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Khabib Nurmagomedov just beat the biggest star in mixed martial arts, and now, it appears as though he wants to be compensated accordingly.

While Tony Ferguson would seem to be the most logical next opponent for “The Eagle,” it has been rumored that Nurmagomedov is chasing a lucrative superfight, with rumored opponents ranging from Georges St. Pierre to even Floyd Mayweather. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, manager Ali Abdelaziz threw out some eye-popping figures when discussing the UFC lightweight champion’s next payday.

“Ben Askren, Woodley, none of these guys can touch Khabib,” Abdelaziz said. “Especially if they’re scared to get tired and these guys, they get tired. Now, I’m not even worried about Tyron or Ben Askren, I’m worrying about somebody bringing $50 million to $100 million to the table and none of these guys can bring $200,000 to the table.”

Nurmagomedov earned a disclosed …

The Bellator 210 lineup continues to grow, as kickboxing standout Joe Schilling will return to the MMA realm to face Jose Alfredo Leija at middleweight, while Kristina Williams will meet Bruna Ellen at flyweight.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report Schilling vs. Leija, while the promotion recently announced Williams vs. Ellen. Bellator 210 takes place at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla., and is headlined by a showdown between Melvin Manhoef and Chidi Njokuani.

Schilling hasn’t competed in MMA since June 2015, when he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Hisaki Kato to fall to 2-5 in his pro tenure. A native of Irving, Texas, Leija owns a 5-2 career mark on the regional circuit, with all of his triumphs coming via KO/TKO.

Williams began her Bellator tenure with consecutive wins over Heather Hardy and Emily Ducote before falling to Valerie Letourneau in her most recent outing. Ellen has scored back-to-back wins over Veta Arteaga and Ca…

Both the UFC and Bellator MMA will be in the Golden State on Jan. 26.

UFC President Dana White told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday that UFC 233 will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on that date. No bouts were revealed for the event. An unnamed promotion official told the Times that it was assumed that a bantamweight title clash between reigning champ T.J. Dillashaw and flyweight king Henry Cejudo was in the works for the event. However, White said that rumor was “not true.”

The Las Vegas-based promotion last visited the Honda Center in July 2017 for UFC 214 with a lineup that featured a trio of title fights, including a rematch between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.

This time around, the UFC will go head-to-head with Bellator, which has scheduled the finals of its heavyweight grand prix at the Forum in Los Angeles on Jan. 26. There, Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko will square off for the vacant heavyweight strap.

The poster you've been waiting for!@JonnyBones vs. @AlexTheMauler II

@CrisCyborg vs. @Amanda_Leoa #UFC232 pic.twitter.com/d08xd1JqYf

— UFC (@ufc) October 30, 2018

UFC 232 is shaping up to be one of the year’s most anticipated cards, with two title fights at the top of the bill.

The Las Vegas-based promotion recently released a poster for the Dec. 29 event, which takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view.

The card is headlined by a clash between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson for the vacant light heavyweight crown. Jones took a hard-fought five-round verdict over “The Mauler” in their first meeting at UFC 165 in September 2013. In the co-main event, Cristiane Justino will defend the featherweight strap against reigning bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes.

Curtis Millender will lock horns with Siyar Bahadurzada at UFC 232.

Millender confirmed the welterweight pairing on social media following an initial report from MMAjunkie.com. The promotion has yet to formally announce the bout. UFC 232 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 29 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. In the co-main event, Cristiane Justino will defend her featherweight crown against 135-pound queen Amanda Nunes.

A four-time Bellator MMA competitor, Millender has won his last eight fights. That streak includes triumphs over Max Griffin and Thiago Alves in the Octagon earlier this year. The 30-year-old Californian is 16-3 as a pro, with six wins via knockout or technical knockout.

Bahadurzada, meanwhile, has won his last three in the Octagon, earning one triumph apiece from 2016 to 2018. Most recently, the 34-year-old Afghanistan native knocked out Luan Chagas in the …

Marco Polo Reyes has accepted a six-month suspension for an anti-doping violation, USADA announced Monday.

The UFC lightweight tested positive for the banned substance ostarine in an out-of-competition drug test conducted on March 8. It was determined that Reyes’ failed drug test resulted from a contaminated supplement, which resulted in a reduced sanction from the maximum of two years.

Since Reyes’ suspension began on March 15, he was eligible to return to UFC competition on Sept. 15. “El Toro” has been victorious in four of his five Octagon appearances, most recently scoring a 60-second knockout of Matt Frevola at UFC Fight Night 124 on Jan. 14.

The full USADA statement is as follows:

USADA announced today that Marco Leopoldo Reyes, known professionally as Polo Reyes, of Nayarit, Mexico, has accepted a six-month sanction for a violation of the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy after testing positive for a prohibited substance from a contaminated supplement. R…

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It sounds as though Ben Askren will be thrown directly into the fire when he makes his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut.

