Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufc-fight-island-7-holloway-vs-kattar-post-fight-press-conference-replay

ABU DHABI – When UFC president Dana White and lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov met behind closed doors Friday, a handful of potential names were discussed to potentially come out of retirement. Former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion Georges St-Pierre was not among them.

UFC lightweight contenders Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Dan Hooker, and Charles Oliveira were among possible opponents floated for Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) should he return. However, St.-Pierre (26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC) wasn’t brought up as that ship has sailed because neither fighter is interested.

“Nope,” White said Saturday at the UFC on ABC 1 post-fight news conference. “GSP never came up. (Nurmagomedov) isn’t interested in that fight. From what I hear today, after that, neither is GSP. So, that’s over.”

Nurmagomedov and St-Pierre had expressed interest in fighting one another in the past. Ahead of his 29-0 record-clinching victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October, Nurmagomedov name-dropped St-Pierre as an ideal opponent for his 30th fight.

Following Nurmagomedov’s retirement, St-Pierre deflected questioning as to whether or not he would have accepted the fight had it been offered and had Nurmagomedov not announced his retirement inside the cage.

As for what’s next for Nurmagomedov, White revealed during the UFC on ABC 1 broadcast that the champ will make a final decision following UFC 257 on Jan. 23. He wants to see if any performances jump out at him and give him the itch to come back for No. 30.

Nurmagomedov will fly to Las Vegas next week. Following the conclusion of UFC 257, White will follow suit. The two are expected to have dinner and discuss Nurmagomedov’s final decision over dinner shortly thereafter. This time, White expects he’ll finally get his yes-or-no answer.

“He’s cornering on Wednesday and then he leaves,” White said. “He leaves and goes to Vegas. I’ll have the fight and fly home on Sunday, and I’ll see him again in Vegas. Those fights will have played out. He and I are going to hook up and go to dinner in Vegas and talk again. We’ll make a decision. The one thing he did say is, ‘I won’t hold up the division.’”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-dana-white-says-khabib-nurmagomedov-vs-georges-st-pierre-talk-over

ABU DHABI – Max Holloway is throwing his name into the hat.

Following his dominant UFC on ABC 1 unanimous decision win over Calvin Kattar, Holloway (22-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) expressed interest in serving as a backup fighter for the UFC 257 pay-per-view next Saturday.

UFC lightweight contenders Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Dan Hooker are all set to compete at the event – four of the five competitors Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) recently expressed potential interest in coming out of retirement to fight.

While Holloway wants to be in the discussion, UFC president Dana White, on the other hand, is less keen on the idea.

“I think he deserves to go home and take some time off,” White said at the UFC on ABC 1 post-fight news conference. “I respect it, but yeah, we’re good. We’re covered.”

Despite his boss not liking the idea, Holloway insists he’s sticking around on “Fight Island” and will be ready if needed. In MMA, unforeseen circumstances are not unusual – and Holloway hopes to capitalize should one arise.

“I’m here until next week. If something happens in this crazy, wild sport, don’t be surprised, man,” Holloway said. “Tune in next week to a huge pay-per-view. There’s a bunch of surprises happening.”

Holloway has a history with Nurmagomedov. In 2018, Holloway was briefly paired with Nurmagomedov as a short-notice replacement for Tony Ferguson at UFC 223. However, Holloway was forced to withdraw during fight week, and the bout never came to fruition.

“We’ll see what happens, even with Khabib, you know?” Holloway said. “Khabib is saying that he wants something that’s super interesting. Maybe I pushed him over the edge a little bit. We had one of the best press conferences in the world, I think. We just didn’t have the fight. We could fill that in if he wanted to.”

If Holloway’s aspirations for a Nurmagomedov fight hit a wall, a trilogy with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is likely in the cards, according to White, should the champ get past Brian Ortega in March.

Holloway and Volkanovski, have faced off twice before – with Volkanovski (22-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) winning a unanimous decision and a split decision. Holloway doesn’t take lightly to Volkanovski’s distaste for a third meeting.

