Surging Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov has been steamrolling through the opposition in his first five fights inside the Octagon, and now "The Eagle" wants a step up in competition.
The undefeated (21-0, 5-0 UFC) Russian took to his Instagram account to lobby for a potential 155-pound scrap against former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez. In his own creative way (which you can see here).
I like this fight, I want this fight, let's go Gilbert -- let's do it
Khabib has been on a roll since making his Octagon debut in early 2012, defeating the likes of Gleison Tibau, Abel Trujillo and most recently Pat Healy at UFC 165. Prior to that, "The Eagle" racked up 16 consecutive wins in his native country of Russia.
Melendez, on the other hand, recently got back on the winning track by defeating Diego Sanchez in an epic "Fight of the Night" performance at UFC 166, which saw the two scrappy contenders go toe-to-toe for 15 minutes last October.
Prior to that, "El Nino" came up short in his bid to dethrone former UFC lightweight champion Ben Henderson at UFC on FOX 7.
While the rest of the top 155-pound roster is currently locked up with intriguing match-ups of their own, a bout between Nurmagomedov and Melendez would be a nice way to potentially determine the next contender to the division strap.
"The Eagle" versus "El Nino," does this potential scrap do anything for you?