Seagal may be a Hollywood actor, but he does have an MMA background. The actor secured his Aikido black belt in 1978. Segal also claims he trained CIA agents in Japan. This is also not the first time Seagal has worked with UFC fighters. He was in camp with Lyoto Machida, who praised the Seagal for helping him master the front kick which stopped Randy Couture at UFC 129 in 2011. 

”Yeah definitely, I mean he always reinforced that to me, that you know, try that kick, that kick will land and when it lands it’ll work. So you know, I definitely give credit for him to helping me perfect that kick,” Machida stated 

White On Khabib And Putin

From one Russian personality to another, Dana White recalled Vladimir Putin’s gift to Khabib Nurmagomedov following his win over Conor McGregor. 

Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor with a fourth-round rear naked choke at UFC 229 in 2018. The victory propelled Nurmagomedov to stardom, even if the post-fight antics overshadowed the fight. Khabib jumped over the Octagon to fight McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis as security intervened to stop the melee. After Nurmagomedov got to the back of the arena, the Russian President was on the phone to congratulate him.  White confirmed that was just the start, as Khabib was rewarded heavily for the win. 

“He didn’t even make it back to his dressing room after the fight, and Putin was on the phone. Putin gave him and his father, like, $20 million worth of property in Russia. Then he went into the Muslim territories where these guys are like, cars, money, gyms, whatever he wanted. 

“Once you get to that level [of Nurmagomedov’s fame], it’s like what we’re dealing with with Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor lives in a yacht in the middle of wherever the warmest place in the world is at that time. Once you get to that level, you’re not getting up and getting punched in the face any more,” White said

Khabib’s Return

Nurmagomedov has previously stated he has rejected millions of dollars to make a return for a McGregor rematch and a bout with Floyd Mayweather. Khabib’s decision to walk away was based on a promise he had made to his mother following the passing of his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.

“Khabib got offered $100 million after he was retired to fight Floyd Mayweather. $100 million. You can ask Floyd, you can ask everybody, and Khabib said, ‘No, I’m retired. I told my mother I’m retired. I’m gonna keep my word to my mother. If my mother told me to fight again, maybe I will, but right now she told me not to fight.’ He comes from a Muslim culture. We respect our mothers very dearly,” Nurmagomedov’s former manager Ali Abdelaziz