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Islam Makhachev credits Khabib Nurmagomedov with paving the way for his success inside the Octagon

Islam Makhachev credits Khabib Nurmagomedov with paving the way for him to become a UFC champion. On Saturday, June…

Islam Makhachev credits Khabib Nurmagomedov with paving the way for him to become a UFC champion.

On Saturday, June 1, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ will return to the Octagon when the promotion heads back to Newark, New Jersey for UFC 302. Emanating from the Prudential Center, Makhachev will headline the event as he puts his 155-pound crown on the line against division fan favorite Dustin Poirier.

It will be Makhachev’s third time defending the belt after scoring back-to-back victories over former featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski last year.

Speaking with former UFC champions Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Makhachev credited ‘The Eagle’ for carving out a path to the lightweight title for both of them.

“For me, it’s more easy because Khabib showed me the way,” Makhachev said. “I just have to follow, do what he did. Now he retired but he still pushes us. He comes after tomorrow to the [UFC 302] camp, and it’s gonna be like last 10 days. But I know, he will come and the last 10 days is gonna be so crazy.”

After defeating Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 to win the lightweight belt, Nurmagomedov successfully defended the title three times, defeating Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje along the way. In October 2020, he laid down both his gloves and his gold, retiring from the sport following the passing of his father and coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

Islam Makhachev lives up to the legacy

While fans are still holding out hope that Khabib Nurmagomedov will return one day in search of a 30th career win, Islam Makhachev has more than lived up to the legacy left behind by ‘The Eagle.’ Today, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ is a near-perfect 25-1 in mixed martial arts with 14 of his wins coming under the UFC banner.

Makahchev is currently listed as the No. 1 ranked P4P fighter in the world.

Dustin Poirier will look to change that in The Garden State.

Tyson Fury sends ominous warning to Oleksandr Usyk 24 hours before fight night: ‘I’m coming for his heart’

Tyson Fury isn’t just coming for Oleksandr Usyk’s titles — he wants his heart. On Saturday, May 16, one…

Tyson Fury isn’t just coming for Oleksandr Usyk’s titles — he wants his heart.

On Saturday, May 16, one of the most anticipated heavyweight scraps in boxing history will go down as reigning WBC titleholder Tyson Fury goes toe-to-toe with the current WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO world champion Oleksandr Usyk in a winner-take-all title tilt to crown a new unified heavyweight king.

Originally scheduled to go down in February, the long-awaited showdown was pushed back after ‘The Gypsy King’ sustained a cut while training.

With 24 hours to go before they meet inside Kingdom Arena in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, Fury and Usyk came together for one final face-off on Thursday. There, the two got into a shoving match that forced security to step in and bring an end to the scuffle.

We definitely don’t need another John Fury headbutting incident.

Speaking with a reporter for DAZN, Fury launched an explicit-filled rant directed at Usky and his entire team, letting the Ukrainian know that it’s not just his gold he’ll be coming for on fight night.

“We’re ready to rock and roll. Fireworks tomorrow night,” Fury said on stage. “I’m going to knock this little f*cker’s spark out. I’m coming for his heart, that’s what I’m coming for. F*ck his belts, I’m coming for his f*cking heart. He’s getting it tomorrow, spark out.

“F*ck him and f*ck all of his team too. F*ck the lot of them. They can all get it if they want too, sh*thouses!”

Who leaves with their ‘O’ and all the gold when tyson fury throws hands with ‘the cat’?

Tyson Fury enters the bout with a perfect 34-0 record and 24 of his wins coming by way of knockout. In his most recent outing, Fury narrowly escaped defeat, walking away with a very contentious split decision victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

Like Fury, Usyk is unbeaten in his boxing career, going 21-0 with 14 KOs.

Knockout! Doumbe Stops Willis In One-Round WAR!

Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images

Cedric Doumbe made his Bellator MMA debut earlier today (May 17, 2024)in the co-main event of Bellator Paris in Paris, France taking on late replacement, Jaleel Willis, inside Ac…

MMA-FRA-BELLATOR — Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images

Cedric Doumbe made his Bellator MMA debut earlier today (May 17, 2024)in the co-main event of Bellator Paris in Paris, France taking on late replacement, Jaleel Willis, inside Accor Arena. And “The Best” proved why he is one of the fastest-rising stars in the game today.

From the jump, both men came out aggressive, taking the center of the cage and trading blows. The two men were at each others throats all week leading up to the fight, and it showed that there was no love lost between them.

Doumbe dropped Willis early on and he never really let up the entire time. For his part, Willis didn’t back down…until he was tagged with an overhand right. Doumbe pounced and seemed to have landed an illegal knee that went unnoticed. Doumbe piled on the pressure and eventually forced the referee to put an end to the fight.

It was an exciting one-round fight for as long as it lasted, and Doumbe got back on track after suffering a bizarre defeat at the hands of Baissangour Chamsoudinov at PFL Europe 1 a few months ago.

