UFC Champion On Possible Return, UFC Fight Night Card Changes, Bellator Fedor-Mir Countdown
- On the second edition of "Bellator 189: Fedor vs. Mir Countdown," we see former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir during a training session with his family. Mir meets Fedor Emelianenko in the quarterfinals of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix this Saturday night live on Paramount Network.
While Mir works with his three children on the finer points of grappling, Emelianenko continues to work in his home-land of Russia before heading to the U.S. and Chicago for the event.
- Injuries have hit the upcoming UFC Fight Night 129 card hard, causing problems with both the main and co-main events. The card takes place May 19 from the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile and was scheduled to feature Kamaru Usman vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio.
An injury to Ponzinibbio, however, has forced him out of the event. Officials are seeking a replacement that will keep Usman on the card. Usman is currently 12-1 overall and a perfect 7-0 inside the Octagon.
The co-main event between former champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Volkan Oezdemir has been rescheduled for UFC Fight Night 134 in July after visa issues with Oezdemir.
Bouts currently scheduled for the first visit to Chile include Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno, Alexa Grasso vs. Tatiana Suarez and Veronica Macedo vs. Andrea Lee.
- UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will be taking the summer off – and most of the fall – before looking to return to action late in 2018 to defend his title. Nurmagomedov, who claimed the vacant belt with a victory over Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 recently, isn't concerned with who the UFC pairs him up against.
Likely top contenders include former champion Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez. Also, Kevin Lee recently made a statement with a victory over Edson Barboza.
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