Khabib Nurmagomedov would make Conor McGregor work for his title shot.
Upon entering the UFC, Conor McGregor worked his way up the Featherweight rankings, eventually capturing the coveted title in spectacular fashion – a 13 second knockout of Jose Aldo. He then decided to jump up a weight class and immediately fight for the belt at Lightweight, but things didn’t go as planned. His initial opponent pulled out with an injury, and McGregor got choked out in the second round of a Welterweight fight against fellow Lightweight Nate Diaz. The rematch was also a serious struggle for McGregor, which he survived by the skin of his teeth. McGregor was given an immediate shot at the title, which he won, and sailed off into the sunset.
Now the two men, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Interim champion Tony Ferguson, who believe they are the best Lightweights in the world will fight for the Undisputed title at UFC 223 on April 7 in Brooklyn. Many have speculated as to what will happen when the dust settles and McGregor is faced with returning against one of these two, but Khabib, for his part, says he wont be eager to grant the Irishman a shot at his title. He told RT Sport,
“Inshallah, when I beat Tony Ferguson, I’m gonna make [McGregor] a little bit humble and he have to stay on the line. He have to stay on the line, because he only have one fight at 155. And he want to fight for the title? No, no way. When I become UFC lightweight champ, I’m gonna say, ‘Hey, who is real contender? Who has five, six, seven win streak?’ They have to fight for the title, not for you. We’ll see what happens. But I don’t think he’ll ever fight with me. I think they understand what’s gonna happen.”
Nurmagomedov, age 29, said he is focused on Tony Ferguson. Although “El Cucuy” is on an astonishing 9 fight win streak at Lightweight, Khabib is not intimidated by his skills.
“I don’t think he has better jiu-jitsu than me, better grappling. I think he’s unpredictable a little bit. He has very good knee, very good elbow. But I don’t think he ever fight with somebody like me, who have like pressure, top control, good everywhere. Strong.”
“When we go to the cage, when cage close, we’re gonna show this. Me and Tony Ferguson is different level.”
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