When it comes to wrestling and ground game domination, the world of mixed martial arts often thinks of Khabib Nurmagomedov. After all, the former lightweight champion managed to go undefeated throughout his MMA career mainly because of his wrestling skills. And Belal Muhammad had the privilege of training with ‘The Eagle’ before his fights against Sean Brady and Leon Edwards. But there is one act that seemingly worried the Palestinian champion, something Muhammad told Demetrious Johnson back in 2024.
As the welterweight king’s words resurface on the internet, we’ll lend that story an ear in today’s episode of EssentiallySports’ MMA News Roundup. Next up, we’ve got some exciting news for Islam Makhachev. And yes, it goes along the lines of double-division championship glory. Finally, we’ll travel with Jose Aldo’s memories of fighting in Rio de Janeiro. So without any further ado, let’s get right into it.
Belal Muhammad’s embarrassment while training with Khabib Nurmagomedov resurfaces before UFC 315
ESPN MMA recently decided to take the world back to the time when Belal Muhammad was getting ready for his title shot against Leon Edwards via an IG post. The post showed Muhammad’s appearance on Demetrious Johnson’s podcast, wherein he weighed in on training with Khabib Nurmagomedov. And training with ‘The Eagle’ opened Muhammad up to a different level of training.
‘Remember The Name’ said, “Whenever you go with him, it’s just like, it’s kinda like embarrassing. It’s not even like humbling, because he just kills you. And it’s to the point where he’s on top of me, and he’s about to give me a kimura, and he’s like ordering coffee to this boy outside the cage. And I’m looking at myself like, bro, I’m gonna be fighting for a title soon, and this guy is like ordering drinks. But it gives me the mindset of I still have a lot to learn.”
No doubt, Demetrious Johnson knows it pretty well. After all, he also trained with the Dagestani team after retiring from the world of mixed martial arts. While we’re talking about the Dagestanis and Belal Muhammad, let’s look at his opponent, Jack Della Maddalena. The welterweight title challenger has expressed his desire to take on the lightweight champion.
Islam Makhachev receives an invitation from Jack Della Maddalena
It’s no secret that Islam Makhachev has had his eye on the welterweight division, particularly its crown, for quite some time now. But the welterweight champion is hesitant about fighting his friend, which is why he has plans to move to the middleweight division. Let’s look at it this way—If Muhammad defeats Della Maddalena, he’d vacate his belt and move to the middleweight division, and if he loses, Makhachev would jump at the opportunity to fight Della Maddalena.
Now, Maddalena revealed that he was also ready to take on the lightweight champion. He said, “If Islam, after the fight, says you know what, he wants to step up, and I think through like, I’d be happy to give him the shot. Obviously, what he’s done, I don’t think there would be many, too many complaints of people that think that’s not fair. Give some time to maybe—but hopefully, we can do it kind of soon. Hopefully, we can do it. I think they’ve got a card in Australia coming up. See what happens. I’m obviously not looking past Belal, but would love to fight in Australia.”
Jack Della Maddalena wants to fight Islam Makhachev in Australia next pic.twitter.com/rBrYDKVYNY
— calfkicker (@calfkickercom) May 5, 2025
Of course, fighting in one’s hometown is a magical experience. Maybe that’s why Jose Aldo decided to take a trip down memory lane and revisit his last fight in his hometown. Let’s see what he had to say.
Jose Aldo can’t get enough of fighting in his hometown
Taking to Instagram, Aldo shared a video of his fight against Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301. Despite the strong opposition, the UFC Hall of Famer secured the win via a unanimous decision. This extracted a bit of tears from Martinez’s eyes, but thankfully, Aldo was right there to cheer him up. In the caption, ‘Junior’ wrote, “Always an honor to fight in Rio de Janeiro. None of this would be possible without the people! The King of Rio”
This was the 6th time Jose Aldo fought in his hometown. The trend began with UFC 142, where ‘Junior’ defeated Chad Mendes with a round 1 KO. His next fight at Rio de Janeiro was at UFC 163, where he TKO’d Chan Sung Jung, AKA ‘The Korean Zombie’. He fought Mendes once again at UFC 179 in Rio de Janeiro. And once again, he secured a win. However, in the next two matches at UFC 212 and UFC 237, Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski, respectively, ended up in unfortunate defeats. And now, Aldo is preparing to face Aiemann Zahabi at UFC 315.
What do you think of Nurmagomedov’s coffee orders during training? Do you think Makhachev will end up fighting Della Maddalena? Do you wish to see Aldo retire with a fight in Rio de Janeiro? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post MMA News Roundup – Khabib Puts Belal in Kimura, Jack Della Madella Eyes Islam Makhachev, Jose Aldo Reflects on Fighting in Rio Before UFC 315 appeared first on EssentiallySports.
