Latest news with #YairRodriguez
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ali Abdelaziz opens up on why former UFC featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov retired
One of the most talented UFC featherweights abruptly retired before making a title run. Zabit Magomedsharipov surprised many when he decided to walk away from MMA in 2022. He retired on a 14-fight winning streak, and on the cusp of title contention after a Fight of the Night win over Calvin Kattar in November 2019. So why did Magomedsharipov (18-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) hang up his gloves with so much promise? His manager Abdelaziz pointed to multiple failed bookings with Yair Rodriguez as the main reason. "No, he's not coming back," Abdelaziz said of Magomedsharipov on the "Pound 4 Pound" podcast. "Honestly, he got booked like three or four times with Yair Rodriguez. Yair Rodriguez kept pulling out on him, and he just lost love. I'm not going to blame anyone from the UFC. I could have, but I am not going to do it. "I think it was a little bit of the UFC's fault, and also maybe a little bit of my fault. I should never have made them book him again with Yair Rodriguez. This guy pulled out three, four times, right? In a way, I think Zabit fell off. He has a lot of businesses, married, and kids. He said, 'I don't need to do this.'" Magomedsharipov still trains and has been seen around his younger brother, Khasan Magomedsharipov (10-0), a 24-year-old undefeated professional MMA fighter, who was most recently seen in action in June 2024 when he defeated Tyler Mathison by unanimous decision at Bellator Champions Series: Dublin. "I'll tell you something: Zabit has a brother (Khasan) who I think is much better than Zabit," Abdelaziz said. "He fights in PFL. He's 24 years old. He's the same style as Zabit with a way better gas tank, with way better wrestling and grappling, and his striking, even better. I believe he can come to the UFC today and he's top five."
The Independent
13-06-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Fresh Alexander Volkanovski revelation could provide hint at UFC return date
Alexander Volkanovski could be in line for an October return to the cage due to a combination of personal matters and a reshuffled UFC schedule. Volkanovski had been linked to a featherweight title defence against Mexico's Yair Rodriguez in September, at a Mexican-centric pay-per-view at Arena Guadalajara on 13 September. However, the arena has faced construction issues, meaning the UFC's 'Noche' event will now take place in San Antonio, Texas, and will be a standard Fight Night rather than a pay-per-view. Instead, a pay-per-view will take place on 4 October in Las Vegas. And that could mark Volkanovski's return, with the Australian having said September would have proved difficult in any case, due to the expected birth date of his next child. 'What's next for me? Nothing's too clear,' Volkanovski told UFC Australia & New Zealand. 'There's a lot of moving parts. Obviously before, I was thinking it's going to be Movsar [Evloev], but I think he's fighting. He mentioned him fighting [this summer]. 'Hearing Yair's name getting mentioned a fair bit, just the date of September has... you know... but that's just probably not the best date. Obviously, I'm having a baby that month, so if we could work around that, that would be better. 'So, we'll just see what's happening. Again, a lot of moving parts. We're planning on having a chat with the boss Dana [White, UFC president] and Hunter [Campbell, UFC CBO] very soon, so we'll see what's going on.' Volanovski, 36, regained the featherweight belt in April, recovering from a knockdown to outpoint Diego Lopes. Volkanovski had previously lost the title in February 2024 after a long reign, suffering a knockout by Ilia Topuria. Topuria vacated the title this February, however, and is now preparing to fight Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight belt. As such, Volkanovski and Lopes were paired in a clash for the vacant featherweight strap. Volkanovski's first reign, which began in December 2019, saw the Aussie retain the belt five times. His final successful title defence in fact came against Rodriguez in July 2023, as Volkanovski dominated and stopped the 32-year-old, who was interim champion at the time. Many fans have expressed frustration at Rodriguez being linked to another title shot, and against Volkanovski specifically, given the Mexican is only 1-1 since his first bout with 'Alexander The Great'. However, with Topuria leaving the 145lb division and Evloev saying he will not be fighting for the belt next, Rodriguez is seemingly the only viable challenger at the moment. No 1-ranked Max Holloway is scheduled for a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at lightweight in July, and he is expected to stay at that weight going forward. Furthermore, Holloway has already fought and lost to Volkanovski three times.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Alexander Volkanovski's UFC title reign up in the air as champion is denied preferred fight
