Khabib Nurmagomedov is a busy man, given all of his bear wrestling, but he found the time to take in UFC 181 on Saturday—and he had some choice words for the lightweight champ Anthony Pettis.
Following the event—at the UFC 181 media conference—Nurmagomedov got his hands on a microphone and had words with the champ. What, precisely, was said is unclear, but Pettis indicated a willingness to fight the undefeated Russian.
Nurmagomedov spent a good portion of this weekend angling for a title fight. Following the press conference, he flatly said that Pettis was “scared” to fight him in an interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani. To Nurmagomedov‘s credit, he has maintained a steady presence in the news during a lengthy injury layoff—largely by calling out Pettis.
Speaking with the MMA Hour in September, Nurmagomedov said, “I think he [doesn’t] want this fight. I am no good for his style. My pressure, my wrestling, my top control, it’s no good for him.”
It is worth noting that Nurmagomedov does, indeed, have a strong claim to a lightweight title shot. The young man from Dagestan has effortlessly amassed a 6-0 record in the UFC, most recently dominating Rafael dos Anjos in April.
Unfortunately, while he was briefly linked to a fight with Donald Cerrone in September at UFC 178, he was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury that has kept him out of the cage since. Also unfortunately, multiple contenders have climbed into a similarly strong position—including a resurgent dos Anjos and Cerrone, as well as fellow surging youngster Myles Jury.
Still, a title fight for Nurmagomedov is certainly possible, and his timing couldn’t be better as he eyes a February 2015 return. Watch for more details to emerge regarding his title hopes in the coming weeks.
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