ABU DHABI – Makhmud Muradov finds himself in a unique position with one of the most popular and powerful sports figures behind him.

Uzbekistani middleweight Muradov (24-6 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is the lone MMA client of “The Money Team,” former boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather’s management company.

Since joining the UFC roster in 2019, Muradov has picked up a decision win over Alessio Di Chirico and a knockout of Trevor Smith in his past outing last December. But despite only having two UFC fights, Muradov has already amassed over a million followers on Instagram.

He credits Mayweather for helping push his career to new heights, as well as the support of his loyal fans.

“Happy New Year, I sent him a message,” Muradov told MMA Junkie of his last interaction with Mayweather. “He called me on FaceTime, ‘Hey, brother, keep working.’ I have a good connection with Floyd. I thank him because it helped me, support me every time. He told me about business plans and sport plans – 10 years before coming to Czech, I don’t have nothing. Now I have Floyd Mayweather as a friend, sometimes he calls me, sends messages, it’s life. You don’t know what’s waiting for you tomorrow.”

He continued, “Of course it helped me. It’s good support for me, I don’t know, the Uzbek people, the Uzbek army – I have big fans in Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, Russia, U.S. I like my fans.”

Currently riding a 13-fight winning streak, it’s been a frustrating past year for Muradov, who saw four straight bouts canceled. He will finally make his return to the octagon when he faces Andrew Sanchez this Saturday at UFC 257.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-257-makhmud-muradov-grateful-floyd-mayweather-management

The UFC continued its three-event, eight-day stint on Fight Island with Wednesday’s UFC Fight Island 8.

The shadow of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has loomed large over Fight Island. Everyone has waited with bated breath to learn if he will return to the Octagon or not, but he was there largely to support his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov, who led the charge on the UFC Fight Island 8 performance bonuses.

UFC Fight Island 8 Performances of the Night: Umar Nurmagomedov

Like his older cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov left the Octagon remaining undefeated following his UFC debut.

Khabib choked out Kamal Shalorus in the third round for his Octagon debut, so Umar had to one-up him. He managed to choke out Sergey Morozov in the second round at UFC Fight Island 8.

The victory improved Umar’s overall record to 13-0 and earned him a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

UFC Fight Island 8 Performances of the Night: Warlley Alves

The other Performance of the Night bonus went to co-main event fighter Warlley Alves, who was returning to the Octagon following over a yearlong layoff because of injuries and the global coronavirus pandemic.

Alves didn’t take long re-acclimating to the cage. He landed three kicks to the ribs that dropped Mounir Lazzez, then followed with punches while on the canvas, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 2:35 of the first round.

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UFC Fight Island 8 Fight of the Night: Mike Davis vs. Mason Jones

Mike Davis and Mason Jones thrashed each other for the full 15 minutes of their UFC Fight Island 8 preliminary bout, much to the delight of fans and UFC officials.

Davis came out on top, winning a unanimous decision, but each fighter went home with an additional $50,000 for their Fight of the Night effort.

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UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 Live Results

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Flashback: Take a look back at Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier’s UFC 178 face-offs

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Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/khabib-nurmagomedov-cousin-umar-nurmagomedov-leads-charge-on-ufc-fight-island-8-bonuses

Watch the UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 Pre-fight Press Conference live on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 8am ET / 5am PT on MMAWeekly.com.

The UFC will hold its first Pay-Per-View of 2021, headlined by a thrilling rematch between former interim lightweight champion and No. 2 ranked contender Dustin Poirier (26-6, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) and former two-division champion and No. 4 Conor McGregor (22-4, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland). The co-main event will see No. 6 ranked lightweight contender Dan Hooker (20-9, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand) take on debuting Michael Chandler (21-5, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla.).

UFC will host a press conference with the headlining athletes ahead of UFC 257: POIRIER vs. MCGREGOR 2 on Thursday, January 21 at 8 a.m. ET and 5 a.m. PT at Etihad Arena.

WHO:

• Dana White, UFC President
• Dustin Poirier, No. 2 UFC lightweight
• Conor McGregor, No. 4 UFC lightweight
• Dan Hooker, No. 6 UFC lightweight
• Michael Chandler, UFC lightweight

WHAT:

• UFC 257: POIRIER vs. MCGREGOR 2 press conference

WHEN:

• Thursday, January 21 at 8 a.m. ET / 5 a.m. PT / 5 p.m. GST

WHERE:

• ETIHAD ARENA

UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 Live Results

(Video courtesy of UFC)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-257-poirier-vs-mcgregor-2-pre-fight-press-conference-video

Umar Nurmagomedov is the latest fighter bearing his surname to grace the UFC cage – and he’s already one-upped his cousin Khabib.

