Khabib Nurmagomedov can seldom hide his love for football. He has attended multiple football matches and even built a football field in his new $5 million training camp at Sildi. And when he got to know that Manchester United legend Patrice Evra is set to make his MMA debut under the banner of PFL, the Dagestani had to rush in and call him up. And that’s what we’ll kick off today’s episode of MMA News Roundup with. 

After that, we’ll find out what Chael Sonnen has to say about the Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway trilogy. And finally, we’ll see the rankings updates after UFC Kansas City. So without any further ado, let’s dive right into it!

Khabib Nurmagomedov offers to teach Patrice Evra how to ‘smash’ at PFL

As Evra prepares for his MMA debut, he has received a call from Khabib Nurmagomedov. And the first words that the former UFC lightweight champion said were, “Finally, you called me!” He continued, “Why you don’t answer when I call you?” Apparently, Ezra hadn’t paid his cellphone bills. Nevertheless, that wasn’t going to be an issue anymore, because ‘The Eagle’ offered to pay his phone bills. But then came the real stuff. 

Nurmagomedov went on to offer some professional help to the former Manchester United defender. He said, “I told you many times, send me location and I’m going to find you. Send location, tell me where are you? When I see you, you have to be ready and that’s it. Other things, I’m going to take care of. I’m going to teach you how to smash people. I just want you to improve yourself. Nothing else. Very good to see you and finally I hope you’re going to send me location and then we will train together.”

Evra will lace up the gloves on May 23 at the PFL Europe event at the Accor Arena in Paris. While he and Khabib exchange notes, let’s take a look at Chael Sonnen’s words for Khabib’s former colleagues, Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway. 

Chael Sonnen has an idea for the future of the BMF belt after Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway 3

First things first, Sonnen had already announced that Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway were going to fight for the BMF championship belt. And now, after Poirier himself made it official at The Pat McAfee Show, ‘The American Gangster’ expressed his worries about the future of the BMF belt. Well, he doesn’t really wish to ‘retire’ the belt. And he gave the world a few pointers. 

Sonnen said, “If Poirier is able to grab it and move on, I would certainly hope that we don’t retire the belt. That belt is very coveted and it’s very sought after by some guys that have worked very hard and sacrificed very hard to try to have a level of recognition or something that they can be proud of when they’re done. So, regardless of how Dustin and Max goes, I will campaign now that the BMF live on if Dustin were to win it, it would create a great opportunity to move the belt. We could have it at 205 lbs, we could have it at heavyweight, we could slide it over to the women’s division. Which I’m saying just to sound nice. That mere idea is quite laughable, right now, but we could.”

Sonnen has a point. The BMF belt was conceived at welterweight and the original one retired with Jorge Masvidal. The second one was introduced for Justin Gaethje vs. Dustin Poirier 2, and now rests with the permanently lightweight version of Holloway. If Poirier wins are retires this belt, a third division could use the push with a third belt being introduced. While we let the idea simmer, let’s take a look at the aftermath of UFC Kansas City. After Ian Garry defeated Carlos Prates, the UFC athlete rankings witnessed a few changes. Interesting ones, to say the least.

Changes in UFC athlete rankings after UFC Kansas City

Despite losing in the main event, Prates still remains in the 13th position, while Garry moved up one spot and replaced Joaquin Buckley for the 6th spot in the welterweight rankings. After defeating Anthony Smith with a KO in the first round, Zhang Mingyang stepped into the light heavyweight rankings and stood tall at #14. David Onama became the new entry in the featherweight rankings and captured the 14th spot. Meanwhile, Dan Ige and Youssef Zalal both went up a spot and got to 12th and 13th positions, respectively. In the middleweight realm, Abus Magomedov was the newest entry after his victory over Michel Pereira. And Roman Kopylov got one step ahead and landed at the 14th pedestal. 

And that brings us to the end of today’s MMA News Roundup. What do you think of Nurmagomedov’s offer of help for Evra? Do you think the UFC should actually move the BMF belt to the heavyweight division? What are your thoughts on the changes in rankings after UFC Kansas City? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.