“Volkanovski said – this is his words not mine – he said he wants a different fight. He doesn’t want a tougher fight, guys,” Holloway said. “Let that sink in: He wants a different fight. He didn’t say, ‘I want a tougher challenge.’ He knows who the toughest challenge is. He knows it’s me. At the end of the day, I’m not going to force somebody to fight me. I’m going to stay ready and do whatever I’ve got to do and just be ready.”

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-on-abc-1-max-holloway-wants-khabib-shot-dana-white-says-no

A fan favorite from the UFC’s tournament days died Saturday.

Paul Varelans, a popular 6-foot-8 fighter nicknamed “The Polar Bear,” died after a month-long battle with COVID-19, according to multiple posts on his Facebook page. A person close to Varelans’ family confirmed his death to MMA Junkie. Varelans was 51.

Varelans was infected with COVID-19 in early-to-mid December. Varelans, who posted on Facebook as his condition worsened, had been in a medically induced coma at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

A few days after Varelans’ final update, UFC co-founder and Hall of Famer Art Davie announced he was on a respirator and in a coma.

I was Facebook friendly with Paul Varelans. Following his COVID journey was tough. He got hit hard and five days later was being put in a medically induced coma.

There was some hope a couple of weeks ago. He was breathing 70% on his own. But eventually it overwhelmed him. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/f0BXVxZm3S

— The OFFICIAL MMA Encyclopedia (@JESnowden) January 17, 2021

After a collegiate football career at San Jose State, Varlens (9-9 MMA, 4-4 UFC) made his debut in 1995 at the legendary UFC 6 event in Casper, Wyo. He finished Cal Worsham in the quarterfinals in 62 seconds by knockout with elbows before getting TKO’d by Tank Abbott in the semis.

At UFC 7 in Buffalo, N.Y., Varelans got all the way to the final, as he submitted Gerry Harris in the quarterfinals and Mark Hall in the semis before getting TKO’d by Marco Raus at the 13:17 mark of the no rounds, no time limit final.

Varelans made two more UFC appearances, earning a decision over Joe Moreira and losing to Kimo Leopoldo at Ultimate Ultimate ’96. His final bout was a knockout of Dick Vrij on a Rings card in 1998 in Amsterdam.

Varelans also dabbled in pro wrestling, making a 1996 appearance in the infamous ECW promotion in Philadelphia.

Tributes poured in Saturday as the news of Varelans’ death spread:

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-pioneer-paul-varelans-dies-covid-19

After every UFC event we feature every post-fight callout in our regular post-fight feature, “Callout Collection,” and one man who expects to be front and center in our UFC on ABC 1 edition is surging middleweight Joaquin Buckley.

Buckley (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is in confident mood ahead of Saturday’s middleweight main card clash with Italian Alessio Di Chirico, and said that he’s planning a big-name callout after he gets his hand raised at the Etihad Arena.

Speaking to TMZ, he said he doesn’t expect to earn a ranked position with victory in Abu Dhabi, but he did reveal his intention to issue a callout to a ranked fighter after his performance.

“No (I don’t expect to be ranked), but I’m going to look for a ranked opponent, for sure,” he said. “As soon as I beat Alessio, I’ve already got a callout, so y’all better be ready for that.”

Buckley became the viral star of 2020 when he landed the “Knockout of the Year” against Impa Kasanganay with a stunning spinning back kick at UFC Fight Night 179 in Abu Dhabi, and “New Mansa” plans on producing another highlight-reel moment to wow the fans watching on network television.

“Being on ABC is an awesome thing, man,” he said. “Definitely, it’s a history-making card, especially with it being its debut. So for me to go out there and put on a show for millions of people, that’s pretty cool, man. I’ve got a lot of new fans coming my way pretty soon, so that’s awesome.

“I got to show up and I gotta show out, man. This is just what I do. Every time I go out there it’s always going to be a banger, no matter if it’s only five people watching me fight. So when I go out there, it’s always going to be fun to watch. But you never know what you’re going to see with me, so you never know what to expect. A flying kick, a crazy knee, or an elbow to the jaw. Either way, I’m trying to separate this man from his consciousness, so y’all better watch out.”

As for the identity of his potential callout target, Buckley would only leave a cryptic clue.

“He fights like me!”

UFC on ABC 1 takes place Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on ABC and ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN+.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-on-abc-1-joaquin-buckley-planning-to-call-out-ranked-contender