Latest news with #Pound4Pound
USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Magomed Ankalaev's manager: Alex Pereira 'engineered' by UFC, never should've been champ
Ali Abdelaziz thinks the UFC intentionally tried to keep Magomed Ankalaev away from Alex Pereira. Pereira (12-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) defended his light heavyweight title three times until he ran into Ankalaev (21-1-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC), who dethroned him at UFC 313 in March. Abdelaziz thinks opponents Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree were tailor-made for Pereira. "Alex Pereira was engineered," Abdelaziz said on the "Pound 4 Pound" podcast with ex-UFC champs Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo. "UFC has some of the best matchmakers in the world. They have the best minds. Like you, (Usman): You should have been a champion three fights before you fought for the title. It was engineered not to get you there because of your style of fighting. ... But when I got (Usman) and Dana (White) to sit in one room, everything changed. I think Alex is a good fighter. I think he's a real fighter. He's a lion. But in a way, Ankalaev should have been champion two, three years ago. "Alex would have never been a champion, and I'll tell you something again: If they fight again – and they will fight again probably in October – it's going to be worse for Alex. Now Ankalaev has the confidence. He understands. (Pereira) was a scary guy touching people and knocking them out, but he fought a whole bunch of mediocre strikers. None of these guys was a high-level striker. Ankalaev, he can wrestle, he can grapple, and he can strike. Ankalaev is more of a striker than a grappler, and we've seen, he hurt him in the fight. Alex didn't hurt him." Abdelaziz used another client of his as an example, undefeated Movsar Evloev, to point out Ankalaev's prolonged route to the title. Ankalaev is expected to have an immediate rematch against Pereira for his first title defense. "It's Ankalaev's time," Abdelaziz said. "It should have been Ankalaev's time. Hunter Campbell, Mick Maynard, all of the UFC, they was all sandbagging him. They knew he was coming, and they was praying he'd lose."
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ali Abdelaziz opens up on why former UFC featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov retired
One of the most talented UFC featherweights abruptly retired before making a title run. Zabit Magomedsharipov surprised many when he decided to walk away from MMA in 2022. He retired on a 14-fight winning streak, and on the cusp of title contention after a Fight of the Night win over Calvin Kattar in November 2019. So why did Magomedsharipov (18-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) hang up his gloves with so much promise? His manager Abdelaziz pointed to multiple failed bookings with Yair Rodriguez as the main reason. "No, he's not coming back," Abdelaziz said of Magomedsharipov on the "Pound 4 Pound" podcast. "Honestly, he got booked like three or four times with Yair Rodriguez. Yair Rodriguez kept pulling out on him, and he just lost love. I'm not going to blame anyone from the UFC. I could have, but I am not going to do it. "I think it was a little bit of the UFC's fault, and also maybe a little bit of my fault. I should never have made them book him again with Yair Rodriguez. This guy pulled out three, four times, right? In a way, I think Zabit fell off. He has a lot of businesses, married, and kids. He said, 'I don't need to do this.'" Magomedsharipov still trains and has been seen around his younger brother, Khasan Magomedsharipov (10-0), a 24-year-old undefeated professional MMA fighter, who was most recently seen in action in June 2024 when he defeated Tyler Mathison by unanimous decision at Bellator Champions Series: Dublin. "I'll tell you something: Zabit has a brother (Khasan) who I think is much better than Zabit," Abdelaziz said. "He fights in PFL. He's 24 years old. He's the same style as Zabit with a way better gas tank, with way better wrestling and grappling, and his striking, even better. I believe he can come to the UFC today and he's top five."
