Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is staging what he describes as a “big press conference” on Dec. 15 in Miami, Florida.
The 33 year-old “Eagle” plans to announce the stateside future of his own mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, Eagle Fighting Championship (Eagle FC), which to date, has operated primarily in Russia.
“The next show for Eagle FC is going to be in Moscow (on) Dec. 10,” Nurmagomedov told ESPN (transcribed by MMA Junkie). “It’s going to be a very big show – last show of this year. It’s going to be a very big fight card. … Next, it’s going to be in the U.S. in Miami end of January. It’s going to be a very big show. We’re going to have three, four big stars we already signed. I don’t want to announce (them) right now because Dec. 15, I’m going to have a big press conference in Miami. I’m going to come to Florida.”
So much for that WWE career.
Nurmagomedov announced Eagle FC — which currently airs on the UFC Fight Pass digital network — just a couple of weeks after his retirement from MMA. Why Nurmagomedov chose Miami as his breakthrough destination remains to be seen.
“2022 is going to be a very big year for Eagle FC,” Nurmagomedov continued. “We’re going to sign more than 50 fighters around the world – young fighters, former UFC and Bellator stars. We’re going to have big shows and some of them are going to be in Miami. If you want to become big in MMA, you have to be in the USA. For fighters, for promotions – you have to be in the U.S. If you’re not in the U.S., you can never become No. 1. It’s almost impossible. It’s my opinion if you want to be best, you have to be in the U.S.”
Expect more details on this transition during next month’s presser.