Usman Nurmagomedov becomes free agent amid UFC debut speculation

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BELMONT PARK, NY - JULY 31: Usman Nurmagomedov celebrates with Khabib Nurmagomedov after fighting against Archie Colgan during PFL New York at the UBS Arena on July 31, 2026 in Belmont Park, New York. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) | Getty Images Usman Nurmagomedov is now a free agent, so let’s talk about what comes next. Usman Nurmagomedov Assuming the UFC is successful in poaching Usman Nurmagomedov from Most Venomous Piffle, who would make sense for his UFC debut opponent? Man, it seems like this is a foregone conclusion, doesn’t it? Immediately after PFL New York, I thought there might be a chance for the PFL to retain Nurmagomedov’s services if they made him a good enough offer. After all, he’s only 28. The man could sign a two-year contract with the promotion for a pile of money, continue to build his brand by smashing fools, and then jet over to the UFC with even more hype behind him. Plus, it would make sense for the PFL because they desperately need big names to help this transition period as they move to the MVPFL phase. But everything since then just feels like this is a dog and pony show, and Nurmagomedov is already locked up with the UFC. It’s like when your friend gets divorced, but he doesn’t immediately start posting pictures with his new girlfriend, because that’s not cool. Gotta just pretend nothing is happening for a bit until you can finally make the reveal. So, assuming that’s right and Nurmagomedov really is coming to the UFC, who should he fight? I think there’s no wrong answer, honestly. For as good as I think Nurmagomedov is, he doesn’t have many great wins, so any ranked opponent in the UFC would be a valuable addition to his résumé. If you want to slow roll him some like they’re doing with Salahdine Parnasse, I’d understand that, but personally, I’d put him right into the top five. Throw Nurmagomedov in with Max Holloway or Charles Oliveira and see what happens. If he wins, title shot. If he loses, now we reset and drop him down to find where his level is. MVP MMA I am curious- having watched very little of MVP: Jake Paul is clearly not entertaining for fans of fight watching- while still being a huge draw and very popular. Has MVP put on any “good” fights? I’m not being overly judgmental- but I just haven’t watched enough- and definitely haven’t seen any. There is always the chance that, somehow, MVP manages to keep Usman around for a bit longer, and if they do, how will the whole PFL merger go? Honestly, I’m starting to think it could work, because MVP does know how to put on good fights, as well. I do not care for Jake Paul. I dislike his personality, and dislike that he has become a major part of my life. But I will always give him due credit for being a good promoter. Not only does he put on events that become cultural touchstones, but he also has put on, or helped to put on, some very good fights. The biggest of these are obviously the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano fights, but Paul has shown a genuine interest in talent development on these cards, and even the Rousey-Carano card had some pretty solid fighters on the prelims — Adriano Moraes vs. Phumi Nkuta, David Mgoyan vs. Albert Morales, and Jason Jackson was supposed to fight Lorenz Larkin. Plus, the people at the PFL mostly know what they’re doing. MVPFL is going to be a legitimate promotion for however long it lasts. Uros Medic Some have been proclaiming Uros Medic “a star” in light of his performance. Is that accurate or a bit hyperbolic? It’s me. I’m “some.” And I don’t think it’s hyperbolic; I think it depends on your definition of “star.” Did Medic become Conor McGregor overnight? Of course not. Did he even become a household name? Nope. But did he go from being just-a-guy to a legitimate main eventer? He sure did. Heading into UFC Belgrade, it was openly mocked that Medic vs. Daniel Rodriguez was the main event of a UFC card in 2026, and honestly, it’s a fair criticism. Technically it was ranked guys, but neither man ever felt like a “star” in the UFC. But all fight week, Medic carried himself like The Man and then starched out his opposition and dropped a killer post-fight speech. In one week he went from being a guy hardcore fans might nod at on a fight card and say “oh, that’ll be fun to watch,” to a guy whose name casual fans might know. That’s meaningful. And it could be just the beginning. I think Medic will lose soon, but this win sets him up for a big name in his next fight, probably even a former champion. If he goes and does the same thing to Leon Edwards, then he’s legitimately in the mix and a known commodity. Let’s see if he can do it. Win streaks How do you feel Islams 16-fight win streak compares to Anderson Silva’s? For those unaware, next week, when Islam Makhachev defends his welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry, he has the opportunity to make history and set the record for most consecutive wins in the UFC. Anytime you set a record (well, a good one, not, like, a losing record), it’s a big deal. But how big is it? Let’s crunch the numbers. Anderson Silva’s legendary 16-fight run came almost entirely in championship fights. Silva’s first fight was his demolition of Chris Leben, and his next fight was massacring Rich Franklin to win the title. From there, Silva had 11 title defenses (technically only 10 because Travis Lutter missed weight, but really, it’s 11), with three random light heavyweight side quests mixed in. Two of those were not especially meaningful, as neither James Irvin nor Stephan Bonnar were ever elite 205ers, but the Forrest Griffin win is an all-time performance against a man who was one fight removed from holding the belt. That’s 12-13 elite wins for Silva. Islam, meanwhile, did a lot of his run before ever fighting for the title. Makhachev needed a 10-fight win streak to get his first title shot, meaning he’s only had six championship fights during this run. Now, if we want to dive a little deeper, we could also credit Makhachev for a few pre-title wins that were at least as good as Silva’s Leben win, but even adding in Arman Tsarukyan, Dan Hooker and Bobby Green, we’re simply not in the same stratosphere as “The Spider” when it comes to quality and quantity. Heck, even Makhachev’s title fights feel somehow less compelling than many of Silva’s because two of them came against the same featherweight, and Renato Moicano stepped in on one day’s notice. Makhachev is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport and what he is accomplishing right now is exceptional. If he beats Garry, Makhachev will be, in my estimation, the first male UFC fighter with legitimate title defenses in multiple weight classes. That’s remarkable. But Anderson Silva’s run from 2006 to 2012 is some video game stuff. But Silva’s run ended at 16. We don’t know when Islam’s will end. If he keeps stacking defenses and gets to 18 or 20? Whooooo boy, that will be impressive. Thanks for reading, and thank you to everyone who sent in questions! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because every week I put a prompt into The Feed for your questions. Fire them there, and I’ll answer the best ones in the Mailbag and try to get to the rest in the responses.

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Usman Nurmagomedov’s future is up in the air.