Khabib Nurmagomedov breaks down matchups with Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson
Last night, in the co-main event of the stacked UFC 219, Dagestani lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov picked up yet another dominant win, violating the dangerous Edson Barboza for three, lopsided rounds, and ultimately capturing a clear unanimous decision.
With this win, Nurmagomedov is now an insane 25-0 overall, and could very easily be the best lightweight on earth. UFC undisputed lightweight champion Conor McGregor and interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, of course, will likely have something to say about that.
Speaking at the UFC 219 post-fight press conference, Nurmagomedov gave his thoughts on both McGregor and Ferguson, and how he matches up against them.
“Real belt is 25-0,” Nurmagomedov said (h/t MMAFighting.com). “This is real belt. They’re all fake belts. To be honest, real belt is Tony Ferguson. Conor, he has only one fight in UFC at 155 and he have champion. He beat Eddie Alvarez. He’s good fighter, but he’s not champ. I think lot of people can beat him in 155. This is my opinion. I think lot of people can beat him at 155. He has good boxing, good timing, but he don’t have wrestling, he don’t have grappling, he don’t have conditioning, but he have a belt.”
“If I fight with Conor, his chance is with boxing, maybe [for a] couple minutes I think,” Nurmagomedov continued, going in-depth on a possible showdown with the superstar McGregor. “But worry if I’m wrestling with him all the time. Don’t striking with him. Protect myself, movement, change angles. Show him takedown, box, change levels like Cain Velasquez does. But we have lot of way. I can stay with my opponent, I can grappling with my opponent, my conditioning is better my wrestling is good.”
How do you think the undefeated star Khabib Nurmagomedov matches up with the UFC undisputed and interim lightweight champions Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 31/12/2017.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov
