Tag: Khabib Nurmagomedov

Kevin Lee Changes Tune On Khabib Nurmagomedov Assessment After UFC 242

Kevin Lee has been gunning for a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov for quite some time. Lee has struggled inside the Octagon as of late, and after a failed bid at welterweight, will drop back down to 155 pounds for UFC 244 in November. Currently, Nurmagomedov runs the lightweight division, sitting atop the 155-pound mountain as […]

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Kevin Lee has been gunning for a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov for quite some time. Lee has struggled inside the Octagon as of late, and after a failed bid at welterweight, will drop back down to 155 pounds for UFC 244 in November.

Currently, Nurmagomedov runs the lightweight division, sitting atop the 155-pound mountain as champion. He comes off of a successful title defense over Dustin Poirier via third-round submission at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi. Before that fight, Lee would’ve said he was 90 percent sure former interim champion Tony Ferguson would beat “The Eagle.”

But now, after seeing how the Russian handled Poirier, Lee tells MMA Junkie he has changed his tune.

“I got to be honest: If you asked me before the Poirier fight, I would have been like Tony (Ferguson) is still like a 90 percent chance of winning,” Lee said. “After seeing what Khabib did to Poirier, I think it’s going to be very hard for Tony to beat him.”

Currently, Ferguson has aligned himself as the undisputed next logical challenger for Nurmagomedov at this point. Lee agrees that the MMA community doesn’t want to see the Russian champion fight anybody else other than Ferguson. However, that’s the very reason he’s motivated to drop back down to lightweight and get people excited about a fight between himself and Nurmagomedov.

“After the Tony fight, there’s not many more competitors that people want to see fight him. That’s one of the big motivations for me to go down 155,” said Lee. “I think that a lot of people want to see me get in there with Khabib, and I want to see it too.”

Going back to Nurmagomedov’s victory over Poirier, Lee was extremely impressed with the Abu Dhabi performance. And people know he’s not easily impressed.

“I’m not going to lie: It was very, very impressive, and the people know I don’t get impressed very easily, especially with a guy like Khabib, but that one is very impressive,” Lee said. “One of those fights that got me up even, it made me step my game up. Literally, as soon as that fight was over, I got in my car and started driving to Montreal. I know what type of work I got to put in now.”

What do you think about Lee’s comments on Nurmagomedov after his win over Poirier?

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Firas Zahabi Feels ‘Ship Has Sailed’ On Khabib vs. GSP At Lightweight

Head coach at Tristar Gym, Firas Zahabi, believes that the chances of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre at 155 pounds have fizzled out. St-Pierre has expressed interest in fighting UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov. St-Pierre was adamant ab…

Head coach at Tristar Gym, Firas Zahabi, believes that the chances of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Georges St-Pierre at 155 pounds have fizzled out. St-Pierre has expressed interest in fighting UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov. St-Pierre was adamant about being able to cut the weight and even appeared to look slimmer in more recent photos. Unfortunately for […]

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Firas Zahabi: The Only ‘Real Contender’ For Khabib Is Tony Ferguson

Renowned coach Firas Zahabi believes Khabib Nurmagomedov may be unstoppable at lightweight, but he won’t brush off Tony Ferguson’s chances. Many agree that Ferguson should be next in line for a shot at Nurmagomedov’s UFC lightweight g…

Renowned coach Firas Zahabi believes Khabib Nurmagomedov may be unstoppable at lightweight, but he won’t brush off Tony Ferguson’s chances. Many agree that Ferguson should be next in line for a shot at Nurmagomedov’s UFC lightweight gold. It’s a fight the UFC tried to book several times, but never came to fruition. Still, Ferguson hasn’t […]

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Justin Gaethje Believes Folkstyle Wrestling Is Key To Beating Khabib Nurmagomedov

Justin Gaethje called for the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson assuming that fight happens next. If Khabib Nurmagomedov does win that fight, Gaethje is confident in his skills that he would be the one to dethrone the Russian champ. He sa…

Justin Gaethje called for the winner of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson assuming that fight happens next. If Khabib Nurmagomedov does win that fight, Gaethje is confident in his skills that he would be the one to dethrone the Russian champ. He says his style of fight, will force Nurmagomedov to stand and trade with […]

