Tag: UFC 242

Khabib Nurmagomedov Set For Huge Payday At UFC 242

Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is carrying this weekend’s upcoming UFC 242 card — and he’s being paid handsomely for it. UFC 242 takes place in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and will be headlined by a lightweight title unification fight between Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. With just a few days left, it appears the event is […]

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Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is carrying this weekend’s upcoming UFC 242 card — and he’s being paid handsomely for it.

UFC 242 takes place in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and will be headlined by a lightweight title unification fight between Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. With just a few days left, it appears the event is trending to be a huge success.

Part of that is because of Nurmagomedov and his newfound popularity worldwide following his career-defining win over Conor McGregor last October. For that bout, “The Eagle” received a $2 million purse and according to his father Abdulmanap, he is set to earn three times as much this weekend:

“We’ll make 3 to 3,5 more (than the last time),” he told RT. “We aren’t fighting for a small change, we know what we’re worth.

“It ($2 million) is not enough for us, because we are the best now. We’ve beaten the best, and we are ready to fight the best. We are popular, we know that. When we’ll enter the arena, you’ll see the reaction to us, and reaction to Poirier.”

It only goes to show that Nurmagomedov is now truly a mega star for the company.

What do you think of Nurmagomedov’s reported purse?

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Dustin Poirier Doubts Khabib Nurmagomedov Suffers From Ring Rust

Dustin Poirier is expecting the best version of Khabib Nurmagomedov this weekend (Sat. September 7, 2019) at UFC 242. Poirer will unify his interim 155-pound title with Nurmagomedov’s undisputed title in the main event of the pay-per-view (PPV). The more active Poirier is on a five-fight win streak, while Nurmagomedov hasn’t fought since October last […]

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Dustin Poirier is expecting the best version of Khabib Nurmagomedov this weekend (Sat. September 7, 2019) at UFC 242.

Poirer will unify his interim 155-pound title with Nurmagomedov’s undisputed title in the main event of the pay-per-view (PPV). The more active Poirier is on a five-fight win streak, while Nurmagomedov hasn’t fought since October last year when he submitted Conor McGregor.

Speaking on the UFC 242 media conference call recently, Poirier suggested he doesn’t believe the Russian is the type of fighter to succumb to ring rust. (H/T MMA News)

“Recently, we’ve seen Nate Diaz come back and beat Anthony Pettis. Anthony’s been pretty active. Nate hasn’t fought in three years. And ring rust is a thing people touch around, a word people touch around, but I think it’s more individualized. It depends how hard you’re working in the gym, and how focused you are, and how ready to compete you are.

“And I believe Khabib’s one of the guys who works year ‘round, he’s always working on his craft, and I think he’s going to be the best he’s ever been September 7th.”

Poirier has been on a hot streak as of late; defeating the likes of Anthony Pettis, Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and Max Holloway. If he adds Nurmagomedov to that list, he could very well put himself in the conversation for greatest lightweight of all time.

Do you think Nurmagomedov will show signs of rust this weekend inside the Octagon?

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Khabib Nurmagomedov Details Plan To Make Dustin Poirier Tap Out

Khabib Nurmagomedov might just be the greatest lightweight in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. A moniker Dustin Poirier hopes to take from the Russian this weekend (Sat. September 7, 2019) in Abu Dhabi. However, “The Eagle” is confident his undefeated record and title reign will remain intact after his clash with “The Diamond.” Speaking at […]

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Khabib Nurmagomedov might just be the greatest lightweight in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. A moniker Dustin Poirier hopes to take from the Russian this weekend (Sat. September 7, 2019) in Abu Dhabi.

However, “The Eagle” is confident his undefeated record and title reign will remain intact after his clash with “The Diamond.” Speaking at UFC 242 open workouts this week, Khabib laid out his plans to force Poirier to give up inside the Octagon. The 155-pound king plans on tiring Poirier out and making him submit. (H/T MMA Junkie)

“Dustin Poirier’s a very tough opponent,” Nurmagomedov said. “I don’t want to underestimate him. He has a lot of experience. But when I go to the cage, my plan is make him tired, make him tap. This is my plan.”

Nurmagomedov comes off the first title defense of his career, submitting Conor McGregor in the fourth round of their October meeting last year. Now, he takes on interim champion Poirier, who has been on a hot streak with five-straight victories. If Nurmagomedov is able to get past Poirier and clean out his division, which is stacked with worthy challengers, many wonder if Khabib will move up in weight to attempt and become a double champion.

However, Nurmagomedov has said he has no interest in doing such a thing, and would rather remain at lightweight and establish himself as a dominant champion.

“I want to stay in lightweight division, because I feel I can make this weight,” Nurmagomedov said. “This is my weight, and I don’t want to jump to another division – featherweight or welterweight. I want to stay in this division and defend my title and improve my legacy.”

What do you think of Nurmagomedov’s plans to tap out Poirier? Will he succeed?

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Tony Ferguson Explains Why He Isn’t The Backup Fighter For UFC 242

Tony Ferguson will not be the backup fighter for UFC 242. The UFC has been known to do backup fighters as of late. At UFC 228, Kamaru Usman was the backup for Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till. Then, at UFC 240, Alexander Volkanovski was the backup fighter…

Tony Ferguson will not be the backup fighter for UFC 242. The UFC has been known to do backup fighters as of late. At UFC 228, Kamaru Usman was the backup for Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till. Then, at UFC 240, Alexander Volkanovski was the backup fighter for Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar. Why Tony […]

The post Tony Ferguson Explains Why He Isn’t The Backup Fighter For UFC 242 appeared first on MMA News.

Dana White Expects Middle Eastern UFC Champion Soon

UFC president Dana White has laid out a bold prediction — he expects a champion from the Middle East within the next few years. UFC 242 takes place this weekend and will mark the promotion’s return to Abu Dhabi for the first time in five years. Headlining the event is a lightweight title unification fight […]

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UFC president Dana White has laid out a bold prediction — he expects a champion from the Middle East within the next few years.

UFC 242 takes place this weekend and will mark the promotion’s return to Abu Dhabi for the first time in five years. Headlining the event is a lightweight title unification fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier.

Nurmagomedov will garner much of the Muslim support on Saturday but in time, White expects there to be a Middle Eastern champion as well:

“I won’t be surprised – I said this about England, I said this about Australia, Canada and every country we have gone to – there will be a champion from the Middle East probably within the next six to seven years,” White said (via MMA Junkie).

As of now, there is very little representation from the Middle East in the UFC with only a few notable names like Belal Muhammad and Nasrat Haqparast having ties to the region.

However, White believes the talent will eventually pop up especially with events returning to Abu Dhabi for a start:

“Since we have done events in Abu Dhabi – and it happens everywhere we go, it kick-starts the market,” White added. “Gyms pop up and people are training. Talent is coming out of the area.”

As for UFC 242, it will be the first of five yearly events taking place in Abu Dhabi. White says the UAE has been good to the UFC over the years and promises to bring huge fights whenever they come back:

“We have a really close connection with Abu Dhabi because we’ve already been there a few times and the fights we’ve done there before,” White explained. “The people of the UAE have been so good to the UFC. We are going to continue to come back and bring big fights to the Middle East.”

Do you think there’ll be a Middle Eastern champion in the UFC soon?

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