Khabib Nurmagomedov does a couple things well.
First, he’s a good fighter. You might say that. A 22-0 record at the age of 25 will earn you that status. So will convincing victories over fellow standouts like Rafael dos Anjos and Gleison Tibau.
Second, in a departure from most of his Dagestani Russian brethren, Nurm knows how to sling a soundbite. He proved that again Wednesday in comments that aired on the UFC Tonight program, via Shaun Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com.
It’s been a while since fans have heard from the ground-and-pound sensation. The last time his name was at the top of the headline heap, it was for bittersweet reasons.
Minutes after lighting up MMA Twitter with the announcement that Nurmagomedov would face Donald Cerrone in September, the UFC announced that Nurmagomedov had torn his meniscus and would not be able to compete after all.
Nurmagomedov underwent surgery a week later to repair the injury. On Wednesday he reported, via Al-Shatti, that he is looking toward a February return to cage competition.
He wasn’t shy about calling out some potential opponents, either, like current lightweight champion Anthony Pettis. Nurmagomedov said a fight against “Showtime” would be “easy money,” explaining that Pettis had “no good wrestling, no defense.”
“He does not know how to say my name,” Nurmagomedov reportedly said of Pettis, who regularly mispronounces Nurmagomedov‘s name, which is difficult to pronounce. “Next year, he will know how.”
For the record, it’s “nirm-uh-go-MAY-dov.”
Who want see mevs @Showtimepettis next year @danawhite @arielhelwani @lorenzofertitta @ufc @joerogan @AliAbdelaziz00 pic.twitter.com/aJ68ryquIS
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) September 11, 2014
Nurmagomedov also re-challenged his original opponent, noting that he would like to “smash” Cerrone if given the chance.
The super-prospect added that he personally views himself as the No. 1 contender to the belt, by virtue of his win over dos Anjos, who beat Cerrone in 2013 and just knocked out recent ex-champ Benson Henderson in August.
Despite that belief, however, it’s hard not to think the next shot would go to the winner between Cerrone and new UFC addition Eddie Alvarez, who fight at UFC 178, the late-September card that originally featured Cerrone vs. Nurmagomedov. If you’re Nurmagomedov, that’s got to sting.
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