Khabib Nurmagomedov News

Tom Taylor - April 24, 2018

In the wake of the UFC’s recent stop in Atlantic City, the promotion has updated its official rankings. As expected, Kevin Lee, who took out Edson Barboza in the main event, has moved into the lightweight top 5. Elsewhere in the rankings, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov have both made seemingly arbitrary moves on the pound-for-pound list, while formerly ranked bantamweight Leslie Smith has removed from the rankings following her controversial UFC release. See the latest UFC rankings below (h/t MMAMania):

Chris Taylor - April 22, 2018

Khabib Nurmagomedov discusses his options in the “very heated” lightweight division Khabib Nurmagomedov was crowned the UFC’s undisputed lightweight champion earlier this month in Brooklyn, this after he scored a unanimous decision victory over Al Iaquinta in the main event of UFC 223.

Chris Taylor - April 22, 2018

Eddie Alvarez blasts “paper champion” Khabib Nurmagomedov Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (29-5 MMA) was in attendance at last night’s UFC Fight Night 128 event in Atlantic City.

Joe David - April 21, 2018

The date was September 21st 2016 and the infamous two word Tweet “Beg me” rang out in the MMA community like two warning shots out of a 12 gauge shotgun.  Conor McGregor was on top of the mixed martial arts world and was seeking a second UFC title, this time in the promotions lightweight division. “Mystic Mac” would ultimately score a second-round knockout over then 155-pound champ Eddie Alvarez to become the first UFC fighter to hold two belts simultaneously.  “The Notorious” would go on to relinquish his featherweight title late November 2016. Flash forward to the present and McGregor is in a much different position than he once was.  He recently was stripped of his lightweight title earlier this month.  Once Khabib was able to make weight for his UFC 223 appearance against last minute replacement Al Iaquinta the belt was stripped and a series of events took place that may have created issues for a fight with “The Eagle” before this year is through.

Tom Taylor - April 18, 2018

Last Saturday night, in the main event of the UFC’s action-packed stop in Glendale, Arizona, Dustin Poirier authored a jaw-dropping win over former World Series of Fighting champion Justin Gaethje, putting his foe down with a blistering fourth-round punch. In the wake of this win, Poirier made his hopes for his next fight very clear. He wants a crack at new UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. On Tuesday night, the surging lightweight contender took to Twitter to reiterate this plan, promising that he’ll be the lightweight champ before the curtains close on the year 2018.

Tom Taylor - April 18, 2018

The lightweight division could not be interesting right now. The undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov now sits on the UFC lightweight throne, while Tony Ferguson recovers from surgery, and Conor McGregor adds an ever-present asterisk to the lightweight title situation. Then there are dangerous UFC lightweight contenders like Dustin Poirier, Eddie Alvarez, Al Iaquinta, Kevin Lee, and Edson Barboza. And of course, there are the countless top lightweight talents who currently reside outside the UFC, like Bellator staple Michael Chandler. Speaking on MMAJunkie Radio this week, Chandler delved deep on the state of the lightweight division. While he’s certainly paying attention to the goings-on over in the UFC, however, he has no intention of leaving Bellator when his current contract wraps up.

Tom Taylor - April 18, 2018

Edson Barboza’s December loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov couldn’t have gone a whole lot worse, as he was thoroughly dominated by the Russian for three, lopsided rounds. All the same, the ever-dangerous Barboza feels Nurmagomedov could lose to any number of top-10 lightweights on any given night. “It’s tough to say who is the best,” Barboza told MMAWeekly. “Sometimes the guy who’s the best isn’t the guy who wins that night and he loses. It’s so hard for me to say one guy is the best. I feel like if you see the top five guys in the UFC, you rank the top five guys, all those guys their level is so high.

