When Khabib Nurmagomedov extends his arm to offer a handshake, the urge to sully one’s britches with the brown loaf of trepidation must be mighty intense.
A 24-0 record shouldn’t be a thing in MMA, particularly when a third of those triumphs come at the highest level in the sport. For elite lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov, having a pristine professional record is a reality.
He’s choked, cranked, suplexed and ground and pounded his way to an interim title shot at the tender age of 28. Had it not been for his rotten luck with injuries, the Dagestani may very well have already felt that coveted golden strap wrapped around his waist by now.
However, his rise to the summit took a little longer than he would have liked and in order to secure that title, he must defeat arguably the toughest test in the entire division – the improvisational wonder who’ll make your head coach tear up his gameplan in frustration, Tony Ferguson.
“If you really want to be in the shark tank, I'm the only hammerhead in this fucking division” #UFC https://t.co/V68SkSP87W
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) October 7, 2016
El Cucuy’s free-form jazz style is a nightmare for most opponents. So far Michael Johnson has been the only UFC fighter to defeat him inside the Octagon, but that happened in 2012.
Since that loss, Ferguson has gone on to rack up nine-straight wins in the most populated weight class, a streak which culminated in a stunning outclassing of former champion Rafael dos Anjos over five rounds.
The X-factor The Eagle brings to the table for their interim title clash at UFC 209 is his grappling prowess. Ferguson has never faced an opponent on the Russian’s level. Although Ferguson will be hoping a one-way ticket to D’arce city may be the perfect counter attack for the takedown, Nurmagomedov expects to completely dominate this area of the fight, as he told Fox Sports.
“He has to change something. Because he has to work takedown defense, he has to work to get up, he has to work to defend my ground and pound. He never had to do this — now he has to do this. Because if you don’t do this, I’m going to break his face, finish him maybe a kimura, break his arm so he has to stay ready.”
Compassionate combatant https://t.co/l2BBemxugS
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 14, 2016
Nurmagomedov is no fool either. He’s perfectly aware that there’s a reason why Ferguson is in the position he’s in. He’s not like the other strikers. He’s a Miles Davis in a sea of Coldplays. And because of that fact, Nurmagomedov wants to punish him by breaking things on his body.
Starting with his face.
“If you watch when I fight dos Anjos, Michael Johnson, Darrel Horcher, these guys are my opponents but he’s a little bit different than other guys. I want to break his face because I want to teach him respect.
In his last trip to the Octagon at UFC 205, he pilfered Michael Johnson’s soul with his energy-draining dominance on the ground. He eventually submitted the explosive striker with a kimura in the third round. He was talking to his opponent the whole way through the submission, telling him to give up so that he wouldn’t have to break his arm.
“When I fought with Michael Johnson, when I took his arm for the kimura, I can break it but I go very slowly, be careful because I don’t want to give him injury. Because I understand (the) fight was finished. I need only to go a little bit slowly and he tapped.”
He’s promised not to show the same courtesy to Ferguson. If he gets him in that same position, expect a lot of wincing.
“If Tony Ferguson gives me this arm, I’m going to break his arm like Frank Mir-(Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira.”
UFC 209 goes down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 4. A welterweight title fight rematch between Tyron Woodley and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson will headline while Ferguson and Nurmagomedov will provide the supporting act.