At UFC on ESPN 20 on Wednesday, Nurmagomedov (13-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his long-anticipated UFC debut after three cancellations. Nurmagomedov put on a tactical, multifaceted performance and ended the fight with a technical submission at the 3:39 mark of Round 2.

The beginning of the end for Morozov (16-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) was a beautiful double-leg takedown by Nurmagomedov. When Morozov stood up, Nurmagomedov remained relentless. After he swung to the back and dumped Morozov to the ground again, Nurmagomedov worked his submission along the fence. Nurmagomedov got his hands into position, pulled Morozov backward, and put his opponent to sleep.

Following the announcement of the official decision, Nurmagomedov was joined by Khabib, who served as both cornerman and translator.

“He talked about me,” Khabib translated. “Nine years ago today, Jan. 20, 2012, I beat my opponent like this with this choke. Today, he did this. But I did it in the third round. He did it in the second round.”

Check out Nurmagomedov’s finish and subsequent interview in the videos below:

Put him to sleep 😴@UmarNmgdv locked up the choke at #UFCFightIsland8 pic.twitter.com/FgHcjhEf1Y

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 20, 2021

Exactly nine years after @TeamKhabib‘s UFC debut, his cousin @UmarNmgdv made his own UFC debut and one-upped The Eagle 😅 #UFCFightIsland8 pic.twitter.com/slLu8zuO2T

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 20, 2021

UFC on ESPN 20 took place Wednesday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The card aired on ESPN.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-espn-20-video-highlights-umar-nurmagomedov-one-ups-cousin-khabib-submission

After more than a year away from the octagon, and after two prior bookings fell by the wayside, Matt Schnell returned and got back to his winning ways on Fight Island.”

Schnell (15-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) edged past Tyson Nam on the scorecards in their main-card bout at UFC on ESPN 20, which took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, as the Shreveport, La., native showed his boxing skills en route to a split decision victory.

Nam (20-12-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC) calmly took the center of the cage and looked for openings as Schnell fired off some range-finding jabs and kicks. Then, after a few kicks of his own, Nam started to let his hands go and immediately scored with a slick left-right combination.

However, it was Schnell who settled into his rhythm, and the 31-year-old continued to beat Nam to the punch, though Nam appeared untroubled by his opponent’s strikes and responded to one exchange with a solid left hook. Schnell kept the pressure on, however, and appeared to briefly stun Nam with a rapid combination as his faster, more frequent punches started to cause the 37-year-old a few issues toward the end of Round 1.

Schnell started Round 2 in the same way he finished Round 1, by sticking and moving, beating Nam to the punch, and connecting regularly. But Nam started to up the intensity and loosened Schnell’s mouthpiece when a solid right hand found its mark. However, it was Schnell’s strikes that appeared to have the greater effect as the cumulative damage from “Danger’s” strikes started to show on Nam’s face.

Perhaps sensing that the fight was drifting away from him past the midway mark, the Hawaiian bit down on his mouthpiece and let fly in the final seconds of the round. But, despite connecting with a couple of clean shots, Nam was unable to knock Schnell out of his stride.

Round 3 saw both men up the pace, with Nam, in particular, looking to raise his intensity as he started to stalk Schnell around the cage. While Nam increased his strike count, Schnell got on his bike and ensured he stayed on the move as he continued picking off his man on the way in.

Eventually the bout went all the way to the scorecards, with the judges scoring it 28-29, 29-28, 29-28 to give Schnell the victory.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 20 results include:

• Matt Schnell def. Tyson Nam via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Lerone Murphy def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Omari Akhmedov def. Tom Breese via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:41
• Ricky Simon def. Gaetano Pirrello via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:00
• Su Mudaerji def. Zarrukh Adashev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Dalcha Lungiambula def. Markus Perez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Francisco Figueiredo def. Jerome Rivera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Mike Davis def. Mason Jones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Umar Nurmagomedov def. Sergey Morozov via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:39
• Manon Fiorot def. Victoria Leonardo via TKO (head kick, punches) – Round 2, 4:08

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-on-espn-20-results-matt-schnell-split-decision-tyson-nam