Liu (4-1) was scheduled to make his
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against Tafa (7-6) in
front of a home crowd in Shanghai, China, on Aug. 29. However, Tafa
withdrew due to undisclosed reasons five days before fight night
and was replaced on short notice by Levi
Rodrigues, who suffered a first-round knockout loss to Liu.

Ce Liu calls for Junior Tafa fight after first-round UFC
Shanghai knockout

The Liu vs. Rodrigues bout was a fast-paced back-and-forth affair,
with both fighters having moments of success before Liu piled on
the pressure in the final minute of the first round. The Chinese
light heavyweight ultimately flatlined his Brazilian counterpart,
opening his account in the UFC in style.

Liu subsequently called for a rebooking against Tafa.

“I want to challenge someone — my last opponent,†Liu said
backstage after his win. “I want to settle the score with him in
our next match.â€

“The Oriental Dragon†has finished all four of his pro wins so far,
going past the first round only once in victory. Meanwhile, Tafa is
3-6 in the UFC and coming off a first-round knockout loss against
Iwo
Baraniewski.

Nurmagomedov is the most sought-after free agent in mixed martial
arts, with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship rumored to be keen on signing
the latest
Professional Fighters League lightweight titleholder. Yan, the
current UFC bantamweight champ, recently revealed that the unbeaten
Dagestani once bought a rare BMW from him.

Petr Yan says Usman Nurmagomedov bought his limited-edition BMW
X5

Yan used to own a BMW X5, which now belongs to Nurmagomedov. There
were only 250 of the limited-edition X5 in the whole world in the
color owned by Yan and only 12 in Russia.

“Khabib
Nurmagomedov's brother, Usman, bought that car from me later,â€
Yan said in an interview with Kickdown. “There were only 12 of
these cars in Russia, and only 250 in the world. There were 12 in
Russia in this specific color.â€

While Nurmagomedov and Yan are from different camps, they share a
lot of mutual respect, even though the former's brother, Umar,
competes in the division ruled by Yan. “No Mercy†will look to
defend his title against Merab Davlishvili at
UFC 333 in October in Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, the PFL has a 90-day exclusive negotiation window since
Nurmagomedov's last bout and he's revealed that he's already turned
down an offer for $2 million per fight. A recent Instagram post hints at a UFC move looming.

Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Umar Nurmagomedov's longtime coach shared his first thoughts on the shocking end to the UFC Shanghai main event.

Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov suffered the first stoppage loss of his Mixed Martial Arts career last Saturday at UFC Shanghai. Just minutes into Round 2, Song Yadong caught Nurmagomedov with a punch to the temple to knock the former title challenger out cold.

It was a stunning defeat for Nurmagomedov, as he entered the UFC Shanghai main event as a modest favorite and seemed destined for another bantamweight title shot. But after the knockout, Nurmagomedov could be sidelined for the first of the year as he looks to work his way back into the title mix.

Nurmagomedov's team, including Umar's brother Usman, looked visibly stunned by the result at UFC Shanghai. This includes Umar's longtime coach, who shared a visceral reaction to his star pupil's loss.

Javier Mendez reacts to Umar Nurmagomedov's ‘lights out' KO loss

During a recent interview on Submission Radio, Nurmagomedov's coach Javier Mendez reacted to the shocking end to UFC Shanghai.

“It happened so quickly; to be honest with you when it happened, my mouth just dropped. I'm like, ‘What the hell happened?' I was in shock myself because I love him so much,†Mendez said of Nurmagomedov.

â€You know when you care about somebody and then the loss happens, it hurts even worse. I was saying ‘Oh, I should have been there with him'. No, no. He was in great hands; what happened just was one of those things.

“Song meant to throw that uppercut; Umar did the wrong thing when he went in for the takedown and moved his head off center,†Mendez continued on Nurmagomedov. “He just caught him in that equilibrium right back here [the temple], and you get caught there? It's instant lights out.†(h/t Bloody Elbow)

Nurmagomedov suffered his first-career loss to former bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 last year. He won back-to-back fights over Deiveson Figueiredo and Mario Bautista before UFC Shanghai.

Who should Umar Nurmagomedov fight next after UFC Shanghai? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM