Top UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov appeared recently on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour and discussed truth talk. What you might call trash talk, ‘The Eagle’ has a different term for.

I call this ‘truth talk,’ said the fighter, as transcribed by Dave Doyle for MMA Fighting. Khabib ‘True Talk’ Nurmagomedov is truth talking.

During his last fight, vs. Michael Johnson at UFC 205, Nurmagomedov carried on a dialogue with both his opponent and UFC president Dana White who was seated Octagonside. Nurmagomedov was not impressed that he had been led to believe that he would be fighting Eddie Alvarez for the title, and it went to Conor McGregor instead.

I talk about don’t give me this bulls*** contract no more and give me [McGregor], I’m going to fight your boy, revealed Nurmagomedov. I talk with him what I think. But it’s okay. I’ll talk with you, with somebody, where you think it’s okay. It’s not trash talking.

I say hey, I’m going to smash your boy. After the second round he say ‘hey, finish this guy, finish this fight.’ I say this fight is already finished. You have to give me this real fight, you have to give me my title shot. Dana look at me like, ‘This guy’s crazy.’

Nurmagomedov talked with his opponent as well.

I talk with Michael Johnson because I respect Michael Johnson and I don’t want to hurt him,” said Nurmagomedov. “I talk about hey you have to give up, and I don’t want to smash your face, and when [I went for the Kimura], I go very slowly. I’m very careful because I don’t want to break his arm like Nogueira-Mir, and I go very slowly and he taps.