Khabib Nurmagomedov News
Chael Sonnen worries Khabib Nurmagomedov will miss weight for UFC 242
Thomas Taylor - September 5, 2019
This weekend, in the main event of UFC 242, Khabib Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend the UFC lightweight title against Dustin Poirier. His more imminent battle, however, will be with the scale. The champion has missed the lightweight limit in the past, and MMA analyst Chael Sonnen worries he might do so again.
Georges St-Pierre wants Khabib fight, but believes UFC is protecting investment
Tom Taylor - September 5, 2019
Georges St-Pierre wants to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib Nurmagomedov wants to fight Georges St-Pierre. So why isn’t this fight between the two decorated UFC champions and bona fide MMA superstars being made? Well, St-Pierre suspects the UFC could be protecting its investment in Nurmagomedov. The former welterweight and middleweight champ St-Pierre addressed this potential super fight in a recent interview with Robin Black of DAZN.
Khabib Nurmagomedov to make biggest payday yet for UFC 242
Tom Taylor - September 5, 2019
UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov pocketed a flat purse of $2M for his late 2018 defeat of Conor McGregor. According to Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap, there’s an even bigger fight purse coming. Speaking to the Russian outlet TASS, the elder Nurmagomedov claimed his son will make at least three times what he made against McGregor when he fights Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 242 this weekend in Abu Dhabi. If math isn’t your strong suit, that’s $6M — potentially even more.
UFC 242 | Pro fighters make their picks for Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Dustin Poirier title fight
Cole Shelton - September 5, 2019
In the main event of UFC 242, undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov wil look to defend his belt against Dustin Poirier. Heading into this fight, the champ is a -500 favorite on Bovada, while the challenger is a +350 underdog. Ahead of the fight, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. The majority are leaning towards Khabib Nurmagomedov, but they think it is a closer fight than the odds suggest.
Dustin Poirier doubts ring rust will be a problem for Khabib Nurmagomedov
Tom Taylor - September 4, 2019
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has not fought since October of 2018, when he defeated Conor McGregor by decision. For some fighters, a break of this length might cause problems. Nurmagomedov’s next opponent Dustin Poirier, however, expects the champion to be sharp and ready when they step into the cage together. “I think that’s more of an individual thing,” Poirier said on the UFC 242 conference call last week (via MMA News). “Everybody is different.
Report | UFC 242 trending for massive PPV success
Natasha Hooper - September 4, 2019
According to a report from Kevin Iole from Yahoo! Sports, early figures suggest UFC 242 could be one of the biggest pay-per-view events in UFC history. The card will be topped by a lightweight title fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dustin Poirier. Nurmagomedov’s last fight against Conor McGregor in 2018 was one of the most anticipated match-ups in UFC history. The UFC 229 event sold over 2 million pay-per-views and shattered all previous PPV records for the promotion. The UFC would of course be happy to recreate this success when Nurmagomedov returns to the Octagon against Poirier this Saturday.
Tony Ferguson is hoping Dustin Poirier 'puts away' Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242
Cole Shelton - September 3, 2019
Tony Ferguson is hoping Dustin Poirier leaves Abu Dhabi as the undisputed UFC lightweight champion and stops Khabib Nurmagomedov in the process. Nurmagomedov will look to defend his title in the main event of UFC 242 when he scraps the aforementioned Poirier. It will no doubt be an interesting fight where the winner is likely to be fighting Tony Ferguson next. And, if ‘El Cucuy’ has his way, that fight would be against the current interim lightweight champion.
Khabib Nurmagomedov explains why changing weight classes is not a focus
Tom Taylor - September 3, 2019
Khabib Nurmagomedov has been an incredibly dominant force in the UFC lightweight division, but he has not made much mention of moving up to welterweight or down to featherweight. As it turns out, there is a reason for that. Nurmagomedov has always been focused on building a legacy, and he believes consistency in his natural weight class is more important to that end than seeking challenges in new weight classes.
Chael Sonnen doubts Khabib Nurmagomedov ahead of UFC 242
Natasha Hooper - September 3, 2019
Speaking on his podcast this week, Chael Sonnen shared some doubts about Khabib Nurmagomedov ahead of the undisputed lightweight champion’s upcoming fight against interim champ Dustin Poirier at UFC 242. “He’s been out for a while,” Sonnen said of Nurmagomedov. “For Khabib, it was because of a suspension. For other guys, it was because of an injury or a contract dispute. But that always becomes a talking point ‘well how’s he gonna look, he’s been out, the other guy’s been busy, ring rust is a real thing’ For some reason, Khabib has penetrated the hearts and minds of the fans to the point that that dialogue is not even coming up. It’s as if this guy is bulletproof and we have fallen for that before.”
