MMA NEWS TODAY: BELAL MUHAMMAD'S COACH ON KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV & CO.'S LACK OF CREATIVITY IN TRAINING, JOSE ALDO ROOTS FOR OLD FOE CONOR MCGREGOR IN MICHAEL CHANDLER FIGHT, & MORE

Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For April 25, 2024, we’re taking a look at:

Muhammad's coach says Nurmagomedov's team were too set in their ways
Aldo backs his former rival to get the comeback win
Erceg backs the best version of Whittaker to beat Chimaev

Belal Muhammad's Coach Says They Found Training With Khabib's Team 'Frustrating'

In an appearance on the money loyalty legacy podcast, Belal Muhammad's coach Louis Taylor reflected on their experience of training with Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team.

They worked together throughout Muhammad's training camp in preparation to face Sean Brady which may be his most impressive performance to date.

However, Taylor said that the experience was difficult to get through at points after feeling like they were wasting their time.

The Nurmagomedov team are so focused on their wrestling and doing what they can to win the fight without putting themselves at risk that the training rounds became overly focused on this aspect.

Taylor says that without the option to try new things, they were forced to spend rounds either defending takedowns or trying to get up from the bottom over and over again.

"The thing is, they're basic. Even Belal, I mean I don't want to, we got frustrated a lot because Belal's creative. They're not creative. I mean I'm not saying... it's not like they're not creative, each one of them is different. Islam trains different like all of them have a base of grappling. Depending on who you go with, you might throw one kick and you might not want to put that much mustard on it, you know, I just want to kick you because I see the opening.

"No, I'm gonna grab the leg, I'm gonna take you down and I'm gonna hold you there for five minutes and I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize my position and that is frustrating because I just lost five minutes of training, my round, on the bottom from a kick that I just decided to pull and you just held me down. You're not gaining anything and I'm not gaining anything but you can't get up. They're not training to be creative on the ground."

Jose Aldo Hopes Conor McGregor Comes Back With A Win At UFC 303 Against Michael Chandler

At UFC 301, Brazilian MMA royalty returns to the Octagon as "The King of Rio", Jose Aldo, makes the walk once again.

The former featherweight great had already achieved a Hall of Fame career when he retired in September, 2022.

Throughout that career, one rival stands out amongst the rest as he and Conor McGregor will always have a history with one another.

Despite their iconic feud back in 2015, Aldo is hoping that his former foe can make a successful return when he faces Michael Chandler at UFC 303.

The all-time great told MMAJunkie that just like with all his previous opponents, he is rooting for "The Notorious" to pick up the win.

"I always root for the guys who I fought and the guys who have beat me because that just proves that I lost to the best. I hope that he can go in there and be the Conor of old and be aggressive, and go in there to finish the fight... I expect great things from that fight."

Steve Erceg Provides Official Prediction For Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev (Exclusive)

It's a huge few months for Australian MMA in May as Steve Erceg challenges UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja in Brazil.

The following month, the Octagon is set to land in Saudi Arabia with a middleweight main event between former champion Robert Whittaker and Khamzat Chimaev.

Erceg gave his thoughts on the fight during a recent interview with MMA News where he picked his fellow countryman to get the job done.

"Astroboy" placed the emphasis in this fight on whether "The Reaper" is firing on all cylinders or not, stating that if he maintains the form from his last fight he will get his hand raised.

"I think it definitely depends on what Whittaker shows up," Erceg said. "It's the one that shows up for his Costa fight, where he's like back to being tough and game and wanting to scrap, I think he beats Khamzat. I think his wrestling defense will be good enough, I think his striking defense is better than Khamzat's striking defense, and he's gonna hit him, and come later in the round he's gonna take him out."

Read more on the story here.

For more MMA news, check out:

2024-04-25T14:49:21Z dg43tfdfdgfd