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Justin Gaethje Explains Why He’d Be Successful Against Khabib Nurmagomedov

Justin Gaethje has solidified himself as a favorite to receive a shot at the UFC lightweight championship soon. “The Highlight” comes off of a first-round finish over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Now, Gaethje is looking for a fight against either Conor McGregor or current 155-pound titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov. The latter is being viewed as one of […]

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Justin Gaethje has solidified himself as a favorite to receive a shot at the UFC lightweight championship soon. “The Highlight” comes off of a first-round finish over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Now, Gaethje is looking for a fight against either Conor McGregor or current 155-pound titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov. The latter is being viewed as one of the most dominant champions mixed martial arts (MMA) has ever seen. Nurmagomedov’s grappling ability is unprecedented, and through 28 professional fights, nobody has ever been able to find an answer to the problems “The Eagle” brings to the table.

Speaking to MMA Junkie, Gaethje offered his thoughts on a potential matchup with the Russian phenom. Gaethje noted that there would be no fighting up against the cage in a fight with Nurmagomedov. He’d force the champion to meet him in the center of the Octagon.

“No, it will not be the same,” Gaethje said. “Nothing will happen on the cage. We will fight in the center of the octagon. As much as he’s going to want to fight on the edge of the octagon, we’re going to fight in the center. I’m going to throw massive shots, most of them are going to come right through the middle, and I’m going to take chances, throw knees, and if he takes me down that’s fine.”

If anyone has the experience to hang with Nurmagomedov and his dominant wrestling ability, it’s an NCAA Division 1 All-American wrestler in Gaethje. Gaethje explained how his folkstyle of wrestling will be a huge benefit to him inside the Octagon against Nurmagomedov.

“The thing about folkstyle wrestling, folkstyle wrestling doesn’t happen anywhere else other than the United States,” Gaethje said. “I only wrestle folkstyle. I very rarely wrestle freestyle. In folkstyle, I think the biggest factor is, you’re allowed to expose your back without giving up points, which means you scramble. So whenever he goes to take me down, I’m going to be flipping and rolling in ways that he’s never felt in his life. That’s folkstyle wrestling, being able to expose your back.

“What he’s done his whole life, these guys could never expose their backs to get out of a takedown because they were giving up points, and that’s the first thing you learn in freestyle is don’t expose your back. So you go straight to your stomach, and you give up a takedown. They also never have to get up. They just lay there for 15 seconds, then they stand them up automatically. In folkstyle wrestling, you get rewarded for getting up and escaping.”

What do you think of Gaethje’s chances against Nurmagomedov in a potential fight?

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Dustin Poirier’s Auction Of Khabib Nurmagomedov Shirt Nets $60,000

Dustin Poirier continues to net big earnings for The Good Fight foundation. Poirier suffered a third-round submission defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 earlier this month. After the fight, the pair exchanged shirts with Nurmagomedov revealing he would auction Poirier’s shirt on his own, with the proceeds going to The Good Fight foundation. “The […]

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Dustin Poirier continues to net big earnings for The Good Fight foundation.

Poirier suffered a third-round submission defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242 earlier this month.

After the fight, the pair exchanged shirts with Nurmagomedov revealing he would auction Poirier’s shirt on his own, with the proceeds going to The Good Fight foundation. “The Eagle” managed to auction off Poirier’s shirt for $100,000 in the end.

“It’s great because it’s going to help a lot of people,” Poirier said at the time. “I’m proud of that. I appreciate them helping out the charity. It’s been growing and I’m very grateful for that.”

And now, “The Diamond” has earned $60,000 after auctioning Nurmagomedov’s shirt on eBay. With UFC president Dana White offering to match whatever Nurmagomedov made, The Good Fight foundation has more than exceeded its initial goal of $25,000.

According to Poirier, all of these funds will go into helping build water wells to repair a ruined water supply at an orphanage and school in Uganda.

And so, while there was disappointment in not winning the undisputed UFC lightweight title, Poirier can take consolation from all the help he’s provided for his foundation. And he has no plans on stopping fighting anytime soon either.

What do you think of the gesture?

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