Nurmagomedov: I’m the real cowboy
Khabib Nurmagomedov: “Cowboy is fake. I don’t think so he’s really cowboy, I think he’s fake. He all the time drink, drunk. I don’t think so he’s really cowboy.”
At the UFC 185 pre weigh-in fan Q&A, top UFC lightweight contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone conceded that fellow top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov was starting to irritate him.
Appearing on Ariel Helwani‘s The MMA Hour, Khabib was amused.
“It’s just funny,” said Nurmagomedov as transcribed by Shaun Al-Shatti for MMAFighting.com. “Cowboy is fake. I don’t think so he’s really cowboy, I think he’s fake. He all the time drink, drunk. I don’t think so he’s really cowboy. I’m really cowboy. I’m mountain guy. I’m training camp all my life, I’m wrestling with the bears. I’m really cowboy. He’s drunk guy. I am Dagestan cowboy, 100-percent.
“You know why he’s a little bit nervous? Because I say truth. I say truth. I no say trash talk, I say truth, and he’s a little bit nervous. He needs wrestling, he needs wrestling partners. But it’s okay. After two months we have fight, we have crazy fight, and when cage close, he understand, ‘Wow, this guy’s crazy. Why I take this fight? Why I take this fight?’ Because I want to smash this guy. He say I won’t smash this guy? [He say,] ‘I kick his ass.’ Okay. 23rd, May. 23rd, May.”
“I do what I want. I feel I am number-one now. I feel I am number-one. Twenty-six years old and I am young, I am hungry and I do what I want. When cage close, Cowboy, you need fly. And you fly 100-percent.”
“I think I take this fight easy. Like dos Anjos, same fight. Maybe I second or third round I finish him. Maybe I give him kimura. This is my plan. If Cowboy listening, please, Cowboy need training different for kimura. He need different. This is no joke. After fight we talk about this.
“Yesterday I read he say, he better than Ronda Rousey grappling-wise. But I think Ronda Rousey can beat Cowboy because Cowboy’s wrestling definitely is zero. Maybe she take him down 10 times and he’s done. But yesterday I read this. He say, ‘I grapple with Ronda Rousey.’ I think maybe seven or 10 times she take him down and he’s done, because Cowboy no like takedowns. He’s scared. He not like scared takedowns and he needs go kickboxing. But in MMA, this is very dangerous for him because you have fight with me, I am takedown machine. Twenty-one times, I have record. And when I have fight with him, I want new record. Maybe 25, 24. And after fight we talk about this. Don’t forget.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov fights Cowboy Cerrone at UFC 187, with the winner getting a title shot at new champion Rafael dos Anjos, provided the Brazilian’s knee heals in time.