USA Today
07-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Gun to his head, Daniel Cormier explains why he thinks Jon Jones beats Tom Aspinall
Daniel Cormier didn't let his personal feelings get in the way of his breakdown of Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall. Although Cormier is adamant that Jones quit by retiring and not facing Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in a heavyweight title-unification bout, he actually thinks Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) would have won the fight. "Gun to my head, I would have said Jon beats (Aspinall) right now," Cormier said on the "Pound 4 Pound" podcast. "I would have said he'll probably beat him right now because guess why? Tom has never been pushed into those championship rounds. Once he gets to those championship rounds, even now, say Ciryl Gane pushes him 25 minutes. If he beats Ciryl Gane, but he learns to go 25 minutes where, that first time you feel that (gasp for air), 'I've got to get up off that stool after the third round.' "Tom hasn't got off the stool for a third round. Francis (Ngannou), when he fought Stipe (Miocic) and he went to try and knock him out, by the middle of the fight, Francis was looking like he saw a ghost. Breathing out of his mouth and nose. ...You needed to fight Tom now, when he doesn't have that experience – especially as Jon Jones." With Jones opting to walk away, the long thought of his matchup with Aspinall became merely hypothetical. However, Jones quickly flipped that narrative when he revealed that he is leaving the door open for a UFC return after re-entering the anti-doping testing pool.
USA Today
01-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Why Kamaru Usman puts UFC champion Ilia Topuria No. 1 pound-for-pound over Islam Makhachev
Kamaru Usman was in awe of Ilia Topuria's performance at UFC 317. Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) claimed the lightweight title by knocking out Charles Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) in Saturday's main event at T-Mobile Arena. In his past three fights, Topuria has knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Oliveira. Usman thinks Topuria's undeniable run across two divisions makes him the No. 1 pound-for-pound spot over Islam Makhachev – which is what happened after UFC 317. "I give Ilia Topuria pound-for-pound," Usman said on his "Pound 4 Pound" podcast with Henry Cejudo. "I've been pondering that all since I saw that fight. We had a situation like this similar when Alex Pereira was doing what he was doing, but there's a difference here. Alex Pereira wasn't doing that against necessarily the caliber Ilia's doing that against – not just necessarily doing that, not just the caliber, but everything he's putting into this fight. "I mean, Ilia Topuria dominated Charles Oliveira every facet of the game. Charles went to his wheelhouse. He went to the ground. Ilia Topuria passed his guard and crucified him. Who has showed all the skill sets, all the facets of the game, as well as he has and still put them away with his hands, mano a mano, putting them away?" By finishing Oliveira, Topuria became the first undefeated fighter to claim UFC titles in two different divisions.
USA Today
28-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Henry Cejudo 'really surprised' UFC decided to match up Payton Talbott with Felipe Lima
Henry Cejudo sees Felipe Lima as a stern test for Payton Talbott's bounce-back fight. Talbott (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) will look to rebound from his first-career loss when he takes on the streaking Lima (14-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 317 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main card opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Talbott said during Wednesday's media day that he didn't think the UFC originally wanted to match him up with Lima, as he only got news of his opponent less than three weeks ago. Cejudo admits he didn't expect Lima for Talbott next. "People are very high on Lima," Cejudo said on his "Pound 4 Pound" podcast with Kamaru Usman. "He's only lost his debut. He's been on a 14-fight win streak since losing. I'm really surprised the UFC is actually putting this matchup together. Payton Talbott at one point was the hottest prospect at 135 pounds because he's just different – he's got the hair, he's got the whole circle (tattoo), he's finishing people. But then his last fight, it just took a turn. It took a turn for the worse, and he ended up getting pretty much dominated by (Raoni) Barcelos. I think a lot of people are seeing that a little bit different." Talbott is a slight underdog against Lima, which Cejudo finds surprising – especially with how Talbott was running through people before losing to Raoni Barcelos. "It was a lot of what happened to 'Robocop' (Gregory Rodrigues) somewhat happened to Talbott, but I just feel like people are really sleeping on Payton," Cejudo continued. "The only reason why I say that is because he is the underdog with Felipe. That's something to be said. How do you go from being the biggest prospect, and now they're giving you a matchup where you're not the favorite?"
