“I haven’t talked to Khabib [Nurmagomedov] but we’ll get it figured out,” UFC President Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto following the UFC 234 pre-fight press conference. “I don’t know what he wants or what he’s looking for right now. We haven’t even tried. But we’ll get it figured out.
“Yeah, it probably would [make an interim title necessary if Khabib sits out nine-months for his teammates]. It probably would. Yeah. We’ll see how it plays out. I haven’t heard Khabib say any of that. He hasn’t said to me. So when I hear these things that come back from reporters, or fans, or whatever, ‘Oh, I heard this and that,’ … I haven’t heard that.
“He hasn’t said that to me, so we’ll deal with it when we deal with it.”
For the current reigning undefeated UFC lightweight champion of the world, Khabib Nurmagomedov, he won’t be eligible to return to action until April at the earliest following his suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
However, due to his teammates Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov’s suspensions, he has said he isn’t willing to return until they’re suspensions are up as well. Meaning he could go a whole year without fighting as he is eying a fight in November at Madison Square Garden next, according to his manager.
Because of that, it would create a hole at the top of the 155-pound division that would seemingly get filled with yet another interim title.
Whether or not that will actually happen remains to be seen, but if one thing is for sure, the two most likely candidates to fight over the title would be the red-hot Dustin ‘The Diamond’ Poirier and the former interim champ Tony Ferguson.
Regardless, it all comes down to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/8/2019
Israel Adesanya has offered an explanation for why he wants to eventually share the Octagon with Khamzat Chimaev.
Adesanya and Chimaev have yet to cross paths. “The Last Stylebender” is coming off a failed bid to become a three-time UFC middleweight champion after being submitted by the current titleholder Dricus du Plessis. As for “Borz,” he’s fresh off the biggest victory of his pro MMA career, forcing Robert Whittaker to tap out in the opening frame of their bout back in October.
Arman Tsarukyan believes he’s the only one who can dethrone UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Tsarukyan and Makhachev will share the Octagon a second time to headline the first UFC pay-per-view of 2025. They will clash for the UFC Lightweight Championship on January 18th. The two had a competitive matchup in their first meeting back in 2019, and it was Makhachev who earned the unanimous decision victory.
UFC flyweight contender Manel Kape has responded to Kai Kara-France.
‘Starboy’ is fresh off his return to the cage at UFC Tampa over the weekend. Back for the first time since a loss to Muhammad Mokaev in July, Manel Kape met the rising Bruno da Silva. ‘Bulldog’ entered the fight riding a four-fight winning streak, but was battered over the weekend. Kape wound up handing the Brazilian a third-round knockout loss.
Daniel Cormier believes he knows the deciding factor in how Colby Covington recovers from suffering back-to-back losses.
Covington stepped inside the Octagon for the final UFC event and fight of 2024. He went one-on-one with surging welterweight contender Joaquin Buckley. Covington’s chin was certainly on display and he ate some hard shots from Buckley, who was as crisp as ever in the standup. While “Chaos” found a little bit of success with his grappling in round two, the damage from “New Mansa” was evident.
UFC star Conor McGregor has mocked Logan Paul in a recent social media post as talk of a boxing match between them intensifies.
Nobody ever truly knows what Conor McGregor is going to do next. The Irishman is an absolute enigma in the world of mixed martial arts, and that’ll likely continue to be the case for as long as he’s involved in the fight game. Recently, he’s been teasing the idea of a blockbuster boxing match between himself and Logan Paul.
UFC legend Jon Jones has teased what he could end up doing when he eventually retires from mixed martial arts.
As we know, Jon Jones is widely considered to be the greatest of all time in mixed martial arts. At this point, there are very few fans and pundits who dispute that. At the same time, he’s also the UFC heavyweight champion, and seems to have his eyes set on continuing his historic run next year.
Dan Hooker vs Justin Gaethje is reportedly being considered for a huge possible lightweight collision in the UFC next year.
When you’re talking about the most entertaining fighters in the game, Dan Hooker and Justin Gaethje have to be in the conversation. Throughout the course of their entire careers, they have put on some of the most incredible scraps imaginable. From violent knockouts to all-out wars, these two know how to do it all.
Gilbert Burns has responded to Colby Covington’s callout.
After Burns leaked Chael Sonnen’s phone number, who is now Covington’s coach, ‘Chaos’ called out the Brazilian for his next fight. Covington said he wanted to get payback for Sonnen and felt like that fight also made sense.
