Author: admin

UFC president Dana White is still convinced he can get Khabib Nurmagomedov to return for one more fight against Conor McGregor.

UFC 257 goes down on Saturday January 23rd, and it’s a pretty hype event featuring Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier. But almost on par with the hype for that event is the hype surrounding a near-mythical meeting between UFC president Dana White and retired lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Khabib promised his mother he was done fighting now that his father had passed. Dana White thinks the champ should give him one more match to hit 30-0. For his father’s sake. Whose interpretation of his father’s wishes will Khabib follow?

“I don’t know how the meeting’s going to go,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in a recent interview. “I’m obviously meeting with him because I believe he should be fighting again. I mean, look at what he did to Justin Gaethje. Look at what he’s done to every opponent he has faced.”

“There’s the … I think he’s got — like when I thought Cormier should stay,” he continued. “I still think they’re the best in the world. And then there’s always the argument, ‘Well it’s never bad to go out on top.’ And when you talk about money … Khabib has money beyond belief. This guy doesn’t ever have to work again. And he still has the ability to do things to make unbelievable money. He’s in a very unique position as a fighter.”

“So yeah, I don’t even know if I answered your question. I don’t even remember what the question was. I think he should fight again and I’m going to press him as hard as I can for one more.”

Is it just me, or did Dana just give a list of reasons why Khabib should stay retired? Cormier recently admitted his back was shot for his last few fights, and he shouldn’t have kept going, suffering back to back losses to Stipe Miocic. As White also mentioned, it’s also NEVER bad to go out on top. Khabib DOES have money beyond belief. And because he’s on top, he still has the ability to make unbelievable money.

At least White has put himself into Khabib’s mindset, which is the only way he’ll be able to figure out how to get Khabib back.

Unfortunately, he can’t stop thinking Khabib vs. McGregor 2, which is something Khabib has deemed beneath him. Let’s get back into the mind of “The Eagle” again. Agreeing to that fight elevates Conor into a place where he was a worthy adversary deserving of a rematch. That’s not something Nurmagomedov is willing to do for the guy who called his father a coward and his wife a towel. But White will be pushing for a McGregor rematch none the less.

“No matter what you think of Conor personally, Conor McGregor is not only one of the best in the world, he’s one of the best to ever do it,” White said. “And right now he’s as focused as he’s ever been. I don’t know if this will be the same Conor after the Poirier fight. Like you said, Conor goes [up and down]. But if this Conor sticks around for the next year, how do you not do Khabib vs. Conor again. The division’s stacked with tough guys, and the reality is if Khabib retires, whoever’s the highest ranked guy at the time is will face Conor if Conor beats Poirier. And fight Conor for the title.”

Will Conor taking Khabib’s title be enough to draw Khabib back to stop it? We have serious doubts. Now if only there was another fight the Dagestani champion (and his father) wanted….

Marcelo Ribas now has an image of his daughter choking Emily Whitmire emblazoned on his arm.

Amanda Ribas bounced up to 8th in the UFC strawweight rankings on the back of her impressive win over former UFC headliner Paige VanZant at UFC 251 last July. The Brazilian tapped VanZant with an armbar to earn her fourth win inside the Octagon and improve her overall record to 10-1.

The 27-year-old got her start in the UFC in 2019. Though, she was signed by the promotion in 2017, but had to serve a length competition ban thanks to a failed USADA test for Ostarine. Her suspension was cut short after USADA determined that the Ostarine found its way into Ribas’ system through a tainted dietary supplement.

With her name cleared, Ribas was booked opposite Emily Whitmire on UFC on ESPN 3. Ribas won the fight via a second round rear naked choke. After that she beat Mackenzie Dern and Randa Markos to set-up her bout with VanZant.

Of all her victories Ribas’ father, Marcelo Ribas, considers her UFC debut over Whitmire to be the most special. So much so that he decided to wear that moment on his sleeve.

Marcelo Ribas / MMA Fighting

MMA Fighting spoke with Marcelo Ribas about his decision to get the tattoo.