Alexander Volkanovski 's next fight is up in the air, after the UFC champion's preferred challenger declared he is fighting a fellow contender this summer. Volkanovski reclaimed the featherweight throne in April, outpointing Diego Lopes to win the belt that Ilia Topuria vacated in February. Twelve months earlier, Topuria knocked out Volkanovski to become champion, ending the Australian's four-year reign. And Volkanovski, looking to build a strong second stint with the belt, had made clear his desire to defend the gold against Movsar Evloev first. The Russian is unbeaten at 19-0 and last fought in December, outpointing ex-bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling. Evloev was the most obvious next challenger for Volkanovski, 36, but the 31-year-old tweeted on Thursday (22 May): 'If you are a UFC fighter and believe you are the best in the world then you have fight every fight they throw at you. 'No risk no reward. See you guys in July, it's ON #AbuDhabi. '@alexvolkanovski thank you Champ for trying to fight me, I will fight in July and you fight in September, hopefully we both win and we can meet in December.' It is suspected that Evloev could face new signing Aaron Pico, 28, who has joined the UFC from Bellator, while Volkanovski's next challenger may be Yair Rodriguez through a process of elimination. While Volkanovski beat the Mexican handily in 2023, stopping him in round three, Rodriguez recorded a significant win against former Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull last time out. Admittedly, that decision victory only snapped a two-fight losing streak for Rodriguez, who was submitted by Brian Ortega after his defeat by Volk. However, the only fighters above the 32-year-old in the rankings are: Topuria, who has moved up to challenge for the lightweight strap; Lopes, who just lost to Volkanovski; and Max Holloway, who is booked to fight at lightweight in July (and who Volkanovski has beaten three times). Furthermore, with the UFC having booked its pay-per-view main events for June, July and August, the next free headline slot is September's UFC 320 in Mexico – Rodriguez's home country. But there are ongoing issues with the new Arena Guadalajara, meaning the event could yet be moved. UFC 320 has already suffered a setback, with a boxing super-fight between Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez and Terence Crawford being moved from 12 September to 13 September, the same night as the UFC show. That is despite a plan for UFC president Dana White to co-promote the boxing event with Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh. With both fight cards playing out on the same night, it seems unlikely that White will be involved in Canelo vs Crawford. It is unclear what that means for his new working relationship with Alalshikh under TKO Boxing.
USA Today
22-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Why former UFC champ Ilia Topuria isn't a fan of Yair Rodriguez's fighting style
Why former UFC champ Ilia Topuria isn't a fan of Yair Rodriguez's fighting style Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria doesn't rate Yair Rodriguez's fighting style very highly. Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) isn't expected to cross paths with former title challenger Rodriguez after vacating his 145-pound title. He is currently gunning for an immediate shot at UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Rodriguez (20-5 MMA, 11-4 UFC) is campaigning for another opportunity at the 145-pound title after defeating former Bellator dual-champ Patricio Freire at UFC 314 earlier this month. However, that didn't stop Topuria from analyzing Rodriguez's style and explained why he isn't too fond of it. "I don't know what to tell you about Yair Rodriguez. I'm not a big fan of him," Topuria said in a recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience." "He's the type of guy that you don't even need to take him down, he goes to the ground himself. He's like very spectacular the way he fights, the striking, the kicks he throws and all that, but I'm not a big fan of him." On the contrary, Topuria is a fan of how his past two opponents fight, whom he knocked out in back-to-back title fights. "I'm a fan of Volk (Volkanovski) and Max Holloway," Topuria said. "Actually, they were the smartest guys that I ever faced inside the octagon. I felt that they were smart. They had that fight IQ. They know how to fight."
USA Today
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
MMA Junkie Radio #3558: Michael Chandler's statement, Yair Rodriguez wants next, more
MMA Junkie Radio #3558: Michael Chandler's statement, Yair Rodriguez wants next, more Thursday's episode of MMA Junkie Radio with "Gorgeous" George and "Goze" is here. Thursday's episode of MMA Junkie Radio with "Gorgeous" George and "Goze" is here. On Episode 3,558, the fellas dive into the latest stories in the world of MMA with PFL being the only major organization in action this week. Following UFC 314 in Miami, Yair Rodriguez wants the next featherweight title shot, Michael Chandler releases a statement after his loss to Paddy Pimblett, and more. Tune in!