Afterward, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, stepped into the cage to challenge the Frenchman, to which he obliged. The two could very well throw down before the end of the year in either the Bellator or PFL banner.

For all the latest Bellator MMA news and notes click here.

Cedric Doumbe stops Jaleel Willis with first round KO, brings vacuum to arena amid splinter fiasco – Bellator Paris Highlights

Returning from his controversial TKO loss to Baki Chamsourdinov back in March, kickboxing star, Cedric Doumbe has turned in…

Returning from his controversial TKO loss to Baki Chamsourdinov back in March, kickboxing star, Cedric Doumbe has turned in his sixth professional win in mixed martial arts — courtesy of a first round knockout win of his own against Jaleel Willis at Bellator Champions Series 2 in Paris, France.

Doumbe Bellator Paris — Mandatory Credit: FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Doumbe, a former GLORY Kickboxing champion, had headlined PFL Europe 1 back in March of this year in a showdown with the highly-touted, Chamsourdinov — however, saw his main event clash stopped by referee, Marc Goddard in the third round, after appearing to suffer a foot injury after stubbing his toe on a splinter inside the SmartCage.

Doumbe Bellator — Mandatory Credit: FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Revered for his striking ability, Doumbe managed to turn in career knockout win number five in mixed martial arts tonight in his 175lbs catchweight clash against Willis, utilizing a slew of ground strikes to eventually get the North American talent out of their in the first frame. Earlier this week, Cameroon-born favorite, Cedric Doumbe suggested a potential fantasy fight against UFC megastar, Conor McGregor — claiming if he ever fought the Dubliner, he would likely KO him inside a round.

Below, catch the highlights from Cedric Doumbe’s victory at Bellator Paris

UFC Fighters Fail To Crack Forbes ‘Highest-Paid’ List

Photo by Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images

You eat what you kill, I guess. Forbes recently released its list of the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes for 2024, topped by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. The lineup fa…

Bellator 275 - 3Arena — Photo by Brian Lawless/PA Images via Getty Images

You eat what you kill, I guess.

Forbes recently released its list of the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes for 2024, topped by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. The lineup factors in both on- and off-field earnings, which includes sponsorship deals, appearance fees, memorabilia and licensing income, among other revenue streams.

The combined earnings for 2024 totaled $3.88 billion, up 13 percent from 2023 and had a cutoff of $45.2 million. No UFC fighters, including former Top 50 earner Conor McGregor, were included in this year’s list, though veteran boxers Anthony Joshua (No. 16) and Tyson Fury (No. 42) both made the cut.

McGregor has not competed since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier in summer 2021.

Here’s the Top 10 for 2024:

See the entire list at Forbes here.

McGregor, 35, will likely find his way back to the Top 50 for 2025, assuming he returns (as scheduled) for the upcoming UFC 303 pay-per-view (PPV) event on June 29 in Las Vegas. “Notorious” will be facing fellow Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 31 coach Michael Chandler in the five-round, welterweight main event.

For much more on that upcoming showdown click here.

Jon Jones laughs off ‘number one contender’ co-main between Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304

On July 27 Tom Aspinall will join the very short list of fighters who have defended a UFC interim…

On July 27 Tom Aspinall will join the very short list of fighters who have defended a UFC interim world championship — and Jon Jones couldn’t be more amused by it.

As announced by Dana White, Aspinall will put his interim heavyweight crown on the line when he co-headlines UFC 304 against No. 4 ranked contender Curtis Blaydes in Manchester, England.

Tom Aspinall defends interim title at UFC 304

The UK-based star will be just the third fighter to defend an interim belt in UFC history, the first being Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 92. The last man to do it was Renan Barao who defended his temporary title on two separate occasions in 2013 before being promoted to undisputed bantamweight champion.

Learning of the news, reigning undisputed heavyweight king Jon Jones couldn’t help, but poke some fun at the announcement on social media, calling it nothing more than an “official number one contender” fight.

“Curtis versus Tom for the official number one contender spot!” Jones wrote on X in response to the news of Aspinall vs. Blaydes.

Jon Jones confirms date for his controversial clash with Stipe miocic

The announcement from White and the subsequent commentary from ‘Bones’ certainly struck a chord with fight fans, many of them taking to X (formerly Twitter) to once again slam Jones’ decision to “duck” Aspinall in favor of a fight with consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic later this year.

“Trolls telling me I’m slowing down the division by getting injured,” Jones added. “Meanwhile, the next two heavyweights aren’t even a main event? Interesting. I’m on the right path, I got until November to remind the world. Again.”

No official date has been announced for Jones vs. Miocic, but both fighters have recently acknowledged that the bout would go down this November when the UFC makes its annual pit stop at the world’s most famous arena — Madison Square Garden.

“I’m definitely not retired,” Jones posted. “Sitting on my porch sore all over enjoying some time in the Metaverse. November 9 can’t come soon enough. I’m earning it every day. Just like I always have.”