Undefeated UFC lightweight prospect Khabib Nurmagomedov was waiting for Dana White in the car park after UFC 219. ‘The Eagle’ reveals exactly what he told the UFC president after his dominant win…
Scoring his 25th consecutive win, and his ninth in the UFC, Khabib Nurmagomedov was rampant at UFC 219. Taking Edson Barboza down at will, ‘The Eagle’ inflicted 15 minutes of gruelling punishment on his helpless foe.
Talk immediately turned to Nurmagomedov’s place in the lightweight title picture. With Conor McGregor ‘s return date still uncertain, Khabib’s win at UFC 219 didn’t make things any simpler.
Does the promotion re-book Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson for the interim belt? Surely the meaning of the interim belt is to have the junior champion fight next against McGregor. We saw a similar situation at middleweight recently.
Although it was the champion Michael Bisping who fought Georges St-Pierre, interim boss Robert Whittaker was later promoted to full champ when GSP vacated his second UFC title.
Who’s Next?
Nurmagomedov spoke about Tony Ferguson after UFC 219, saying he felt ‘El Cucuy’ was actually the real champion. Despite McGregor’s notoriety and the paycheck that comes with it, ‘The Eagle’ says he would rather fight for his legacy than cash.
After his dominant performance at UFC 219, Khabib waited on the bonnet of Dana White’s BMW in the parking lot. Here’s what he said, courtesy of TMZ Sports:
“I told him, ‘Today when I (sic) fight, my son is born.’ I tell him, ‘You remember one year ago, all MMA fans waiting for Conor’s son. But I’m here for my fans, for my legacy, for my history, my everything. I need real fight. Tony (Ferguson) or Conor (McGregor), it doesn’t matter. Please give me both.’”
“He said, ‘You deserve everything you want’,” Nurmagomedov added. “And he told me performance of the night (bonus) is yours.’”
“I don’t think about these two b*****t guys,” Nurmagomedov told UFC commentator Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview. “I think about only me.”
“Next fight? If the UFC tell me, ‘What do you want?’ I’m going to say Tony Ferguson.
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“Because he has ten win streak in lightweight division. I’m undefeated all my career. Tony Ferguson.”
“After the 1st round, I tell him ‘Hey Dana, you wanna talk with me?’ and he says, “Yes let’s go’ and I think ‘let’s do this 1 more round like this and after I want to say to him something’. After 2nd round, I tell him, “What do you think about performance?” and he say, “I’m sure you’re going to take this”.
“Everybody forgets about (Conor) because he doesn’t want real fights. He fights with only 45-year-old Floyd Mayweather or marijuana guy (Nate Diaz) who lose 10 times in UFC, Nate Diaz. This is crazy, he has to defend his belt!”
“Zero. I don’t need money, I need only real fights, fight for the title, I don’t fight for the money, I fight for my legacy, I fight for history, I fight for my people.”
” I need Tony and Conor on the same night.”
