Latest news with #IslamMakhachev
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Arman Tsarukyan Willing To Be Backup For UFC 317 Or UFC 318 Main Event
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 13: Arman Tsarukyan of Georgia prepares to fight in a lightweight fight ... More during the UFC 300 event at T-Mobile Arena on April 13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) If the UFC needs a backup fighter for the main event of the UFC 317 or UFC 318 pay-per-view cards, Arman Tsarukyan is willing and able to step in on short notice. Tsarukyan (22-3) is the No. 1 fighter in the UFC lightweight rankings. The 28-year-old was to face Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 311, but he was forced from that fight after when he sustained an injury during his weight cut. Instead, Makhachev faced Renato Moicano on that pay-per-view card, defending his title via first-round submission. Tsarukyan has not competed since he earned a split-decision win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 in April 2024. 'I am not sure if that's needed, but if they offer me that, I will definitely back it up,' Tsarukyan recently said. 'I will be ready. I am flying back to the U.S. now and will be staying there in case anyone is injured and [if] the UFC asks me if I am ready, I will say yes.' 'I need to take chances now," Tsarukyan added. "I got injured and this injury got misinterpreted. The doctor didn't let everybody know what really happened, so some people still think I ducked that fight. 'Now I just need to get back on track, so I'm going to do whatever the UFC tells me to do.' ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - OCTOBER 21: Islam Makhachev of Russia reacts after his knockout ... More victory against Alexander Volkanovski of Australia in the UFC lightweight championship fight during the UFC 294 event at Etihad Arena on October 21, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) The main event of UFC 317 will crown a new lightweight champion. In the lead-up to UFC 316, the speculation was if Belal Muhammad retained his UFC welterweight title with a win over Jack Della Maddalena, then UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev would remain at 155 pounds and defend his title against Ilia Topuria. The reason for this thinking being that Makhachev and Muhammad have trained together and that they would not be willing to face each other inside the Octagon. However, with Jack Della Maddalena defeating Muhammad, that opened the door for Makhachev to move to welterweight. The thinking now being that he will get an immediate title shot against Maddalena in the freshly crowned champ's first title defense. Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz spoke to MMA Junkie about the situation. 'If Belal were to win, Islam was never going to fight Belal, and he's going to stay in the (lightweight) division. But now Jack wins,' Abdelaziz said. 'Islam has beaten everyone in this division, literally. Dan Hooker, Arman (Tsarukyan), Charles Oliveira, he's on a 15-fight winning streak, finished nine of his last 10 opponents. (There's no one who) deserves to go fight for a second title than Islam, and the reason he wasn't going to do it because Belal was the champion.' UFC CEO Dana White has announced the plans for Della Maddalena vs. Makhachev, but did not announce a date for the 170-pound title fight. With that, the UFC lightweight title will most likely become vacant the moment the UFC 317 main event, which pits former UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria against Oliveira, begins. UFC 317 takes place on Saturday, June 28 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 11: Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier face-off for the media during the UFC 236 ... More Ultimate Media Day at Hyatt Regency Atlanta on April 11, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) Dustin Poirier will close out his UFC career in a main event matchup against Max Holloway at UFC 318. Holloway's BMF title will be on the line in the lightweight matchup, which marks the third meeting between the two future UFC Hall of Famers. UFC 318 takes place on July 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. We will have more on Arman Tsarukyan, UFC 317 and UFC 318 as news becomes available.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jon Anik largely supports recent UFC trend against simultaneous two-division champions
Jon Anik would still like to see rare exceptions of simultaneous two-division UFC champions, but he understands the logic against not allowing it. After a multi-year window where several athletes were afforded the opportunity to keep their UFC title while moving to another division to challenge for or defend a belt, an evolution has occurred in 2025. Both Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev vacated gold in the featherweight and lightweight divisions in order to change weight classes. Advertisement Back in February, UFC CEO Dana White stated that instances of two-division championship would be afforded on a case-by-case basis, but since then the actions of the promotion have spoke for itself. Lead UFC play-by-play commentator Anik thinks the limitations have been placed out of necessity due to the aggressive event calendar the company puts forth, and from that perspective, he said it it adds up. "I think it does hold up divisions and it causes maybe an unnecessary need for interim championships," Anik told MMA Junkie Radio. "I would like in select cases – perhaps Islam Makhachev would've been worthy of that opportunity, but I would imagine he had enough peace to move up to the welterweight division. I think only in select cases. I think it really is about looking at the 14 pay-per-views, times two title fights. In a perfect world you have 28 championship fights a year minimally and every pay-per-view is championship doubleheader, or maybe get a championship triple header during International Fight Week, and maybe another time in the year. "If you look at recent history, the UFC's heavyweight division, the undisputed title hasn't been on the lime three times a year at all. We need title fights to go around and ideally they aren't interim title fights, so largely I agree with the way the promotion is proceeding. But Islam Makhachev is a special case." Advertisement The UFC has not been shy to implement interim titles over the past decade. Anik thinks the value of those have diminished over time, though, not only in the eyes of the fans, but for the athletes as well. He points to the UFC 317 vacant lightweight title bout between Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) on June 28 in Las Vegas, which was booked in the wake of Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) moving to 170 pounds, as a relevant example. "You could argue monetarily wise that Charles Oliveira or Ilia Topuria emerging from UFC 317 as the interim lightweight champion is not that big of a deal," Anik said. "For the athlete it is, and it'll be nice for whoever wins that fight to be crowned undisputed." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jon Anik supports recent UFC trend against two-division champions
