16 Jun 2025
‘Greatest welterweight of all time’ Kamaru Usman ‘fantastic’ fight for Islam Makhachev
Usman was very impressive. He's a challenge for sure for Islam, I happen to think Usman’s the greatest welterweight of all time.
So Usman is a big challenge for Islam if Islam wants that fight. Usman calling him out is great if that's what Usman wants to do and if that's what Islam wants to do in the future.
That's a fantastic fight, they can both make money, and it's not personal, so that's good. But we have toget by Jack. We shouldn't jump ahead of Jack, we have a very tough fight in front of us.
We can't assume we're going to beat Jack, becausethat's stupid. That guy'svery dangerous. But once we get by Jack, then we can see what Islam feels. But right now I think the focus should be more on Jack.
Why would the UFC co-promote with PFL and Ngannou - they are ‘leaps and bounds ahead’
I don't think Ngannou co-promotion with the UFC is going to happen anytime soon. Why do they need to? The UFC is top dog by leaps and bounds.
They don't need to co-promote with anybody and bring them up with them. They're alone out there at the top. Why do they want to bring someone to step up closer to them?
Islam Makhachev did not want to vacate his title
I would definitely agree Islam didn't want to give up his title, but let's face it at the same time, I believe the UFC is tired of the divisions being held up by two division champions.
It causes a bottleneck and the type of situations the UFC wants to avoid for the future, so if Islam wanted to go for the welterweight title, he had to relinquish his lightweight title. And so that was the case.
I don’t think Islam will return to 155 lbs [to face Topuria] no. I don’t think so.
Makhachev has stepped out of Khabib’s shadow
I think he's already done that [stepped out of Khabib’s shadow] but I had never looked at him as in Khabib's shadows. I just looked at him as the next great one under his father's tutelage.
I never looked at him [as a protege] following Khabib. He's just following his father’s game plan of what he wanted from these boys. His father stated on many occasions he wanted Islam to be champion after Khabib was retired.
Islam will ‘edge’ JDM on the feet - top 170 pound sparring partners have ‘never been a problem’
I used to let Islam spar with guys at that weight all the time, top guys at 170 lbs, and he beat them all. He's not going to have a problem at 170 lbs.
185 lbs may be a little bit of a stretch because they're a lot bigger. But 170 lbshave never been a problem with him. I think Islam will definitely edge Jack out on the ground, but we may very well edge him out on the stand up also, so let's see what happens.
Jack’s such a tough customer that we can't analyze and think that we're better in one particular area. We'regonnahave to prove we're better - and practice extremely hard - inall of these areas.
JDM will need to prepared for ‘slick’ and sneaky’ Islam
Jack’s going to feel the trickiness of Islam and the slick maneuvers that he does, that people aren't expecting. He'll do things that you don't expect. He'll throw you into the cage.
He'll punch and he'll kick you when you're not really thinking it's going to happen. He will catch you when you're sleeping. There's a funny video out there of him and DC. They're grappling.
DC's talking and is not paying attention. And all of a sudden DC is on the ground. That's what Islam does. He's sneaky. He'll come in and throw a good move on you, and before you know ityou're on your butt.
Umar Nurmagomedov ‘not about getting after Merab’ - we need to win the next one
He [Umar] needs to evolve for sure [before facing Merab again]. Umar wants whoever's the champion when they give us another opportunity but we're not about getting after Merab.
We're just about getting the title. That's what the young eagles plan is,it’s never been about Merab. Sure, if we can get Merab, it's good to get the opportunity. But we have to win the next one. We have to win.
Paddy Pimblett is not ready not Ilia Topuria
I think Paddy’s fantastic. I love watching him. He'sthe real deal. Bobby Green to me was not easy for anybody, and the way he did to Bobby Green, I was very impressed.
And then, of course, Michael Chandler has basically put him in that position to show that he'sthe real deal, whoever's going to fight with him, is going to have a tough fight.
I think Paddy can beat anybody on any given day, he's good enough to beat anybody, but I don’tfavour him against Topuria. But do I think he could win? Yes, absolutely.
Ilia Topuria ‘will be stronger’ than Charles Oliveira at 155 lbs
I think we're all missing one key point. Topuria was having a heck of a time making weight at 145, that's why he's gone up because the weight's killing him.
He's not tall in stature, but he's wide, he'salmost likeVolkanovski, so those guys carry a lot of weight for their size. So yeah, the weight is not going to be the issue. He might even be stronger than Charles.
I want Charles to win, but I think Topuria might just edge him out. But I'm not going to be shocked if Charles gets a shocking win because he's capable of doing that.
‘He moved for a reason’ Topuria will stronger without coach Climent
I don't think it's a big deal [Topuria changing coach] because he already lived far away, so unless the coach was willing to go over there which I don't think he was. It's just the way it is.
I don't think that's going to change anything. It might even make him stronger, becausehe's more comfortable. He doesn't have to worry about his coaches.
How can I get my coaches here and this and that? I think he's fine. He's settled into what he needs to do. He moved for a reason.
We should be ‘proud’ of Khabib for not shaking Kate Scott’s hand during Champions League Final
People should not be shocked that Khabib is a devout Muslim through and through. This is his religion. This is who he is, so we shouldn't be shocked because he's not shaking hands [with the presenter] because that's what his religion does not allow him to do.
You should be proud of the fact that this is who he is, he's not a hypocrite, he's not going to shake your hand because it's not allowed in Islam.
They shouldn't be shocked because this is his religion. You have to respect who they are and what their religion is all about. He doesn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. Understand their religion. He's doing what God has intended him to do.
The UFC need starpower like Conor McGregor
The biggest criticism that I'm hearing about the UFC is that there's not enough stars, so they're struggling at times. I think Alex Pereira losing, I think that that hurt him some.
I think the biggest stars they have are Jon Jones and Islam, that's my opinion. I think they're the biggest, but you need to have more. You need to have another Conor in there. You need to have more individuals that have that kind of power. But right now I think it's not super deep.
In other countries Cain Valesquez would have been presented with a medal - not jail time
What happened to him was not something he was able to control. It was like a road rage situation, and it was scientifically proven that he couldn't control his impulsivity, and he couldn't control what he did.
He had no thought process, zero thought process - impulsivity and zero thought process. And that's something that you can build. But you have to go through therapy to build that back up.
Soit's just like a road rage situation. People get road rage. They freak out, and they just can't stop themselves. Well, that's what happened with him.
When a traumatic thing happened to his child. He lost it, so he wasn't thinking, because any man with his capabilities would rather make sure the guy looks at his face when he does it to him.
He needed rehab. He didn't need jail time. He needed to be with his family, and unfortunately the system didn't see it that way. I think almost every other country would have gotten a medal.
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