Khabib Nurmagomedov News

Drake Riggs - March 2, 2018

It appears that we have our concrete answer when it comes to whether or not Conor McGregor will be keeping his UFC lightweight championship. As most know by now, at UFC 223 next month, on April 7, Tony Ferguson will be taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov for Ferguson’s interim title. Although…that is no longer the case as UFC President, Dana White told ESPN today that the fight will be over the undisputed title come fight time as BJPenn.com’s own Chris Taylor first confirmed back in January:

Tom Taylor - February 28, 2018

At this point, oddsmakers favor undefeated lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov to beat all of his rivals – that includes Conor McGregor. In the opinion of lightweight contender Kevin Lee, however, McGregor actually stands a good chance of knocking Nurmagomedov out. This, Lee says, is based more on the holes in Nurmagomedov’s game than McGregor’s skill. Lee gave his assessment of this fight in a chat with Jim Edwards and Danny Austin of MMANytt.com.

Justin Golightly - February 21, 2018

We’re all waiting, hoping, that Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov both make it to UFC 223 in April. It’s been coming for a long time and — next to Conor McGregor’s long awaited return — this is the best and most highly anticipated lightweight fight possible. Meanwhile, 11 slots under the top of the lightweight mountain, James Vick has eyes on moving up the roster after his win at UFC Austin. He recently weighed in on the UFC 223 fight and predicts that Nurmagomedov comes out on top. “I think Khabib [Nurmagomedov] wins. I think that [Tony] Ferguson’s too content with being on his back. He’s going to get taken down, obviously. Khabib can take down pretty much anyone in the division. Guys can get up, but Tony Ferguson will accept being on his back and throwing elbows and playing rubber guard and he’s not going to win [against Nurmagomedov] like that. Unless he just likes land a big elbow and cuts Khabib from the bottom or something, I don’t see him being able to win a fight off his back. He gets too content with staying on his back instead of trying to get the hell up.”—James Vick speaking to MMA Junkie Radio.

Justin Golightly - February 20, 2018

April seems too far away to wait for the highly anticipated clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson at UFC 223. This will be the fourth that these elite lightweights have been expected to fight each other. Somehow, they both keep getting ripped apart and put back together again. That’s why it’s no surprise that Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdel-Aziz has a contingency plan in place on the chance that something unfortunate happens again. This plan he has in mind would also make one particular lightweight very, very happy. “I did not want Tony Ferguson to become the champ, I want him to be the interim champion because fight night, if Tony got hurt then Khabib [Nurmagomeodv] still fights for the undisputed lightweight championship. But if Tony Ferguson is the champ, then Khabib has to fight a regular fight. Now, I’m not trying to give myself a credit as a smart guy, but any manager in my position should think of that. ‘Oh, let’s make Tony Ferguson the champ and Khabib fight him,’ but what happens if Tony got hurt? Khabib’s going to be 30 – 0 with no belt? This is why regardless – if Tony got hurt or Khabib got hurt – it’s a belt on the line. Doesn’t matter. 100-percent [someone will fight for the title].  

Justin Golightly - February 17, 2018

.@RusHammerMMA on @TheNotoriousMMA: “There’s going to be a clear challenger decided April 7th, and that’s who Conor’s going to fight.” Full interview with @niallmcgrath4 on this week’s @talkingbrawls: https://t.co/yoiIESN5gH

Justin Golightly - February 16, 2018

If the fourth time is the charm, Khabib Nurmagoemdov and Tony Ferguson will finally fight in what is one of the most anticipated and high level fights in the world. There is another lightweight fight that everyone is talking about, which is Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier’s wild scrap at UFC Glendale. Nurmagomedov is adamant that he’ll be fighting for the real belt, and so is Poirier. He’s focused on taking out the former WSOF lightweight champion and testing himself against Nurmagomedov, who he predicts will be the true UFC lightweight champion. “I’m on the right track. I’ve just got to keep winning and winning solves everything. So, I’m going to come out here in two months and beat [Justin] Gaethje, and I feel like I might get a title shot. I feel like I should get a title shot with that win. I think they’re stripping Conor [McGregor] here, and they’re going to fight for the real belt. This sport is a crazy thing, and what happens, it’s unpredictable. But I think the winner of Tony Ferguson versus Khabib [Nurmagomedov] is going to be the real, undisputed UFC lightweight champion. Just the two styles, I think Khabib’s going to pressure him and be stronger and better on top, harder to submit. I mean, if Kevin Lee can take Ferguson down, Khabib is going to do the same.”

