Overview
- Last week Nurmagomedov finished his PFL contract with a first-round knockout in New York and entered free agency as a 22-0 lightweight.
- UFC president Dana White’s terse response of “Sure” when asked about signing him has raised expectations that the undefeated champion could join the UFC.
- PFL’s new deal with Jake Paul’s MVP has kept the PFL–MVP group in active contention to sign Nurmagomedov and reports say his team has an exclusive negotiation window.
- Manager Ali Abdelaziz has publicly pushed for a UFC debut against former champion Ilia Topuria, saying there is a personal ‘beef’ and predicting a Nurmagomedov win.
- Topuria’s manager and peers pushed back strongly, while Khabib Nurmagomedov warned against an immediate title shot, making matchmaking optics and timing central to ongoing talks.