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The MMA Daily: NSAC suspends Ilir Latifi, sets precedent for fighters competing with non-disclosed injury or illness

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The MMA Daily: NSAC suspends Ilir Latifi, sets precedent for fighters competing with non-disclosed injury or illness
Photo Credit - Ilir Latifi IG

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has set a precedent allowing the governing body to enforce disciplinary actions on fighters who compete without disclosing known injuries or illness.

Yesterday, UFC heavyweight Ilir Latifi was suspended for three months after he failed to disclose a possible staph infection prior to competing at UFC Fight Night 212. It was only during Latifi’s post-fight interview that the ailment was revealed.

While the 265-pounder’s fight purse was unaffected, Latifi won’t be eligible to compete until January 1, 2023, and will have to fork over legal fee’s for the commission’s process.

This news comes after a recent incident involving UFC featherweight Darrick Minner, in which betting lines for his fight opposite Shayilan Nuerdanbieke at UFC Vegas 64 saw unnatural movement in his opponent’s direction, prompting sports books to suspend the market. Coincidentally, or possibly not, Minner succumbed to a fight-ending leg injury early in the first round. The incident is now under investigation by the U.S. Integrity – a company that analyses suspicious betting behavior – the theory being that information on an undisclosed injury had been leaked.

The commission said it too will be investigating the matter to see if this was the case.

The AllStar MMA roundup

  1. Exclusive: Israel Adesanya: Title or no title, ‘I’m still gonna have a target on my back’
  2. UFC 281: The AllStar MMA Live: UFC 281 Reaction, Recap with Johnny Eblen
  3. UFC Seoul: Doo Ho Choi to take on Kyle Nelson at Feb 4 UFC event in South Korea: Sources

The best of the rest

  1. Israel Adesanya arrested at New York airport for carrying brass knuckles, manager says charges dismissed – MMAFighting.com
  2. Dustin Poirier admits getting even with Michael Chandler at UFC 281: ‘I bit the s*** out of his fingers’ – MMAFighting.com
  3. Derrick Lewis: ‘My back is real against the wall’ going into UFC Fight Night 215 main event – MMAJunkie.com
  4. Robert Whittaker: Alex Pereira better matchup than Israel Adesanya, but ‘did you see the size of the fella?’ – MMAJunkie.com
  5. Man accused of killing Walt Harris’ daughter indicted on three counts of capital murder – BloodyElbow.com

The soapbox

Poatan steals the cover of EA UFC 4, as well as Stylebender’s belt:

Like father, like son:

Renato Moicano’s favorite fighter is Renato Moicano:

Perth is too seen for Casey O’Neill:

The stuff of nightmares:

Anthony Smith blasts Ryan Spann:

The morning view

Matt Frevola talks about his KO win at UFC 281:

Alex Volkanovski gives an in-depth look at his UFC 284 matchup opposite Islam Makhachev:

Henry Cejudo does the same:

Former light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffen chats about the evolution of the UFC:

Done deals

Thursday

  • Kai Kara-France to fight Alex Perez at UFC 284 on February 12th (per MMA Junkie)
  • Tyson Nam to fight Bruno Silva at UFC event on March 11th (per Mike Heck)

Wednesday

  • Philipe Lins to replace Alexander Gustafsson opposite Ovince st. Preux at UFC 282 on December 10 (Per Ovince st. Preux)

Tuesday

  • Shannon Ross to fight Kleydson Rodrigues at UFC 284 on February 11th (per UFC)
  • Jimmy Crute to fight Alonzo Menifield at UFC 284 on February 11th (per UFC)

Roster Watch

Fighters removed this week:

  • Shanna Young
  • Silvana Gomez Juarez

Fighters Added this week:

  • Miles Johns
  • Tereza Bleda

Credit to UFC Roster Watch

On this day in MMA…

On the 17th of November, 2000, Andre Arlovski made his UFC debut at UFC 28: High Stakes in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Arlovski would face Aaron Brink, a fellow promotional newcomer, in a three-round bout midway through the card; though the Russian took just 55 seconds to lock in an armbar and exact a tap from the American.

During his initial UFC stint, Arlovski would amass a six-fight win streak between 2002 and 2005, securing himself both interim and undisputed UFC heavyweight titles, before dropping back-to-back losses to Tim Sylvia in 2006.

‘The Pitbull’ has currently spent 22 years fighting the best the UFC has to offer, minus a few-year stint floating between various other promotions, and after his recent return to form, has no intentions of ceasing competition.

Chris Ferguson is a combat sports reporter hailing from the land down under in Australia. He runs short-format interviews with mixed martial arts prospects hailing from the Oceanic region, as well as a weekly newsletter on Substack, breaking down every debuting fighter on each coming weekend’s UFC card. Catch his hot takes on Twitter @CFerg_mma.

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