니코 프라이스, 10월 UFC 복귀 목표로 삼아

Niko Price appears ready to reverse the retirement decision he made earlier this year. The veteran welterweight is reportedly targeted to face Leon Shahbazyan on the UFC Fight Night card scheduled for October 10 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. The bout has been reported as part of the event, although the UFC has not yet issued a formal announcement in the information currently available.

Price stepped away after losing to Michael Chiesa by submission in March. His name was added back to the UFC roster in early September, and the proposed Shahbazyan matchup now gives that administrative change a competitive direction. If the booking is finalized, his retirement will have lasted only a matter of months.

Price is returning at a difficult point in his career

The decision makes sense emotionally: Price has always fought with urgency and has rarely approached competition as a cautious exercise. From a sporting perspective, however, the return carries obvious pressure. He is on a four-fight losing streak, and the last three defeats ended inside the distance. At 36, he is not coming back with the luxury of a long rebuilding plan.

That record does not erase what made Price a memorable part of the division. His UFC run has included improvised finishes, chaotic exchanges and a willingness to attack from positions where most fighters would concentrate only on defense. The same style has also exposed him to damage. Any successful comeback will depend on keeping the creativity while making better choices about when to exchange.

The Chiesa loss initially looked like a natural stopping point. Price had absorbed years of hard fights, and retirement allowed him to leave on his own terms. Returning so quickly suggests that the competitive urge remained stronger than the finality of his announcement. It does not, by itself, tell us whether the underlying problems from the losing streak have been solved.

Shahbazyan offers danger rather than a soft landing

Leon Shahbazyan is also trying to recover momentum. He entered the UFC after building a run of submission victories, including several guillotine finishes, but his promotional debut ended in a 23-second loss to Levan Chokheli. That result leaves him with something to prove and makes him an aggressive choice for a veteran who is returning from retirement.

The matchup is therefore less about rankings than urgency. Price needs to show that the comeback has a competitive purpose, while Shahbazyan needs to demonstrate that his first UFC appearance was a bad night rather than a sign of a larger gap. Both men have strong incentives to force the action, which could produce the sort of unpredictable fight that has followed Price throughout his career.

There is still a procedural distinction to preserve. Reports can identify a targeted bout before the promotion publishes the final card, and fights can change through injuries, contracts or scheduling. October 10 and Shahbazyan are the current plan described in the reporting, not a guarantee that both men will reach the cage.

• Price announced his retirement after a submission loss to Michael Chiesa in March 2026.
• He was added back to the UFC roster in early September.
• Price is reportedly targeted to face Leon Shahbazyan in Las Vegas on October 10.

If the fight goes ahead, Niko Price will not be returning for a ceremonial appearance. Shahbazyan is dangerous, motivated and young enough to force a demanding pace. Price’s experience and unpredictability give him a route back into the win column, but the recent results make the risk impossible to ignore. The October matchup would answer the question his roster reinstatement created: whether the veteran still has another meaningful UFC run in him.