Re-do!
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight fan favorite Niko Price returns to action for one final fight
against Leon Shahbazyan on the UFC Vegas 122 “Prelims” this weekend (Sat., Oct. 10, 2026) inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.Price originally retired at UFC Seattle earlier this year, but his farewell did not exactly go according to plan.
“The Hybrid” unexpectedly announced during fight week that he planned to hang up his gloves after facing Michael Chiesa. Unfortunately, Chiesa was
also retiring that night and received nearly all of the attention from the broadcast, leaving Price’s farewell largely overlooked.
Now, UFC matchmakers are giving Price another chance to go out properly.
“They were like, ‘Would you like a proper retirement?’ And I was like, ‘Heck yeah, that sounds like fun. I’ll take another fight,’” Price recently told Home of Fight.
“Sean Shelby told me he wanted to call me because when I said I wanted to retire in Seattle, I surprised him, too,” Price continued. “It was crazy. I said the only way I would take another fight was if UFC came to me and said, ‘Here’s the fight. Do you want it?’ That’s exactly what they said, word for word, and to me, that was God speaking.”
Price has been matched against Shahbazyan, whose Octagon career began disastrously when he was steamrolled in a matter of seconds. In other words, UFC is not sending “The Hybrid” out to be demolished by some undefeated, heavily hyped prospect.
Of course, MMA retirements are rarely permanent. If Price wins on Saturday, could another tempting offer convince him to stick around?
Probably not — unless UFC produces something special.
“Yeah, no, I’m feeling pretty accomplished in my career,” Price said. “I’m going to end it with this one. If a golden nugget comes up, you can’t turn down a golden nugget. It’s as simple as that.”
So, he is definitely retiring.
Probably.
Price (16-11) enters his official retirement fight on a four-fight losing streak, having suffered first-round stoppage losses in each of his last two appearances. He is also just 2-6 across his previous eight fights.
That ugly stretch, however, should not overshadow the chaos Price produced throughout his Octagon career. Win or lose, “The Hybrid” established himself as one of UFC’s most violent and consistently entertaining action fighters.
Price did not receive the farewell he deserved in Seattle.
This weekend, he gets one last opportunity to write a better ending.
One final rodeo for “The Hybrid.”
For the finalized UFC Vegas 122 fight card click here.