Tom Taylor - April 18, 2018

There are several options on the table for the first title defense of new UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov. One is Dustin Poirier, who says he’s been contacted by Nurmagomedov’s camp to discuss a title fight. Another is Tony Ferguson, who’s been scheduled to fight Nurmagomedov a whopping four times to no avail in the past. And then, of course, there’s former UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor, who’s beef with Nurmagomedov is currently absolutely sizzling. Whether it serves as Nurmagomedov’s first title defense or not, UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier believes a Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor fight will happen in the near future. Given that he’s both a long-time Nurmagomedov training partner and a UFC analyst, Cormier’s confidence in this matchup occurring is certainly interesting.

Tom Taylor - April 16, 2018

One of the biggest fights that could possibly be made in MMA today is a showdown between undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, and former champion Conor McGregor. This potential matchup has fans divided right down the middle, as some firmly believe that Nurmagomedov would pound McGregor into applesauce on the mat, while others feel McGregor’s crackling firepower would be more than enough to put Nurmagomedov down.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2018

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Tom Taylor - April 12, 2018

In the wake of UFC 223, which saw Khabib Nurmagomedov capture lightweight gold, and Rose Namajunas cement her status as strawweight champ, the UFC has updated its official UFC rankings. The post notable change to these new UFC rankings occurred at lightweight, where Conor McGregor has lost the (C) beside his name, and has rejoined the lightweight contender pool. It’s also worth noting that the new champ Nurmagomedov has taken a massive trip up the pound-four-pound list.

Tom Taylor - April 12, 2018

At long last, undefeated Dagestani lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov finally has a UFC belt wrapped around his waist. He earned that belt last Saturday, when he dominated last-minute replacement opponent Al Iaquinta to a unanimous decision win in the main event of UFC 223. While Nurmagomedov is now the undisputed lightweight champion, however, not everyone is buying his reign. UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier, for example, has some issues. Poirier, who battles Justin Gaethje in the main event of the UFC’s Saturday stop in Glendale, Arizona, shared his gripes with Nurmagomedov’s reign in a chat with MMAJunkie. For him, it all comes down to the fact that Iaquinta hadn’t really earned the title shot in the same way that Nurmagomedov had.

Tom Taylor - April 11, 2018

https://twitter.com/ZidanSports/status/984084222871724033 UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has referred to the former champion Conor McGregor as a “chicken” many times over the last few years.

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2018

Over the weekend, in the main event of UFC 223, Khabib Nurmagomedov thwarted a last minute opponent Al Iaquinta, moving to a flawless 26-0 overall, and capturing the UFC lightweight title in the process. With a UFC belt finally wrapped around his waist, Nurmagomedov can look forward to any number of interesting options going forward. There’s Georges St-Pierre, who he called out post-fight. There’s Conor McGregor, the former champion. And of course, there’s former interim champ Tony Ferguson, who Nurmagomedov has been booked to fight a whopping four times to no avail.

Tom Taylor - April 10, 2018

Last weekend, in the main event of UFC 223, Khabib Nurmagomedov captured the UFC lightweight title with a decision win over last-minute replacement opponent Al Iaquinta. While Nurmagomedov’s title win, which moved him to an insane 26-0 overall, wasn’t entirely flawless, it did strengthen his reputation as a seemingly unbeatable fighter. While many fight fans are becoming increasingly doubtful that Nurmagomedov can be stopped, former UFC lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez isn’t buying it. In fact, he believes he’s the man to beat Khabib—and he thinks we all know it too.

Tom Taylor - April 9, 2018

Khabib Nurmagomedov on Dagestani Airport with more than one thousand fans #eaglesmma pic.twitter.com/67N3tp4xPB — gornii veter (@neluibit) April 9, 2018

Chris Taylor - April 8, 2018

VIDEO | Dana White says Khabib Nurmagomedov is “absolutely” the most dominant fighter in UFC history Khabib Nurmagomedov captured the UFC’s undisputed UFC lightweight title at last night’s UFC 223 event in Brooklyn by defeating “Raging” Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision.

Chris Taylor - April 8, 2018

Georges St-Pierre responds to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s respectful challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov captured the UFC’s undisputed lightweight title at last night’s UFC 223 event in Brooklyn by scoring a dominant decision victory over “Raging” Al Iaquinta.