Dana White recently weighed in on the historic trade that brought Askren to the UFC from One Championship in exchange for Demetrious Johnson in a brief interview with TMZ Sports.

“We’re still working on [an opponent for Askren’s UFC debut]. Obviously he’s going to come into the welterweight division,” White said. “He’s undefeated, he’s their champion. We’re excited about it. He’s definitely going to fight somebody in the top 5.”

Askren retired from MMA following a 57-second stoppage of Shinya Aoki this past November, but left the door open for a return with the right offer. A former One and Bellator MMA titlist, “Funky” is 18-0 as a professional with wins over the likes of Douglas Lima, Andrey Koreshkov, Jay Hieron and Lyman Good.

Meanwhile, the UFC will be losing …

Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com Credit: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

It’s been quite some time since Marvin Vettori has stepped into the Octagon, and there is a reason for that.

The Italian middleweight announced Sunday on social media that he has failed his most recent drug test conducted by USADA. The out-of-competition drug screening took place on Aug. 6 This was the seventh test for Vettori since the beginning of his career in the UFC.

The 25-year-old fighter stated his non-awareness and declared his maximum availability towards the investigations conducted by USADA. According to Vettori, the amount of the banned substance detected is 0.1 nanograms per milliliter. He did not specify the substance, though.

“Since the beginning of my career I have always been a clean fighter,” Vettori wrote on social media. “I have never intentionally assumed anything that could favor my performances inside the ca…

A heavyweight tilt pitting Andrei Arlovski against Walt Harris has been added to the UFC 232 lineup.

Promotion officials recently confirmed the pairing. UFC 232 takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Dec. 29 and is headlined by a light heavyweight championship clash between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.

Arlovski enters the matchup on a two-bout skid after dropping decisions against Shamil Abdurakhimov and Tai Tuivasa. “The Pit Bull” has won just twice in his last nine Octagon appearances since 2016.

Harris stopped a two-fight losing streak in his most recent outing, as he knocked out Daniel Spitz in the second round at UFC Fight Night 131. “The Big Ticket” is 4-6 in UFC competition and 11-7 as a professional overall.

Michael Johnson’s gamble paid off, as he was able to earn a win against Conor McGregor training partner Artem Lobov in the UFC Fight Night 138 co-main event on Saturday in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

Johnson garnered a unanimous decision win after agreeing to take the fight on only two weeks’ notice. “The Menace” replaced Zubaira Tukhugov, who was pulled from the bout due to his involvement in the brawl following the UFC 229 main event.

Although Lobov acted surprised when the decision was announced, Johnson believes the right decision was made.

“He hit me what, three times, maybe?” Johnson said. “I think the damage I have on my face was from a headbutt. He hit me with a few kicks, but that was pretty much it. I was in and out, and he really couldn’t touch me that much, and I did a lot of damage. I don’t see how he would have thought he would have won the fight at all.”

Following the win, Johnson has plans to continue climbing up the ranks of the f…

Anthony Smith is putting people away at light heavyweight and padding his bank account in the process.

Smith received a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus for his third-round submission of Volkan Oezdemir in the UFC Fight Night 138 headliner in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, on Saturday night. “Lionheart” survived some rough patches early to tap out the former title challenger with a rear-naked choke 4:26 into the third frame. Smith has finished all three of his wins since moving to light heavyweight.

Elsewhere, Nasrat Haqparast and Thibault Gouti received “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their three-round lightweight battle. Haqparast rocked Gouti repeatedly with heavy punches and a kick to the body, but the Frenchman managed to survive the assault to make it to the final bell. Still, Haqparast’s barrage was enough to earn a unanimous decision on the scorecards.

Finally, South African newcomer Don Madge pocketed the evening’s other…

Sherdog's UFC Fight Night 138 coverage kicks off Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Check out the MMA Forums to discuss the card or enter your comments and predictions below.

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All business tonight for Sean Strickland, as he gets the TKO victory. pic.twitter.com/TBN2rihAKF

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) October 28, 2018

Welterweight contender Sean Strickland ventured all the up to the Great White North and came out on top in the UFC Fight Night 138 prelims headliner as he stopped quasi-local fighter Nordine Taleb in the second frame.

Strickland (20-3) dropped Taleb with a powerful right to the head in the second, but couldn’t put him away with his initial follow-up flurry. However, moments after Taleb (14-6) sprung back up to his feet, “Tarzan” drilled him with another right to the face. Taleb fell again and tried to recover his guard, but the Californian rained down a storm of punches until referee Eric Nevitt had to pull him off.

The end came officially at 3:10 of the second.

