose ‘Scarface’ Aldo (@josealdojunior) January 11, 2014
Looking good.
UFC president Dana White says Anderson Silva will be walking without crutches in 30 days (via @danawhite) ” pic.twitter.com/EXtWupQvp8
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 10, 2014
Shameless plug.
Again, please make sure 2 watch/listen 2 the #mmahour with @arielhelwani tomorrow, I’ve got some exciting news 2 share with you guys! @ufc
— Stefan Struve (@StefanStruve) January 12, 2014
House that Conor built.
Huge Q’s out the door. The growth of MMA and the popularity of the @UFC here in Eire cannot be denied #FightingIrish pic.twitter.com/SKlB34jzc4
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) January 11, 2014
Get him before the coppers do.
Yes that just happened!!!!!!!!!!!!! #ufcfightnight35 #ufc #riverside951 http://t.co/iNzKgh9SDJ
— Lorenz Larkin (@da_MONSOON) January 13, 2014
This is a big deal for me, having beers with @RicFlairNatrBoy…. I’m on cloud 9!!!! I grew up… http://t.co/ArfcpDPhhg
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) January 13, 2014
Last resort.
Fuck it I’ll fight @TeamKhabib since no one else wants to… but only i can dress like borat : )
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) January 12, 2014
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced this weekend (Jan. 10-12 2014)
Louis Gaudinot vs. Phil Harris at UFC Fight Night 37
cancelled Pascal Krauss vs. Adam Khaliev at UFC on FOX 10
Fabio Maldonado vs. Gian Villante at UFC Fight Night Natal
George Sullivan vs. Mike Rhodes at UFC on FOX 10
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via tigerlee.
The Hierarchy of MMA – Revised and Expanded!
Recently WSOF match-maker Ali Abdel-Aziz threw down the gauntlet with Bellator in a proposed PPV event matching up stars from respective organizations. It certainly started a lot of debate concerning which promotion is number two behind the UFC and how close these trailing promotions are when it comes to roster talent.
I decided it was time to add some statistics to the debate so that we have some sort of factual information to gain insight into just how the top market share of fighters is divided up, rather than pure speculative opinion. We must all understand that most rankings are subjective anyway, so the weight of this information should be scrutinized and I accept that this is no way definitive.
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Check out the rest of the post here.
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