Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion continues to take off, but it won’t include women’s divisions.
Nurmagomedov is in the middle of promoting the upcoming Eagle FC event that is scheduled to take place in Miami, FL on Jan 28. The event will be headlined by kickboxing legend Tyrone Spong against former Bellator heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov.
To the surprise of many, Eagle FC will not feature any women’s divisions, at least in the immediate future. During a recent press conference, Nurmagomedov explained why his promotion won’t include female weight divisions.
“I am like, we can watch what Julianna Pena did with Amanda Nunes [at UFC 269],” Nurmagomedov said. “But Julianna Pena, she’s not like greatness or something like that. She just beat Amanda Nunes like [on the day]. We can watch and not many good [female] fighters all around the world. There are only like five or six of them. And so we will wait and see.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov Has Intentions To Sign Big-Name MMA Fighters
Nurmagomedov’s comments come just days after he announced the signing of former UFC interim lightweight title challenger Kevin Lee. He has teased plans to bring other top MMA talent to his promotion.
Nurmagomedov retired from the UFC last year following his latest title defense against Justin Gaethje. He then vacated the belt, a title in which Charles Oliveira would go on to earn earlier this year.
Nurmagomedov is still a prominent presence in MMA, serving as a coach to up-and-coming Dagestan prospects such as Islam Makhachev. He’s also been spotted in various fighters’ corners over the past years.
It’s unclear if Nurmagomedov and Eagle FC have any potential future plans to bring women’s divisions to their events, but as of right now it sounds like that idea isn’t in the cards.
What are your thoughts on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s comments?