MMA News Roundup: Dana White was told he had 10 years to live, Ariel Helwani reveals shocking details about Nate Diaz's UFC contract, Charles Oliveira's coach dismissive of Khabib Nurmagomedov
Welcome to today's edition of Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup, where we present the biggest UFC updates and other stories from the world of mixed martial arts.
In today's issue, we talk about Dana White's life expectancy, Nate Diaz's UFC contract, and more.
#3. Dana White was told he has a decade to live
Knowing exactly how much longer one will live is not often seen in real life. However, Gary Brecka of 10X Health Systems has found a way to make it happen.
Dana White recently revealed on the 200th episode of The Action Junkeez podcast that Brecka took his blood and DNA samples and gave him an estimated life expectancy. The results were shocking to say the least:
"This guy can take your blood and your DNA and tell you when you're going to die, and he's right within a month... I connect with this guy, and they come in and they do my blood work and they scrape the insides of your cheeks to do your DNA. And the following Wednesday is when my results are supposed to be back. So he calls me [and says]... I'm going to come out personally and walk you through your blood work... He ends up coming out, he sits down for three and a half hours and goes through my blood work... He gave me 10.4 years to live."
Brecka also pointed out all the medical issues that the UFC president was suffering from based on blood work.
White added that he listened to Brecka's guidance word-by-word, started following the ketogenic diet, and lost thirty pounds in ten weeks.
#2. Clause in UFC contract forbids Nate Diaz to talk to other promotions - Ariel Helwani
There have been several rumors regarding Nate Diaz's next step now that his contract with the UFC is over. Some have speculated that he will box Jake Paul, while others believe a stint with WWE is in order. Things took a turn when Bellator CEO Scott Coker came out and said that they had been in touch with the Stockton native.
However, Ariel Helwani clarified that as per his UFC contract, Diaz is currently in an exclusive three-month negotiation period with the promotion and is not allowed to talk business with others.
A note on any story about a promoter/promotion talking to Nathan Diaz right now: don’t believe it. Not true. It’s actually illegal.
Diaz is in an exclusive three-month negotiation period with the UFC. Meaning he can’t talk to anyone. And he hasn’t talked to anyone.
Per Helwani, it's a standard clause that's inserted into every UFC deal and can be waived at the promotion's discretion. However, this has not been waived in Diaz's case so far.
This is standard procedure, btw. Every UFC deal has this baked in. So, unless they wave it, which they have in the past, there’s no talking to anyone out there. And they haven’t waived it.
It seems Diaz will have to wait out this period to move on with his career unless he is willing to re-sign with the UFC. The chances of the latter happening appear slim.
#1. Khabib Nurmagomedov isn't a wrestler, he's a Sambo fighter - Charles Oliveira's coach
Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev have been feuding in the lead up to their UFC 280 title fight, but their teams have been way more vocal.
In a recent interview with Portal do Vale Tudo, decorated Iranian wrestler and Oliveira's wrestling coach Alireza Noei stated that Khabib Nurmagomedov is more of a Sambo fighter than a wrestler. He dismissed the popular notion that Islam Makhachev was the second coming of 'The Eagle', and hailed him as a better wrestler than Nurmagomedov:
"Charles Oliveira's adversary, Islam Makhachev, is very good at wrestling. I think better than Khabib, who is another athlete from Dagestan. He is better... He is a wrestler, Khabib isn't. Khabib is a Sambo fighter. Islam has also done Sambo, but he is a wrestler first and then a Sambo fighter and then an MMA fighter."
Here's the video with subtitles via MMA with Subtitles:
That being said, Noei has immense faith in his pupil's ground game and is confident 'do Bronx' will be able to tackle Makhachev's takedowns.