Haqparast Bests Gouti In a pairing of European lightweights, it was Afghanistan native Nasrat Haqparast who had his hand raised…

David Rickels will face Guilherme Vasconcelos in the Bellator 210 co-main event, the promotion recently announced.

Bellator 210 takes place on Nov. 30 at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla., and is headlined by middleweight clash pitting Melvin Manhoef against Chidi Njokuani. The card airs on Paramount Network and streams on DAZN.

The 29-year-old Rickels had a two-bout winning streak snapped at Bellator 200, where he suffered a second-round TKO defeat against Michael Page. “The Caveman” is 13-5 with two no contests over the course of a promotional tenure that began in 2011.

Vasconcelos has won three of his last four bouts under the Bellator banner. Most recently, the 32-year-old “Bomba” tapped out Ivan Castillo in the opening stanza at Bellator 192.

Breaking: Frankie Edgar out of UFC Fight Night on Nov. 10 in Denver against Korean Zombie ... Yair Rodriguez in, on short notice, per Dana White. Full story coming to ESPN shortly.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 27, 2018

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has pulled out of his highly-anticipated featherweight showdown with Chan Sung Jung due to an injury, ESPN reported late Friday.

The consolation prize for fight fans is Yair Rodriguez stepping in to face “Korean Zombie” instead in the main event of UFC Fight Night 139 in Denver next month.

Rodriguez (10-2) will finally return to action following a TKO loss to Edgar back at UFC 211 last year. Contract issues with UFC brass nearly caused “El Pantera” to leave the promotion entirely before the two sides were able to negotiate a new contract.

Meanwhile, fan-favorite “Korean Zombie” (14-4) hasn’t fought since a first-round knockout ove…

Florida-based MMA promotion Combat Night found itself smack dab in the middle of Friday’s media frenzy regarding the arrest of Cesar Sayoc, the man police say is responsible for mailing bombs to media figures and politicians over the last several days.

Combat Night’s logo, as well as two stickers bearing the logo of Florida MMA mainstay American Top Team, was plastered on Sayoc’s van, which police impounded shortly after his arrest on Friday. The van was also adorned with pro-Donald Trump stickers and a slew of far-right rhetoric.

Combat Night, which was formerly owned in part by the late Ultimate Fighting Championship and “The Ultimate Fighter” veteran Josh Samman, denied any kind of affiliation with the 56-year-old Sayoc in a statement sent to MMA Fighting.

Combat Night is not in any way affiliated with the individual arrested today in connection with this week’s terrorist acts. Combat Night absolutely disavows any political violence or threats of violence. We …

UFC lightweight Vinc Pichel was the victim of a hit-and-run motorcycle accident last weekend, according to Pichel’s Instagram page.

Pichel (11-2) said the hit-and-run occurred on Sunday and left him hospitalized in emergency care.

“So I was involved in a hit-and-run accident last Sunday on my Harley and spent most of the day in the ER,” Pichel wrote in the caption. “I don’t know exactly what happened. I just know I was clipped from the back and thrown off of my bike several feet without any time to react.”

“My back is fully ‘road-rashed’ along with my knees, forearms and I have stitches in my left elbow and I can barely move, but other then that I’m ok.

“My license plate’s smashed off. My whole left side’s mashed. My shock’s f*cked up, my case is f**ked up, my bars are bent, I had to bend ‘em back to get ‘em semi-straight so I could ride back home. My fanning’s f*cked up,” Pichel went on to say in his Instagram post. No arrests have been made as of Thur…

Kevin Kay is one of the most important figures in the history of MMA. He greenlit UFC on Spike and advocated for Bellator to Viacom. He has played a massively influential role in MMA's growth. This is shocking and sad. https://t.co/zXr4rtUzks

— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) October 25, 2018

Kevin Kay, the Viacom executive who was instrumental in getting the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Spike TV more than a decade ago, is no longer with the network after some restructuring at Viacom.

Kay spent over two decades at the network, and was a central figure in Spike’s rebranding process into Paramount Network, which is now home to Bellator MMA. Kent Alterman will serve as Kay’s replacement in handling Paramount Network, Bellator and TV Land alongside Comedy Central.

Back in 2004, Kay took a chance on a reality TV show called “The Ultimate Fighter” and green lit the project. The program was instrumental in the UFC’s growth, and the finale b…

Per sources, UFC close to finalizing a welterweight bout between Gunnar Nelson and Alex 'Cowboy' Oliveira for UFC 231 on Dec. 8 in Toronto. Fun addition to a card I'm already in love with between Holloway/Ortega and Valentina/Joanna.

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) October 24, 2018

Longtime Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight contender Gunnar Nelson is finally set to make his Octagon return at UFC 231 against Alex Oliveira following a 17-month lay-off due to injuries. The pairing was first reported by ESPN.

