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DC: Hand not 100% heading into Lewis fight
Champ champ Daniel Cormier appeared on The MMA Hour and discussed his title defense vs. Derrick Lewis at UFC 230: "I kinda set my sights on just waiting for Brock. Then the UFC called ... they said, ‘Can you fight in a few weeks?’ And I was like, ‘Well, honestly, I’m not ready to fight right now, but I could see where I stand.’ They said Derrick Lewis. I said, ‘Okay, let me go see if my hand will hold up when I punch something.’ It’s good enough to fight. It’s not 100 percent, I’m going to be honest. My fist is closing but not all the way. ... It feels like my finger’s just jammed really badly right now. You ever had like a jammed finger and you just can’t really pop it? It kinda like sticks up a little bit more than the other finger? That’s where my hand is right now, so my pointer finger doesn’t close completely. ... I’m just kinda hoping that if I’m sparring and I punch someone, that it pops and goes back to normal.” H/T MMA Fighting
Ricardo Ramos injured, out of fight vs. Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night 139
Brazilian bantamweight Ricardo Ramos suffered a hand injury that will likely require surgery and thus is out of his fight vs. Ricky Simon UFC Fight Night 139: Edgar vs. Korean Zombie on November 10, at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The 12-1 Ramos is 3-0 in the UFC with wins over Kyung Ho Kang, Michinori Tanaka, and Aiemann Zahabi. 14-1 Simon 2-0 in the UFC with wins over Merab Dvalishvili and Montel Jackson. It is not known if the UFC will find a replacement.
Report: UFC parent company pulling out of $400 million deal with Saudi Arabia
It's reported that 15 "rogue agents" flying on two jets linked to Saudi Arabian leadership, were involved in the disappearance, possible murder, and even possible dismemberment of US resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In response, a number of businesses are pulling back, apparently including UFC parent company Endeavor. Paperwork is reportedly being drawn up that would terminate a $400 million deal for the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund to take a 5-10 percent stake in Endeavor. H/T Hollywood Reporter
Report: Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals he suffered seizures before UFC 229 weigh-ins
'The Eagle' spoke recently with Russia's main state-owned television channel 1: “I slept very well on the day before the fight because the day before that I didn’t sleep at all. I had a serious weight cut. I made weight 7 hours ahead of time. I had seizures, I threw up even though I didn’t have anything inside of me. I felt really bad. I probably wouldn’t tell about this if I didn’t win the fight, because it would sound like an excuse. Everything turned out well, I won. But I just want to tell you that I felt pretty bad.” H/T Sherdog
Coach reports fighter ok following mother of all hematomas
Brazilian atomweight Janaina Soares's face went viral after she lost to Vanessa Goncalves via elbows from top mount at Favela Kombat 30. Her Scorpion Fight Team coach Lucas Chagas: "She did exams the next day, her eyes are open already, and she suffered no injury in the skull. It was swollen because of the elbows, but everything is fine.” Soares plans to fight again on October 20, vs. Julie Mezabarba at NCE 31 in Rio de Janeiro. H/T MMA Fighting
Pride Rules reign in Indonesia
Rogan: I don't want to see Khabib vs. Conor rematch
On a recent JRE MMA show, Joe Rogan said he isn't much curious about a rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor: “I guess you could sort of say that’s the same thing that happened in the Nate Diaz fight and then Conor came back and won the rematch. The argument is Conor was rusty, he’s out of the cage for two years, he gets back, let’s do a rematch… and financially, it was the biggest fight of all time. If they could talk people into a rematch, I get it. But I don’t want to see that. I want to see Tony [Ferguson]. I want to see Tony and Khabib.” H/T MMA Weekly
Eddie Alvarez signs with ONE Championship
UFC owner 'really concerned' about fate of missing Saudi journalist
The Saudi Public Investment Fund has been planning a $400 million investment into Endeavor, parent company of the UFC. However, there is concern around the role Saudi officials are alleged to have played in the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey on October 2; it's been alleged that the dissident journalist was murdered and dismembered in the Saudi embassy. "I personally am really concerned about it,” said Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. “We are concerned about it. But all I can say is that we are monitoring the situation. And that’s legally all I can say right now. It is very, very concerning. Really concerning. On the face of it it’s upsetting. And we are monitoring the situation right now. That is all I am able and will say right now.” H/T MMA Weekly
Fighters go head to head
Diaz responds to Poirier withdrawl
Poirier says nagging hip injury forced him from fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 230
Dustin Poirier, on The MMA Hour with Luke Thomas: “This is something I’ve been dealing with the last few camps, and it just progressively got worse. And then I did something with it this camp to where you know, like, I can still move around on it, I can still train, but if, say, I do a sprint, the next two days my range of motion is going to be horrible and I’m going to be in a lot of pain. It just got too bad to keep pushing at this point with it. ... Next week I’m flying out to LA to get another scan and another opinion and if the second doctor agrees with the first, I think it will be a pretty quick return. We’re just going to do some stem cell stuff."
Nurmagomedov's manager not impressed with 50 Cent's offer
Ali Abdelaziz on rap mogul 50 Cent's $2 million offer to UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to come to Bellator MMA: "For $2 million, [that won't even] open a Coca-Cola bottle for Khabib. Khabib make a lot of money. We talk about $50 MILLION and up, we can talk. But $2 mil? This is garbage. Whatever 50 Cent said today is garbage. It's disrespectful." H/T TMZ
Zeferino out of PFL 10 WW quarter and semifinals, Abubakar Nurmagomedov in
Let's hope there's not a year of this like the last time
Zahabi: GSP would do McGregor like Khabib did, but worse
GSP's coach Firas Zahabi on a recent live chat: “GSP would do much of the same, even more than what Khabib did. GSP has an explosive shot from the outside, and ... he has a better range. He has a longer range for his takedowns, a longer range for his striking. His submissions and ground and pound and jiu-jitsu, it’s very similar to Khabib. ... And GSP is very familiar with what McGregor does, that karate, taekwondo, kickboxing hybrid style. That’s stuff we grew up with, so we know that very, very well. We’re very familiar with those teeps, those counter lefts, very familiar with those kind of stuff. Khabib (vs GSP) would be a mega fight. ... If they did it for 155, or I’m hearing now a 165 lb title, that would make sense — or 170. Whatever it is, just those two names, would probably beat McGregor vs. Khabib. Because of this win, Khabib now is going to be more famous than ever. Khabib is going to be the biggest name in the lightweight division for a while.” H/T BE