“This tattoo is very important for me,” he said. “It was my biggest accomplishment professionally speaking because I almost had three shots at having someone in the UFC and it never worked, and all of a sudden Amanda got in.

“Her first fight was two years after that doping case and everything we went through, it was very important, so I decided to ‘eternalize’ that victory on my arm — the night she showed the world who she was.”

Along with the photo-realistic image of his daughter defeating Whitmire, Ribas also had a UFC belt inked on his arm. Amanda Ribas told MMA Fighting that her goal was to add two physical belts to add to the one on her dad’s skin.

“Everybody knows we’re going after two belts, the strawweight and flyweight titles,” she said. “The first goal is the strawweight belt.”

Ribas is scheduled to fight Marina Rodriguez at UFC 257 on January 23.

With the UFC calendar filling up fast, Francis Ngannou still doesn’t have a date for his heavyweight title fight against Stipe Miocic.

For a man on the verge of a UFC heavyweight title shot, Francis Ngannou is not a very happy man.

That’s because he’s fought just 20 seconds in the last year and a half, stuck on the sidelines waiting for that title shot to materialize. In vain. Following a long recovery after fighting Daniel Cormier in August of 2019 and then a ferocious war with Cormier again in August of 2020, champ Stipe Miocic hasn’t been in too much of a rush to step in and face the Cameroonian KO king.

“It’s been a lifetime, and it’s like frustrating, even though I’m tryin to take it out of my mind, knowing I can’t do nothing to change it,” Ngannou said on the MMA Fighting podcast. “Even before fighting in May, I’d been through the same sort of story, situation, which kind of got me ready to face this waiting again. I was waiting for Stipe and DC, which was in August. And obviously, I was hoping for something in December. After that fight I had just came back from Cameroon, and I was expecting that sometime in December because it’s 4 months away, maybe January at the latest.”

“But obviously … not. I don’t know. What I know is they just said March, but it’s not official. And who knows? Who knows how that will play out.”

The UFC has currently booked its PPVs up til March, with UFC 259 on March 6th featuring three title fights already. Barring a surprise second title fight addition to UFC 258 in February (headlined by Usman vs. Burns), Ngannou will be waiting til at least April to step back into the cage.

“My only issue with the [Miocic vs. Cormier] trilogy is it’s been holding the heavyweight division up for two years,” he said. “There hasn’t been a heavyweight title fight in this division for two years outside of those two guys. There hasn’t been any title fights for contenders. Which is why contenders fight, fight towards the title.”

Francis seems to spread the blame around on the general trilogy situation, the UFC, and Stipe wanting things ‘his way.’

“It’s the UFC that’s in charge of this, which is why my last fight, we requested it be the interim fight so we can fight for something,” he said. “And if that would have been for an interim fight, I’m sure I would have been fighting by now. At the same time, I just think Stipe on his end wants to do things his way. But it’s not for him to impose his situation the whole division. He has a duty.”

Ngannou is also bummed out that a potential fight with Jon Jones never came together … another opportunity for a big money payday scuttled because of the UFC’s refusal to negotiate with Jones.

“It’s obviously something that everyone would love to see,” Ngannou said. “If I were to say myself, I would have liked to see that fight. I wanted it to happen. If this fight would have happened, I would have been active by now. If I have two positive things, which is fighting Jon Jones, who is probably the greatest of all time, the No. 1 pound-for-pound in the world in my opinion.

“But the main thing I would stay active,” he finished. “Because right now, right here, it’s just lacking. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know what I am doing exactly. Having a fight is a good fight and having a big fight is a great thing. That’s something I’m looking forward to.”

Damn. It sucks for Ngannou to spent this long on the shelf not fighting. One fight a year feels almost criminal, and it all comes down to Ngannou wanting what he’s worth. The UFC still largely refuses to pay people properly if they don’t have a belt around their waist, so now we’re in a situation where “The Beast” rides the bench waiting for an opportunity to challenge for the belt.