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.

Despite over half a decade out of competition, Zabit
Magomedsharipov is still as skilled as they come.

Magomedsharipov (18-1) returned to competition after seven years,
facing
Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Youssef
Zalal in a grappling match at ACBJJ 22 at Ora Arena in
Istanbul, Turkey.

Zabit Magomedsharipov earns decision over Youssef Zalal at
ACBJJ 22

The Russian defeated Zalal via unanimous decision in a competitive
match. Zalal was clearly disappointed with the judges' verdict,
having finished strong against Magomedsharipov, who also had his
moments.

While Magomedsharipov was originally booked to grapple Raul Rosas
Jr. at ACBJJ 21 last month, he pulled out due to an injury.

Magomedsharipov remains one of the biggest what-ifs in mixed
martial arts history. He was a highly touted UFC featherweight,
known for his flashy striking and well-rounded game. However, he
never competed after a win over Calvin
Kattar in 2019. After a series of matchups falling through,
Magomedsharipov formally retired from MMA in 2022.

He addressed his retirement prior to his grappling match against
Zalal, claiming that he's content with his decision.

“I have no regrets about leaving the sport and not winning
anything,†Magomedsharipov told Red Corner MMA. “Of course, I
wanted to become UFC champion, but it fell through. They didn't let
me. They were stalling for time. They didn't let me fight.â€