Nelson (16-3-1) hasn’t fought since a first-round knockout loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio back in July 2017. A knee injury forced him out of a scheduled bout with Neil Magny back in May.

Meanwhile, “Cowboy” Oliveira (19-5-1 2 NC) has had an outstanding year thus far, fighting two times and notching a submission victory over Carlos Condit in April and a first-round knockout of Carlo Perdersoli Jr. last month.

UFC 231 ta…

Credit: Bellator Credit: Bellator Credit: Bellator

Bellator MMA’s recent wave of European fighter signings continues to make its presence felt, as a Sherdog source reports that SBG Ireland representative Luka Jelcic is ready to lock horns against Italy’s Luca Vitali at Bellator 211.

Jelcic (10-3) is coming off a loss by first-round TKO to Brandon Girtz in his promotional debut at Bellator 190. That loss snapped Jelcic’s four-bout winning streak.

Luca “The Ace” Vitali (11-4) is riding high, making his Bellator debut with a five-bouts winning streak. He also has the help of a bit of advance scouting: Vitali trains with Danilo Belluardo, who faced Jelcic at FFC 27.

Sherdog’s source also reports that the Genoa card will also feature a welterweight bout between Walter Pugliesi and Andrea Fusi. Bellator 211 is headlined by the light heavyweight contest between Italy’s Alessio Sakara and Kent Kauppinen.

Adam Wieczorek will replace Ruslan Magomedov and face Marcos Rogerio de Lima in a heavyweight bout at UFC 230.

The promotion recently confirmed the change. Magomedov was unable to compete on the Nov. 3 card at Madison Square Garden due to visa issues, according to MMAjunkie.com. UFC 230 is headlined by a heavyweight championship fight between Daniel Cormier and Derrick Lewis.

A 26-year-old native of Chorzow, Poland, Wieczorek is currently on a nine-bout winning streak. “Siwy” kicked off his Octagon tenure with back-to-back triumphs over Anthony Hamilton and Arjan Singh Bhullar. Wieczorek’s only career setback came against UFC talent Marcin Tybura in November 2011.

De Lima has alternated wins and losses in his last six bouts. In his last outing, the 33-year-old Brazilian was submitted in the second round by Ovince St. Preux at UFC Fight Night 108.

The first mixed martial arts trade in the sport's history is nearly a done deal, as the UFC will send Demetrious Johnson to One Championship in exchange for Ben Askren.

ESPN.com reported the trade on Monday , and the news has since been confirmed by multiple outlets. The proposed transaction is close to being finalized and would release Johnson from his UFC contract to fight for One, while Askren would be released from his contract with the Singapore-based promotion to compete in the Octagon. Both fighters have multiple fights left on their current deal, according to the report.

Johnson was the UFC’s inaugural flyweight champion and broke Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive title defenses last year. “Mighty Mouse” saw a 13-bout winning streak come to an end in a split-decision defeat to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227. Johnson’s coach at AMC Pankration, Matt Hume, is One’s vice president of operations.

Askren is unbeaten in 19 professional bouts, including 170-…

On Saturday night, UFC Moncton plays host to two of the heaviest hitters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight division when Volkan Oezdemir battles with the surging Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC Fight Night 138.

Oezdemir is making his first appearance inside the Octagon since his one-sided loss to 205-pound champion Daniel Cormier back in January. The 29 year-old Swiss fighter went into the fight against “DC” at UFC 220 high on confidence after knocking his previous two opponents out in under a minute.

Despite those quick fire knockout wins, Oezdemir was unable to replicate that success against Cormier with the former Olympic wrestler masterfully dispatching the heavy hitter. Oezdemir will now go back to the drawing board to prepare himself for another title run which starts this weekend against Smith.

As “DC” is no longer the 205 pound champion after the UFC decided to strip the title from him, a rematch bout for the vacant tit…

Count Ali Abdelaziz among those who was unimpressed by Conor McGregor’s breakdown of the UFC 229 main event.

Abdelaziz, who manages lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, called McGregor a “weak soul” and claimed that the Irishman “and his sorry ass team [are] already making some stupid ass excuses” for his fourth-round submission defeat on Oct. 6. The Instagram post is presumably in response to McGregor’s round-by-round analysis of the fight that he posted on social media.

A seemingly humbled McGregor also added that it would be “no problem” if he couldn’t get an immediate rematch with Nurmagomedov, as he would be more than willing to “face the next in line.”

Abdelaziz scoffed at the notion of a rematch and hinted that it would only be worthwhile for Nurmagomedov if he could earn $100 million. The Dagestani earned a disclosed $2 million purse at UFC 229, but that doesn’t include pay-per-view points or any other type of income.

“If you can’t make u…