Nurmagomedov fought out his
Professional Fighters League contract by defending his
lightweight title against Archie
Colgan. He is currently the most sought-after free agent in
mixed martial arts. Tsarukyan claims the undefeated Russian beats
most 155-pounders in the UFC.

Arman Tsarukyan says Usman Nurmagomedov is a threat to nearly
every UFC lightweight

Tsarukyan claims Nurmagomedov (22-0) beats almost everyone in the
UFC lightweight division except him. The top-ranked lightweight
even believes that Nurmagomedov beats current UFC champion Justin
Gaethje. However, Tsarukyan says the Dagestani hasn't been
tested at the highest level in the PFL.

“He can beat a lot of guys in our division because, stylistically,
he's so good,†Tsarukyan told Ariel Helwani. “He can wrestle; he
can strike. But there are tough guys too, so let's see. Because in
PFL there is no competition… Yes, [he beats Gaethje]. Almost, yes
[I think he beats almost everyone in the division except me].â€

According to Tsarukyan, while the former PFL star is dangerous
everywhere, some UFC lightweights can still be a threat to the
undefeated Dagestani. He believes the surging Quillan
Salkilld and former champ Charles
Oliveira would be interesting matchups against Nurmagomedov. As
for himself, Tsarukyan is focused on becoming a champion before he
can consider fighting Nurmagomedov.

Cris Cyborg's
final MMA bout headlines PFL Tampa: Tune in on Saturday, Aug. 22 at
10 p.m. ET on ESPN.

“There are some new guys we have to see. The guy who choked out
Gamrot… That guy is good,†Tsarukyan added. “Charles Oliveira
would be an interesting fight too because Charles can do some
submissions, take his back, choke him out, but Usman is good
everywhere, so he's dangerous for everyone. He's legit… I've got to
do my work, become a champion, and then we can talk.â€

Tsarukyan looks to further strengthen his case for a title shot
when he takes on Mauricio
Ruffy at UFC
331.

Turner took on Kaue
Fernandes in a lightweight tilt at UFC
330. “The Tarantula†took just 39 seconds to finish Fernandes,
earning a $100k performance bonus for his knockout win. Turner now
has four fights left on his current deal and recently revealed
whether he wanted to test free agency after his last contract ran
out.

Jalin Turner signed a five-fight UFC deal after his previous
contract expired

Turner's previous contract expired with his knockout win over
Edson
Barboza last December. Notably, that bout marked his Octagon
return after a brief retirement. Beating Barboza in the first round
warranted a new deal in the eyes of the promotion and Turner
subsequently signed a five-fight contract.

“My deal was up,†Turner told Ariel Helwani. “Barboza was the last
fight on my contract. So, I just signed a new five-fight deal with
the UFC.â€

Turner seemingly wasn’t too keen on free agency. He let his manager
handle offers from other promotions and negotiations with the UFC,
ultimately returning to the promotion.

“I let my manager handle all that,†Turner added. “I'm happy with
the UFC. I ain't saying nothing else about it. I mean I heard some
talks [about other offers]. But ultimately, the UFC came through;
they always come through. So, I'm still here. I'm happy. I can't
complain.â€

Turner (16-9) briefly retired from fighting following a loss to
Ignacio
Bahamondes last year. He claimed that he was emotionally
burdened by the idea of hurting others, especially after his
slugfest against Dan Hooker
and a vicious knockout of King Green.
However, Turner then came out of retirement with a changed mindset
and has since scored back-to-back first-round knockout wins.

Makhachev put his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title on the line
for the first time against Ian Garry at
UFC
330. While he retained his belt via unanimous decision, the
Dagestani champion was pushed to the limit and had to dig deep.
After his second welterweight bout, Usman claims he can beat
Makhachev if they were matched up.

Kamaru Usman backs his style against Islam Makhachev after UFC
330

While Usman acknowledges the new crop of contenders at
welterweight, the former champ believes he remains a serious threat
to Makhachev.

“There are really good guys coming up that are going to turn into
killers,†Usman said on the “Pound 4 Pound†podcast. “But right
now, being honest with you, with all the styles that I see and the
MMA mathematics… How it works out, I felt that, hey, styles make
fights, I'm telling you guys, I can get that done.â€

Usman was rallying for a title shot against Makhachev when the
latter dethroned Jack
Della Maddalena last November. Even Makhachev acknowledged “The
Nigerian Nightmare†as his biggest threat at the time. However,
Usman's lengthy Octagon hiatus saw contenders like Garry, Carlos
Prates and Michael
Morales overtake him in the pecking order at 170 pounds.

Usman (21-5) lost his welterweight title in a shock knockout upset
to Leon
Edwards in 2022 and lost the rematch the following year. Usman
then suffered a hard-fought majority-decision loss in a
middleweight bout against Khamzat
Chimaev.

The former champ then dropped back to welterweight and returned
after a 20-month hiatus to beat Joaquin
Buckley last year. After unsuccessfully rallying for a title
shot against Makhachev, Usman moved back up to middleweight and
suffered a unanimous decision loss against Dricus Du
Plessis.