On October 22nd, Charles Oliveira will step back into the Octagon, taking on Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege Islam Makhachev to crown a new UFC lightweight champion.
With 10 straight wins, Makhachev walks into the bout as the No. 4 ranked lightweight, but he will face the toughest test of his mixed martial arts career as he meets the man many still recognize as the true lightweight champion. Guiding Makhachev in his training for a showdown with ‘Do Bronx’ is none other than UFC Hall of Famer, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The former UFC lightweight champion discussed his protege’s mental and physical state going into the biggest fight of his career in an interview clip shared by UFC Europe on Twitter.
“Islam (Makhachev) is at his peak right now. He’s not 26, 27, or 23. He’s 30. A week after the fight he’ll be 31. It’s the best time for any athlete. It’s a time when your mental and physical states should be in synergy. Sometimes your mental state is high, but your physical state is going down. Or when you’re 27 and at your physical peak, but your mental state is lower because you’re just 27, not 31.
“I think Islam is better than [Charles] overall. Of course, there are some potential dangers that we’re working on. Dangers where Islam needs to be careful. Other than that, Islam should roll over him. It’s my opinion. Somebody might not like it, but again, I’m just stating my opinion. People say that’s disrespect, but I see no disrespect here. On October 22nd, we want to go through him.”
"Islam should roll over him!" – Khabib gives his prediction for our #UFC280 main event! Full interview
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) October 12, 2022
Khabib Nurmagomedov Says Tony Ferguson’s ‘Time Is Up’
While Khabib Nurmagomedov has kept busy preparing Islam Makhachaev for his long-awaited UFC title opportunity, the undefeated icon still finds time to talk about division rival Tony Ferguson.
Despite the fact that the two stars never faced each other inside the Octagon, both have spent what feels like a lifetime taking shots at one another in interviews and on social media. Khabib has once again spoken out about ‘El Cucuy‘ and his recent struggles inside the Octagon.
“His time is up, and there’s no way to get it back,” Nurmagomedov said. “Not Khabib, not Tony, nobody. We had our time, and it passed. He continues to fight. He needs money. You have to pay your bills in the U.S., and I’m sure that since he’s a Californian, I know all the Californian fighters – everything he earned, take half of that. I think he keeps fighting for money to pay bills, taxes. He has a family, I think he has two kids. I don’t blame him, but you can’t get back time. When your time goes away it doesn’t ask your name.”
Tony Ferguson is currently riding a five-fight losing streak, though, to his credit, those losses have come against some of the absolute best fighters in the world including Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Michael Chandler. Most recently, ‘El Cucuy’ suffered a fourth-round submission loss to Nate Diaz in the UFC 279 main event on September 10th.