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jon Anik largely supports recent UFC trend against simultaneous two-division champions
Jon Anik largely supports recent UFC trend against simultaneous two-division champions Jon Anik would still like to see rare exceptions of simultaneous two-division UFC champions, but he understands the logic against not allowing it. After a multi-year window where several athletes were afforded the opportunity to keep their UFC title while moving to another division to challenge for or defend a belt, an evolution has occurred in 2025. Both Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev vacated gold in the featherweight and lightweight divisions in order to change weight classes. Back in February, UFC CEO Dana White stated that instances of two-division championship would be afforded on a case-by-case basis, but since then the actions of the promotion have spoke for itself. Lead UFC play-by-play commentator Anik thinks the limitations have been placed out of necessity due to the aggressive event calendar the company puts forth, and from that perspective, he said it it adds up. "I think it does hold up divisions and it causes maybe an unnecessary need for interim championships," Anik told MMA Junkie Radio. "I would like in select cases – perhaps Islam Makhachev would've been worthy of that opportunity, but I would imagine he had enough peace to move up to the welterweight division. I think only in select cases. I think it really is about looking at the 14 pay-per-views, times two title fights. In a perfect world you have 28 championship fights a year minimally and every pay-per-view is championship doubleheader, or maybe get a championship triple header during International Fight Week, and maybe another time in the year. "If you look at recent history, the UFC's heavyweight division, the undisputed title hasn't been on the lime three times a year at all. We need title fights to go around and ideally they aren't interim title fights, so largely I agree with the way the promotion is proceeding. But Islam Makhachev is a special case." The UFC has not been shy to implement interim titles over the past decade. Anik thinks the value of those have diminished over time, though, not only in the eyes of the fans, but for the athletes as well. He points to the UFC 317 vacant lightweight title bout between Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) on June 28 in Las Vegas, which was booked in the wake of Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) moving to 170 pounds, as a relevant example. "You could argue monetarily wise that Charles Oliveira or Ilia Topuria emerging from UFC 317 as the interim lightweight champion is not that big of a deal," Anik said. "For the athlete it is, and it'll be nice for whoever wins that fight to be crowned undisputed."
Fox News
a day ago
- Lifestyle
- Fox News
UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov refuses to shake hands with female sportscaster in awkward moment
UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov raised eyebrows over the weekend when he refused to shake hands with CBS Sports broadcaster Kate Scott during UEFA Champions League coverage. Nurmagomedov was among those on hand to watch Paris Saint-Germain trounce Inter Milan to win the UEFA Champions League. It was the first time in the club's history. It also comes in the wake of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi all leaving the club over the last few years. The former UFC fighter, who is Muslim, shook hands with streamer IShowSpeed, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and Thierry Henry. As Scott put her hand out, Nurmagomedov kept his hand at his chest. "I apologize, thank you so much," Scott said taking her hand away and putting it toward her chest. It is likely that Nurmagomedov was following his religious beliefs in not shaking hands with Scott. The undefeated UFC fighter is a devout follower of Islam. The religion instructs men not to shake hands with a woman they are not married to. Scott married Malik Scott in 2024. Nurmagomedov was one of the best fighters the UFC has seen in quite a while. He was the first Muslim fighter to win a UFC championship. He retired from the sport following a submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in 2020. He was 29-0 in his career. Since his retirement, Nurmagomedov has been in the corner of Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
USA Today
6 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ian Machado Garry relishes potential Islam Makhachev fight if he becomes UFC champ
Ian Machado Garry relishes potential Islam Makhachev fight if he becomes UFC champ Ian Machado Garry sees a big storyline in a potential UFC title fight against Islam Makhachev. Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) vacated his UFC lightweight title to challenge newly crowned welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena – a fight which is expected to take place later in the year. On his own road to gold, Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) envisions a perfect scenario of facing Makhachev if he can get past Della Maddalena. He sees a potential matchup with Makhachev reigniting an infamous rivalry from the past, as well as the opportunity to separate himself from the rest of the roster. "If people want to market it as Dagestan vs. Ireland if me and Islam Makhachev ever cross paths then they can," Machado Garry said in an interview with "But I feel like that's bringing in two people like Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who have had their rivalry and have done and said the things they've said. The truth is, this is Dagestan vs. Ireland, but it would be Islam vs. Ian. "We can bring up the past, or we can focus on the present. Islam right now is the pound-for-pound No. 1. He's trying to move up and fight for the welterweight world title, and if he wins there is absolutely every scenario that I'm going to call for that fight because there is nothing more I want to do than go out there and beat the No. 1 pound for pound, get the belt and prove that I'm one of the best in the world." Machado Garry, who's coming off a unanimous decision win over Carlos Prates last month, weighed in as the official backup for the welterweight title fight between Della Maddalena and Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.
