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Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov may be in trouble with Russian tax authorities over financial ‘irregularities’ found in businesses the Dagestani fighter owned.

Khabib Nurmagomedov may be in trouble with tax authorities in his home country, according to unconfirmed reports coming out of Russia.

Online news outlet Mash.ru was the first to make the allegations, which have now been picked up by other major Russian sites including state-controlled outlet RT. They all tell the same story: that Khabib is being investigated for underpaying his business taxes by 300 million rubles ($330 million US dollars).

The investigation from the Federal Tax Service (Russia’s version of the IRS) has reportedly been going on for a while, and was kicked off after Nurmagomedov stepped away from the MMA world in 2023 and divested himself from a number of businesses. RT claims preliminary examinations of these businesses “uncovered irregularities in documents,” leading to a full-fledged audit.

Now the government has allegedly frozen several business bank accounts related to Khabib’s businesses including the Eagle FC promotion and his charity fund.

An interesting note from the initial Mash.ru report indicates that Russian authorities were upset that money which should have gone to taxes were instead diverted into business ventures outside of the country like the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

This is a developing story and has not been confirmed. But there’s more and more smoke on this one, with major Russian outlets now reporting on the situation. If the situation is verified, is this a simple situation where Khabib can just pay the amount owed? Or are we about to see punitive penalty interest applied, or even a Wesley Snipes situation develop?

We’ll keep you in the know as this story develops.

Uh…

Derrick Lewis got back into the win column last night (Sat., May 11, 2024) at UFC St. Louis when he knocked out Rodrigo Nascimento in the third round from inside Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri (watch highlights).

Lewis celebrated his win with his now-normal post-fight ritual of taking off his shorts and protective cup, but this time, he threw his cup into media row where reporters sit.

As Lewis left the cage, the reporter who caught his cup asked “Black Beast” to sign it, and he did.

During the UFC St. Louis post-fight press conference (watch it), the reporter thanked Lewis for his signature: “ Well, first of all, thank you for the cup. It doesn’t smell bad at all.”

Prior to Lewis entering the press conference, the strange cup-loving reporter asked UFC CEO Dana White to sign the cup as well. White was as confused as everyone.

“Uh, I would prefer not to. You were very lucky to catch that, White said with a sarcastic face. “Today was your lucky day. Sure.”

So, strange, gross stuff went down in St. Louis, Missouri, but that’s mixed martial arts for you.

Lewis (28-12-1) is now back in the win column after getting laid on at UFC Sao Paulo. He is 2-1 in his last three fights, all against Brazilians.

For more UFC St. Louis results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.

Here’s what you may have missed?

Did you fall victim to the Robelis Despaigne hype train?

Perhaps your parlay went up in flames the moment the fight escaped the opening minute, which made it longer than Despaigne’s previous four bouts. Or maybe you held out hope for the knockout until the final Waldo Cortes-Acosta takedown late in the third round, which clearly signified the end of his chances.

If so, you’re not alone. Let’s face it: it’s fun to ride the hype train! Despaigne had an Olympic bronze medal on his resume, an undefeated record filled with knockouts, and an 87 inch reach. Say no more! The Heavyweight division needs exciting new talent, so why not a 35-year-old Cuban that stands sideways like “Wonderboy” Thompson?

Unfortunately, Cortes-Acosta demonstrated why not in efficient fashion, revealing all the holes that pessimists feared existed in Despaigne’s game. None of it was particularly shocking. Did we expect Despaigne to have any kind of bottom game? Not really, though it was still disappointing to see him fail to even pursue underhooks from his back — the most day one of wrestling instruction.

Generally, Despaigne’s wrestling and grappling defense appeared to be that of a man who has never been held down on the floor or trained properly. He didn’t pursue underhooks or fight grips. He turned his back often and reached backwards. Rather than push off on his opponent’s head to deny a takedown, he wrapped up guillotine choke that was really more of a non-threatening head squeeze.

It was a lot of extremely rookie mistakes.

On the feet, Despaigne’s decision-making left a lot to be desired as well. He repeatedly crashed forward behind lunging right hands and shifting punches, the exact techniques a fighter trying not to get taken down should be avoiding. He doesn’t yet have a process in the cage, which is why the far more experienced Cortes-Acosta was able to implement his own game plan and grind him out.

Fans worldwide are yelling, “FRAUD CHECK!” and it’s justified. Despaigne is clearly not ready for Heavyweights in the top half of the division.

The bright side, however, is that Despaigne can rebound from this. He still has ridiculous physical tools and great weapons on the feet. Midway through the third, he started to realize he could just hang back and kick the crap out of Cortes-Acosta, and the Brazilian hated it. That’s a conclusion he came to only because he tripled his total professional fight time in this bout alone.

Hopefully, Despaigne learns other lessons here. He managed to survive on the floor with absolutely zero technique, so a half-decent MMA coach should be able to impart some much needed grappling form upon him quickly. Wall-walking and underhook getups don’t have to be complicated to be effective! Now that he’s been manhandled, perhaps Despaigne will be more eager to focus on that missing aspect of his game.

This defeat could be a turning point for Despaigne, the result that convinces his MMA requires full attention and dedication and that his raw athleticism alone will no longer be enough. If he can use it as a learning lesson, it may not be long before he strings together another couple wins, and the hype train is rolling once again.

For complete UFC St. Louis: “Lewis vs. Nascimento” results and play-by-play, click HERE!