He may be getting impatient but it may benefit Khabib Nurmagomedov to hold out until after the summer to fight.
It seems that Nurmagomedov will now officially go two years without competing as the UFC will struggle to find a replacement on ten days’ notice for the UFC on Fox 19 card after Tony Ferguson pulled out from the main event on Tuesday night.
A number of fighters have thrown their hats in the ring to replace ‘El Cucuy’ but if Nurmagomedov can hold off on the anxiety to get back in there as soon as possible, he might just have a title fight on the horizon.
Reigning lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos has offered Nurmagomedov a bout on this summer’s monstrous UFC 200 card, citing ‘unfinished business’ as the reason.
Sorry to hear Ferguson is out. @TeamKhabib We have some unfinished business, I'll be ready in July @danawhite @lorenzofertitta #Jesusfirst
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) April 6, 2016
Dos Anjos is referring to the fact that Nurmagomedov beat him in the Russian’s last UFC bout, in April 2014, and the title holder wants to eliminate all doubt as to who the undisputed champion truly is.
Due to his perfect professional record of 22-0, many see Nurmagomedov as the champion-to-be at 155 lbs and with no fight on the horizon for dos Anjos, one would struggle to argue that the rematch does not make sense.
@RdosAnjosMMA I believe it was clear to everyone last time. Or "Fake champ" title still torturing you? pic.twitter.com/Xex1N5evba
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) April 6, 2016
But the possibility of the rematch taking place at UFC 200 seems unlikely due to the fact that Nurmagomedov is a practising Mulim and he will be unable to prepare for the July 9 card through Ramadan which, this year, takes place between June 6 and July 5.
Nurmagomedov told riakchr.ru: “I could not take part in the anniversary tournament. When the UFC asked me, I realized it was that June UFC 200 is between Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. We will probably watch it on TV.
“So the first fight in April, and after Ramadan, we will have the second fight.”
