Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has confirmed he’ll be ready to fight again in July.
Nurmagomedov hasn’t fought since submitting Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in September 2019. The undefeated champion was supposed to face Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18 but was forced off the card due to travel issues before the event was eventually postponed.
The Russian is currently observing Ramadan and has previously stressed the importance of not overtraining or fighting during the holy month. Speaking to his followers on social media Nurmagomedov said he’ll be ready to return to fighting in July.
“I can fight anytime,” Nurmagomedov wrote. “Ramadan finishes May 23. [In July], I’m gonna be ready. Stop talking about me. This is coronatime; when Khabibtime comes, I [will] smash all of them.”
It’s almost Khabibtime
pic.twitter.com/6RNv0a9yiX
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 6, 2020
The comment appears to be in response to Ferguson who went after Khabib in the UFC 249 pre-fight media conference call. ‘El Cucuy’ claimed he was the real lightweight champion and advised the Russian to retire from the sport, he said.
“F*ck Khabib I wanna be real. Sorry for cutting you off Justin but I wanna say f*ck Khabib. I’m defending my belt for the third time. This is for the real belt, this is not for an interim title. This is for the real championship shit, it’s champ shit only buddy.”
“Khabib’s a b*tch I’m going to be real. Him and McNuggets they both need to f*cking retire. The only two real men out there right now is me and Justin Gaethje. America mottherf*ckers!”
Ferguson and Gaethje will square off for the interim lightweight title at UFC 249 this weekend. The winner will almost certainly be next in line for a shot at Nurmagomedov and it could come sooner than expected if the champions latest comments are to be believed.
Do you think Khabib Nurmagomedov will fight in July?