Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t happy about certain UFC roster decisions

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov takes issue with the direction of MMA promotions in America.

Hardcore fans of the sport have groaned over recent UFC roster decisions. Recently, Rinat Fakhretdinov’s exit from the promotion caused quite a stir within the community. Fakhretdinov had competed under the UFC banner since 2022. He went 6-0-1 as a member of the UFC roster and he is coming off a 54-second TKO finish over Andreas Gustafsson.

Speaking at the World Sports Summit, Nurmagomedov addressed top MMA promotions valuing entertainment and business over sport (via MMAFighting).

“I feel very bad for U.S. promotions — very, very bad,” Nurmagomedov said at the World Sports Summit. “Because there are so many hungry fighters coming, and they don’t like to talk, they don’t like trash talk. They just come, smash people, and take money. And U.S. promotions, they don’t like this. They like trash talking, they like entertainment.

“I understand. In one way, it’s business. But at end of day, this is sport. It’s sport. One-on-one, you go alone inside of cage, and we’ll see who is the best in the world.”

Aside from interesting roster departures, fans have criticized UFC for its recent championship bookings. Arman Tsarukyan is widely considered to be the deserving No. 1 contender for the lightweight title. Instead, Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje are fighting for interim gold at UFC 324 on Jan. 24. UFC CEO Dana White claimed behind-the-scenes issues is what led to Tsarukyan being left out of the title picture.

There’s also the featherweight title scene. Movsar Evloev has been looked at as the biggest threat to the 145-pound division for a while, but he hasn’t gotten a championship fight. Lerone Murphy was also skipped in favor of a rematch between champion Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. Volkanovski already defeated Lopes back in April and the fight wasn’t particularly close.