Nurmagomedov: I am the #1 contender
Khabib Nurmagomedov: “I think it’s no good, I think I’m the No. 1 contender. I am undefeated, 6-0, 22-0. I want after the next fight to have a title shot.”
UFC lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov recently appeared on The MMA Hour, and made the case that he is the #1 contender for division champion Anthony Pettis’s title. Pettis next fights Gil Melendez at the conclusion of TUF 20.
“I think I am the No. 1 contender, after Gilbert Melendez,” said Nurmagomedov as trranscribed by Chuck Mindenhal for MMAFighting. “I know Melendez is a very good guy, he was the Strikeforce champion, the UFC gave him a shot. After he beat Diego Sanchez, and Diego Sanchez is not top 15… I think it’s no good, I think I’m the No. 1 contender. I am undefeated, 6-0 [UFC], 22-0 [overall]. I want after the next fight to have a title shot.”
“I think [Pettis] no want this fight. I am no good for his style. My pressure, my wrestling, my top control, it’s no good for him. He said he wants to fight Nate Diaz. Nate Diaz lose many times in the UFC, and I am undefeated. I am the next contender. But he’s not saying ‘Khabib is good, Khabib is undefeated, Khabib is 6-0,’ he’s not saying nothing. I think he no want this fight.”
“If Pettis wins, I think for me it’s very good. I want a fight with him, but Gilbert Melendez is very good guy too, very good fighter. Maybe he wins, too. I think 50/50. But I will fight versus Anthony Pettis.
“I think he knows my name, but I think he no respect for me, and next year he’ll know my name, 100 percent.”
Nurmagomedov is currently recovering from ACL surgery.
“Everyday I’m working my knee, I want to make it stronger,” he said. “My first problem now is my knee. After that, I go and get my belt.”
So what do you think UG? If Nurmagomedov isn’t the number one contender, who is?