Getting someone to sign on the dotted line to face Khabib Nurmagomedov inside the Octagon seems to be an issue for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) matchmakers, according to this.
Michael Johnson, however, isn’t “scared” to mix it up with one of the most dominant lightweights on the roster, as he personally called for a fight against “The Eagle,” which is set to go down at UFC 205 on Nov. 12, 2016 in New York City. It’s all a part of Johnson’s plan to leapfrog everyone in front of him in the title race.
He broke it down to MMA Junkie:
“It’s a big fight, and it seems like they can never get anybody to fight him. And they’ve built so much hype around him and they think everybody’s scared to fight him. So I’ve just been training, taking out my opponents on my way to get to the title. I have to go through him, so let’s get this fight out of the way. I wanted to fight him earlier, and now I’m getting my chance.”
Khabib’s rise to fame and dominance inside the eight-walled cage is in large part to his outstanding wrestling skills. While Michael appreciates and respects his specialty, he knows Khabib can get a bit sloppy with his technique.
“He’s got to get a hold of me. He’s got to get a hold of me to grab me and that’s one thing I have been working on is my movement. That last few years I have been progressing in it and now it seems we’ve gotten close to perfecting it; not so much yet, but you know were trying to get there. I’ve been fighting wrestlers my whole career. They have been putting me against wrestlers day in and day out. They’ve been putting me in with wrestlers. I think he’s sloppy but I think he’s great. He’s great at what he does and he’s definitely the best guy by far I’ve fought yet.”
The Johnson vs. Nurmagomedov matchup came to be after the “freak show” that is UFC decided to award Conor McGregor the lightweight title fight against Eddie Alvarez instead of “The Eagle.”
Johnson is fresh of a first-round knockout of Dustin Poirier (see it here), his first win in over a year. Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, has been on a roll his entire career, currently enjoying a 22-fight win streak including seven straight victories inside the Octagon.
Will “The Menace” be the one to ruin his mint mark?