UFC veteran comes out of retirement, Israeli fighter sends death threats to Khabib Nurmagomedov and others, update on Francis Ngannou's next fight: MMA News Roundup

Find out about the biggest UFC updates and other stories with Sportskeeda's daily MMA News Roundup.

Today's issue will discuss one veteran fighter's return to the sport, Francis Ngannou's next fight, and more.

---

#3. Paul Felder re-enters USADA pool

Paul Felder is officially out of retirement.

MMA Junkie's Damon Martin shared a screenshot on Wednesday confirming that Felder has submitted his first sample to USADA. He will be in the testing pool for six months before returning to active competition.

This means Felder will likely be ready to compete at UFC 300 like fans have theorized, as the pay-per-view card will potentially take place in March or April next year. In an appearance on Believe You Me in October, Felder expressed interest in having "one more epic fight" - either at UFC 300 or somewhere on the East Coast or Europe - instead of having his last fight in an empty Apex arena.

'The Irish Dragon' last competed around four years ago, taking on Rafael dos Anjos in a short-notice fight after Islam Makhachev was forced to withdraw.

---

#2. Israeli MMA fighter Haim Gozali makes distasteful post about Muslim UFC fighters

Khabib Nurmagomedov, Khamzat Chimaev, and several other fighters - both Muslim and non-Muslim - have recently expressed grief over the ongoing war in Gaza and solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Amid the humanitarian crisis intensifying with every passing day, an Israeli MMA fighter has shared a deeply insensitive post targeted at a handful of UFC fighters of Islamic faith.

Haim Gozali, an ex-Bellator fighter, posted an image of a missile with the names of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, Khamzat Chimaev, and Belal Muhammad written on it. 'This is for you, from Haim Gozali, Israel,' the rest of the text read.

Check out the post below shared by journalist Karim Zidan on Twitter. [Warning: The post contains potentially triggering content. Proceed with caution]:

Gozali faced tremendous backlash on social media for the post, with fans straight-up calling him "evil" for the action.

You can read the comments here.

---

#1. Francis Ngannou's next fight is 90% confirmed

While it is not been made public who Francis Ngannou will fight next, the bout is "90%" official within a week of his incredible boxing debut.

In an appearance on Ariel Helwani's The MMA Hour show, Ngannou's manager Marquel Martin said:

"I think we will see him again in Q1 [2024]. Whether that's with his partners at the PFL or a hybrid of some sort. I think all options are on the table and it's going to be exciting that who really wants to fight him. It's not so much Francis chasing, which is a good situation to be in. I would say the decision is probably 90% made, not 100%."

Ngannou's coach Eric Nicksick, however, still wants the Jon Jones fight.

Speaking to Helwani on The MMA Hour, Nicksick said Ngannou and the UFC could make it happen if both parties set their egos aside.