25 consecutive wins later, Khabib Nurmagomedov is still without a UFC belt.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is in a weird spot. He’s beaten everyone the UFC has thrown at him in its most populated division. However, it is unknown when, where, who or even if he will fight for a strap.
There are two 155 lb champions in the UFC. No one knows what the story is with Conor McGregor and everyone expects interim king Tony Ferguson to wait for either a unification bout or to be promoted to undisputed champion. Nurmagomedov proposed a novelty solution to the uncertainty after destroying Edson Barboza at UFC 219.
“Tony or Conor, don’t matter. Maybe they’re … maybe if the UFC approves, I can fight with these guys in the same night. I swear, no joke.”
“Maybe I have to stay humble, but tonight, I have to smash these guys and get these guys back, because these guys talk too much when I’m injured. Now, where are these guys?”
25-0 #UFC219 https://t.co/LUHDhMToBs
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 31, 2017
In his eyes, it’s not that much of a stretch. After all, he claims he would have been fresh enough to take another fight on the same night as beating one of the best strikers in the division. Not that he recognises McGregor’s belt anyway.
“Conor needs to deserve this (fight with me) because the real belt is 25-0. This is real belt. Others are all fake belts. To be honest, I think Tony Ferguson has the real belt. Conor only has one fight at 155 lb in UFC and he’s a champion. He beat old Eddie Alvarez.”
“He’s a good fighter, but he’s not the champion. He’s a good fighter, but I think a lot of people can beat him at 155. This is my opinion. He has good boxing, good timing, but he doesn’t have wrestling, he doesn’t have grappling, he doesn’t have conditioning, but he has real belt because the UFC wants this. He comes to lightweight, fights one time and becomes world champion. This is a little bit crazy, I think.”
What. A. Performance!
Khabib moves to 25-0 and 9-0 in the UFC 👊 pic.twitter.com/la3GamCfbj
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) December 31, 2017
That being said, ‘the Eagle’ doesn’t want to discuss another fighter on the night of his first fight in 15 months. He shot down one journalist’s question about McGregor’s interest levels in the challenge he presents before proclaiming that he just wants to enjoy his success.
“To be honest, I don’t think about Conor. He has to come back and defend his belt. I want to enjoy my victory tonight.”
The celebrations may last for one night only. His final contribution to the press conference was a warning to the rest of the roster. Watch this space because 2018 will be a big year for Nurmagomedov, he vowed.
