MMA News Roundup – Islam Makhachev Delighted as Khabib Nurmagomedov Corners Him; Joe Rogan Joins UFC 302 Commentary Team; Sean Strickland Foresees a “Bloodbath” With Paulo Costa

Welcome to another daily roundup edition that includes the biggest MMA news over the last 24 hours. To start today’s compilation, we will talk about lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. He has confirmed Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s presence in his corner at UFC 302 and seemed extremely happy about his mentor’s return.

Then we will shift our attention to the broadcast team of UFC 302. It seems like Joe Rogan has been added to the commentary team. Finally, we will sum up this daily roundup edition with Sean Strickland, who’s scheduled to clash with Paulo Costa this weekend. ‘Tarzan’ believes a bloody matchup is in order.

Islam Makhachev is over the moon with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s return

Yes, you’ve heard it right! Khabib ‘The Eagle’ Nurmagomedov is going to return this week to aid his protégé when he throws down against Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 headliner. For months now, we have witnessed on various social media platforms that Makhachev had been training with the 29-0 legend, along with his other Dagestani MMA fighting friends. A few days ago, those videos and pictures from their training session sparked rumors and speculation about Nurmagomedov’s potential return to cornering Makhachev, which has now turned out to be true.

“Eagle is landed in Jersey City. He’s gonna be in my corner,” confirmed Islam Makhachev in a video shared by UFC on their Instagram handle. He seemed extremely excited to have Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner because that could prove to be the turning point in his fight against Dustin Poirier, who came up short against ‘The Eagle’ almost five years ago. “Honestly, I’m very happy because he’s one of the best corner coaches, brother, friend. That’s it,” Makhachev added. It would be a welcome sight for the fans to see the Dagestani legend as we wait to see if that makes any difference to the main event of UFC 302.

Joe Rogan is back for commentary duties

The terrific commentary trio of Daniel Cormier, Jon Anik, and stalwart Joe Rogan is back for UFC 302. The 56-year-old’s inclusion in the commentary team was revealed by MMA Fighting. Rogan had already mentioned that he’s not going to travel to other countries for International events, but the UFC 302, which will take place in New Jersey, is not an event he’d want to miss because this could very well be Dustin Poirier’s last fight, after forging a tremendous career in Dana White‘s promotion.

Regarding the other broadcasting roles, Chael Sonnen, Anthony Smith, and Laura Sanko will feature on the analyst desk. Meanwhile, Din Thomas will take up the role of the coaching analyst for the entire UFC 302 card. On the backstage reporting side, it is believed that Megan Olivi will reprise that role.

Sean Strickland predicts bloodshed against Paulo Costa

Sean Strickland is one of those fighters who’s willing to go to great lengths during a fight. As we inch closer to the PPV this weekend, UFC released their Countdown video on YouTube, where the former middleweight champion seemed to be in a different zone as he made an alarming statement about the Paulo Costa fight. Strickland claimed that things can get really bad when both of them step inside the cage on 1st June.

“UFC 302, man. It’s going to be a bloodbath. I think that me and Costa, we’re going to go in the deep water. It’s going to be a 25-minute war… I’m ready to die for what I want, and I think I’m going to pick him apart,” Sean Strickland stated.

Do you foresee the fight going the same way as ‘Tarzan’ predicted? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.