UFC 242 | Khabib Nurmagomedov says Dustin Poirier is the 'toughest challenge' of his career
Cole Shelton - September 2, 2019
Khabib Nurmagomedov is currently undefeated and will be looking to go 28-0 in the main event of UFC 242 when he takes on Dustin Poirier. The American, Poirier, is the UFC’s interim lightweight champion and currently boasts a four-fight winning streak.
VIDEO | Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov defeat Conor McGregor at UFC 229
Tom Taylor - September 2, 2019
This Saturday, in the main event of UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his title against interim champion Dustin Poirier. Ahead of this blockbuster lightweight battle, the UFC has opened up its vault and released the entire Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor fight from UFC 229 in October.
VIDEO | Watch Khabib Nurmagomedov - Conor McGregor UFC 229 brawl from new angles
Tom Taylor - September 2, 2019
Shortly after UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in late 2018, he leapt over the side of the Octagon and attacked McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis. In the subsequent moments, McGregor got physical with several of Nurmagomedov’s teammates inside the cage. It was one of the most infamous and chaotic moments in UFC history, and it resulted in multiple suspensions and fines for the fighters involved. This week, the UFC released the Countdown episode for Nurmagomedov’s UFC 242 fight with Dustin Poirier, which featured some new angles of this frenzied post-fight brawl.
Dustin Poirier believes a win over Khabib Nurmagomedov will make him the best lightweight of all-time
Cole Shelton - September 1, 2019
Dustin Poirier knows what a win over Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 would do for his career. Poirier, who is the current interim lightweight champion, will look to hand Nurmagomedov his first career loss. If he does just that, the American says it is the best run in lightweight history.
Dustin Poirier's coach says he will finish Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242
Adam D Martin - September 1, 2019
Dustin Poirier’s coach is confident that “The Diamond” will finish Khabib Nurmagomedov when they meet next Saturday in Abu Dhabi at UFC 242. Phil Daru, the strength and conditioning coach at American Top Team, recently appeared on an episode of the Pull No Punches podcast with Kajan Johnson and Shakiel Mahjouri. Daru believes Poirier is going to earn an upset stoppage win over Nurmagomedov, and he believes that Poirier’s conditioning will be the difference in the outcome (h/t Bloody Elbow).
Khabib Nurmagomedov admits the end is near: “I don’t have a lot of fights ahead”
Adam D Martin - September 1, 2019
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov says that he only has a few fights left in his career before he retires from MMA. “The Eagle” was recently on a conference call promoting UFC 242 and was asked how many fights left he has in his career. He says he doesn’t plan on hanging up his gloves just yet, but admits the time is coming soon.
Khabib Nurmagomedov wants Daniel Cormier to have one last fight before retiring
Adam D Martin - September 1, 2019
UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov says he wants teammate Daniel Cormier to fight once more before calling it quits in his MMA career. “The Eagle” was recently on a conference call promoting UFC 242 and said that he wants to see DC, his teammate at American Kickboxing Academy, to fight Stipe Miocic in a trilogy fight for the final fight of his incredible career.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is eager to feel Dustin Poirier's speed and power at UFC 242
Cole Shelton - August 30, 2019
Khabib Nurmagomedov is set to take on Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 242 next Saturday in Abu Dhabi. When the Russian champion makes the walk to the Octagon it will be for his second title defense. In his first, ’The Eagle’ submitted Conor McGregor in the fourth round of their fight at UFC 229. Khabib used his wrestling to maul Conor, and at one point even dropped the Irishman while they were standing.
Khabib Nurmagomedov explains why Dustin Poirier is 'much better' than Conor McGregor
Thomas Taylor - August 30, 2019
Next weekend, in the main event of UFC 242, Khabib Nurmagomedov will attempt to defend his lightweight title opposite interim champion Dustin Poirier. While this fight is not generating the same kind of buzz as Nurmagomedov’s 2018 battle with Conor McGregor, the champ considers it a much more dangerous fight. Nurmagomedov shared his belief that Poirier is a more dangerous test than McGregor on Friday’s UFC 242 media conference call.