Justin Golightly - February 16, 2018

It’s hard to keep track of MMA with everything moving the speed of light, but chances are you were still confused on the UFC’s lightweight title scenario. Dana White seemed intentionally vague about the whole situation, even pissing off one-half of the UFC 223 title fight, Tony Ferguson. The other half of that highly anticipated fight Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t seem phased though. He just recently said his contract states that he’s fighting for the ‘real’ belt: Conor McGregor’s belt. “When is Conor [McGregor] compete last time in MMA? I forget about this. Long time. He’s a  boxing guy. He’s good to stay in boxing, because you have to compete in MMA, like wrestling, grappling, conditioning 25 minutes — it’s like different. It’s very hard to him. [They say he’s going to come back], but when? They talk about a [Floyd] Mayweather fight. I don’t think he gonna come back. We’re going to fight for [McGregor’s] belt.

Justin Golightly - February 14, 2018

What can be said about Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson’s upcoming fight that already hasn’t? This will be the fourth time these two have tried to meet inside the Octagon, so we’ve broke down this fight over and over again. The same can be said for the fighters. If the style match-up wasn’t already compelling, they’ve been preparing each other for years. His coach recently spoke up about Ferguson’s secluded training and used to think he’d submit Nurmagomedov, now he believes it will be a knockout. “[Conor] McGregor made about $60 million his last fight. He doesn’t favor fighting anyone for $5, $6, or $7 million. He never favored fighting Tony [Ferguson] because he’s too dangerous and now [that] Tony’s name finally blew up, he’s rich and lazy while Tony’s super hungry, so no way he was ever fighting Tony. Tony’s jab and his feet will keep McGregor at bay. When we choose to, we will close the gap with strong counters from different angles. Tony hits like a truck. It won’t last long. McGregor has no chance at all in that fight.”

Justin Golightly - January 30, 2018

If you’re still confused about the UFC’s lightweight title situation, you’re not the only one. Even Tony Ferguson is frustrated. Dana White was criticized for not being clear when he announced that Ferguson’s bout with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 would be for a title, but didn’t clarify which title would be on the line. What makes it more mysterious, is that Conor McGregor has yet to be stripped of his title. A lot of people had their own theories as to what is going on, but Eddie Alvarez recently tried his hand at it. “I saw another theory online and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s exactly what it is.’ What’s going on is, this fight [between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson] is 0 for 3. They’re not going to strip Conor [McGregor] of a belt and then have a vacant title for a fight that’s 0 for 3. They have not been able to make this fight. Every time they book it, they’re not able to make the fight – either Khabib gets hurt or Tony gets hurt or someone gets hurt.”

Tom Taylor - January 30, 2018

Al Iaquinta has finally worked out his pay gripes with the UFC – at least for the moment. He is set to return to the cage in a rescheduled bout with Paul Felder at UFC 223 on April 7. Al Iaquinta discussed his new contract on the latest episode of The MMA Hour.

Drake Riggs - January 29, 2018

“This is not Conor belt,” Nurmagomedov said in reference to his UFC 223 main event against Tony Ferguson. “This is not interim Tony Ferguson belt. This is undisputed belt. And after when we fight April 7, April 8, they’re gonna make it official. Who wins becomes real champ. Now, Tony Ferguson is still interim champion. And Conor McGregor, they call him champion, but he isn’t champ. Whoever wins is gonna become real champ.

Tom Taylor - January 29, 2018

On April 7, in the main event of UFC 223, UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov will battle for gold. Of course, there’s been some question as to whether they’ll be fighting for Ferguson’s interim belt, or the undisputed lightweight title, which would first have to be vacated by Conor McGregor… In a recent interview with TMZ, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz assured that this UFC 223 lightweight title fight will indeed be for the undisputed strap.

