Khabib Nurmagomedov seeks to shed weight of ill-fated UFC title bout
Top UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov has obliterated every opponent he has faced in his mixed martial arts career — with the exception of the scale.
The undefeated standout had faced ribbing about his failure to make weight for a fight in 2013 and several close calls since. But there was nothing funny about his failed cut for a scheduled interim title fight in March against Tony Ferguson.
Nurmagomedov fell ill hours before weigh-ins and was hospitalized, prompting a cancellation.
The Dagestan native, 29, who trains in San Jose, California, was devastated.
“It took a couple months (to get over it),” he said Thursday at T-Mobile Arena before his UFC 219 return bout against Edson Barboza. “The days were very hard for me. I was supposed to fight for the title, which was a dream of my life and just before weigh-ins I go to the hospital.
“But all we can do is keep going. I stayed focused.”
The bout is part of a pay-per-view card headlined by a women’s featherweight title bout between champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino and former champ Holly Holm.
Nurmagomedov, who has won all 24 of his professional fights — including eight since joining the UFC in 2012 — has a chance to jump right back in the mix with a win on Saturday in the same venue where his title bout had been scheduled.
He said he is feeling much better about the weight cut this time around and isn’t concerned at all about hitting the mark on Friday morning. Nurmagomedov managed his weight more closely in training camp and arrived in Las Vegas lighter than he had for the fight in March.
In fact, he says it has gone so well that he may even drop to 145 pounds later this year.
He has plenty of business to take care of first at lightweight, where he considers himself the best fighter in the world.
“If you don’t believe this, why would you compete in this sport,” he said of a view shared by many of the sport’s analysts. “I do believe it. You can’t compete in this sport if you don’t. If you have any doubt, someone will knock you out or choke you out. I absolutely believe in myself.”
Despite the accolades and gaudy record, he must prove himself in the cage and at the weigh-ins if he wants the opportunity to compete for the belt.
“The UFC told me if I want to fight for the title now I have to earn it,” he said. “I agree with that. I told them, ‘Please give me the toughest opponent you can.’ When they told me Edson Barboza, I just said, ‘Let’s go.’ He’s one of the best strikers in MMA today. He’s definitely one of the top guys in the division. People think he can beat me. That’s why I love this fight.”
Should everything go according to plan this weekend, there is little for Nurmagomedov to do besides fight for a belt whether it be Ferguson’s interim title or a matchup with Conor McGregor.
Nurmagomedov says he would prefer Ferguson.
“We have to finish this,” he said. “When I got sick and went to the hospital, almost (dying) for my dream, this (expletive) guy talked too much about it.
“I will fight him and break his face and his arm. I don’t think any referee can stop (it from happening).”
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.
