MMA News Roundup: Islam Makhachev has spent "seven figures" for Charles Oliveira fight camp, Bo Nickal's UFC debut delayed, Khamzat Chimaev's gym banned from MMA league
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 Islam Makhachev spending a fortune to prepare for Charles Oliveira, Bo Nickal's UFC debut getting pushed back, and more.
#3. Preparing for Charles Oliveira has cost Islam Makhachev seven figures
Islam Makhachev has been hailed by many as the second coming of Khabib Nurmagomedov. His record, along with his ability and near-invincible aura as highlighted by his coaches, mentors, managers, and teammates, have made him a favorite in the UFC 280 betting odds against Charles Oliveira.
However, it seems like Makhachev has not taken Oliveira lightly.
In an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Makhachev and Nurmagomedov's AKA teammate Daniel Cormier revealed that the team has "spent over seven figures" preparing to fight 'do Bronx':
"Those guys have been training hard. They have been in Abu Dhabi for a while. They said they spent over seven figures on training camps, preparing this guy... for this fight."
The spend includes costs incurred for training facilities, hotel rooms, training partners, and more.
Check out Cormier's conversation with Okamoto below:
#2. Bo Nickal's UFC 282 debut scrapped
Rising prospect Bo Nickal got the MMA community talking with his outstanding performance on Dana White's Contender Series and bold claims that he had better grappling than the entire middleweight roster.
He was supposed to debut at UFC 282 against Jamie Pickett but has now pulled out due to injury, per reports by MMA Junkie. The report also stated that the promotion is now targeting the March 4 card for his debut, which is expected to be UFC 285.
#1. Khamzat Chimaev's gym suspended from participating in Swedish MMA League
Reporter John S. Nash shared a translated screenshot of a post yesterday from an account of the Swedish MMA Federation.
In the post, the federation announced that they had banned Allstars Gym from participating in the Swedish MMA League until further notice. The post also stated that the decision was taken based on several complaints about the conduct of the gym members, which included "threats and other disruptions."
Swedish MMA authority apparently shut down Chimaev & Gustafsson’s gym All Stars https://t.co/dfoOdVhwEZ
Here's the follow-up correction:
Correction: SMMAF promotion/league banning fighters from that gym from competing.
The Allstars Gym is where rising superstar Khamzat Chimaev trains, along with Darren Till and Alexander Gustafsson.
Head coach Andreas Michael attempted to counter the bad news with a good one by announcing on Instagram that their new "state of the art center" will open in January.