Justin Golightly - January 23, 2018

Two of the very best lightweights on the entire planet are once again scheduled to fight. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are squaring off and everyone is getting PTSDéjà vu. Try and put whatever is going on with the lightweight title out of your mind and just celebrate that a fight like this is on the books for this year and right around the corner at UFC 223. It’s still a couple of months away but Ferguson is already fired up about it and promises epic violence and slicing elbows in the Octagon. “They’ve wanted me to fight Khabib since the beginning man and I understand that. It’s just a bunch of hype and I try not to look too much into it and I let my fights do the talking, like I always have and I always continue. I think the most interesting point is that I think most people have forgotten that I can translate punches inside that Octagon. I don’t need a translator for that sh-t. I get hit for a certain reason. I want people to use their energy against me, but for b-tch Khabib, that b-tch is not going to touch me, not one time. I’m going to be dance circles around this kid. I will be hitting him with some nasty f-cking uppercuts and that’s going to make him think twice about shooting in on me. Then I’m going to hit him with some other things and cut him up.”

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2018

On April 7, interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov will battle for a lightweight title. Will it be the interim title currently owned by Ferguson, or the undisputed title currently owned by Conor McGregor? Dana White was incredibly unclear when asked about this at a press conference in Boston, refusing to say whether the UFC will strip McGregor of his undisputed title, but also assuring the winner of this Ferguson-Nurmagomedov fight will be the champion… Whatever the case, Khabib Nurmagomedov has some interesting ideas if he wins. For one, the undefeated grappler seems to be considering denying Conor McGregor a shot at the title upon his long-awaited return to MMA.

Justin Golightly - January 20, 2018

< After the UFC 223 press conference yesterday, a lot of people were confused. Dana White has since tried to clarify, but the UFC’s lightweight title picture is still murky. Conor McGregor hasn’t been stripped, yet Tony Ferguson‘s upcoming fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov is for the undisputed belt. Basically, the UFC is waiting until McGregor gives them the word on whether he’ll defend his belt this year, which will then determine if UFC 223’s main event will be for an interim or the real gold strap. None of it matters to Ferguson though, in his mind, he’s already the real champ and has been since UFC 216. “That is exactly right. I am the undisputed [lightweight] champion. Regardless if [Conor] McGregor comes back or not, we know it was just a big show. The big fight is with me, my fight [with Khabib Nurmagomedov], which is at hand. I’m going to put my 10 fight win record in a row up to 11. What sounds better than 10 in a row? 11. What sounds better than 13 and 1? 14 and 1. So, regardless of what the company does or whatever with the belts, I’m still the champ. I don’t care. That’s [the UFC’s] politics. My politics is this inside that Octagon. So, I have management that will handle the business and do all the other things so I can focus on what’s really important. And that’s Team Tiramisu.”

Justin Golightly - January 19, 2018

We are only an hour away from a press conference officially announcing Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fight with Tony Ferguson. As of right now, it’s for the interim UFC lightweight title, but there have been talks that it will eventually be for the undisputed title and that Conor McGregor will be stripped of his second title. His coach John Kavanagh —and we’re assuming the man himself — has shrugged this decision off, stating that he’ll have to be beaten in order for the UFC to crown a true champ. But being beaten is an easier said than done, even if McGregor steps into the Octagon again according to Kavanagh, who predicts a knockout if the Irishman collides with the Russian smashing machine. “I do think this is the immovable object and the unstoppable force. [Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor are] on a path to meet each other. I’m of course watching everything that he does. In his last fight, I just think when you’re facing somebody with the type of stopping power Conor has in his hands, if you stand very much upright and just kind of walk toward somebody to get a body lock, that’s a risky strategy. I find it hard to visualize anything else other than Conor knocking him out.

Russell Sai - January 18, 2018

At this moment, which fighter would you like to see matched up against Conor McGregor? Many say that UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson makes the most sense. Many others are still hot on the idea of a Nate Diaz trilogy. However, according to Dana White, there are a ton of people that are intrigued by a Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov scrap.

Justin Golightly - January 18, 2018

The entire week we’ve been tracking the news of what will decide the fate of the UFC lightweight title. Khabib Nurmagomedov is slated to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 223 in Brooklyn, supposedly for the undisputed belt. This is news to Conor McGregor and his camp, but despite the possibility of it happening, they don’t seem to be too phased by the idea at all. In a recent Facebook Live session, Straight Blast Gym coach John Kavanagh said it doesn’t matter who wins or what belt is on the line, McGregor is still the Champ Champ. “I’m hearing this [fight news] at the same time as everyone else. I see there is a press conference that will happen tomorrow. I think Tony [Ferguson] and Khabib [Nurmagomedov], or else just Khabib, is being interviewed about the fight that Dana [White] announced in April, which was news to me as well. Maybe they’re going to say it at that. Is it an interim title fight or is it a belt fight? I don’t know.”