Khabib Nurmagomedov’s record may be spotless, but UFC 209 has left an indelible mark on his resume.
Khabib Nurmagomedov went from a hero to a villain in a lot of fans’ eyes after his botched weight cut resulted in one of the most intriguing fights ever falling through.
The Dagestani was set to fight Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight strap in UFC 209’s co-main event, but he was hospitalised the morning of the weigh-ins due to weight cut-related issues. With no time left to find a replacement, the fight was scrapped entirely with Ferguson eventually winning the strap by finishing Kevin Lee seven numbered cards later.
Nurmagomedov has since been booked to fight Edson Barboza in the UFC’s end of year card. Understandably, there were a lot of concerns about Nurmagomedov’s weight ahead of the bout. Fans didn’t want to get excited about another high-profile fight only to be disappointed by another pull-out.
The initial word that was put out from his camp was positive. MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported that he was lighter than usual six weeks out from the event.
44 days before UFC 219, @TeamKhabib weighs in the 170s, his team tells me. Usually at this point he weighs around 188, they said.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 16, 2017
However, Josh Thomson, the co-captain of Khabib’s team, AKA, told Brendan Schaub a very different story. He revealed on the Big Brown Breakdown that Khabib was actually in the mid 190s around the time of Helwani’s tweet and has yet to drop below 182 lbs.
“Who cuts a ton of weight at 155? Khabib! Khabib cuts a shitload of weight. 195 three weeks ago, 191 when he showed up in camp. Now he’s down to 182, 183… (On fight night he’s) probably 185-182, somewhere around there.”
It’s difficult to know where the mind games end and the truth begins.
