Khabib Nurmagomedov has racked up six straight wins inside the Octagon against some rather stiff competition since making his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut back in 2012.
Couple those six victories with the 16 others he won in his undefeated (22-0, 6-0 UFC) professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career, and the Russian-born fighter has made a pretty good case for a title shot.
At least in the eyes of his head trainer at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), Javier Mendez.
But according to "The Eagle," a title shot is not in his immediate future, as he expects to be paired off against the winner of the Donald Cerrone vs. Jim Miller lightweight scrap, which goes down on July 16, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 45 from Atlantic City, New Jersey.
His words to Ru Boxing (via Bloody Elbow):
"There are so many questions about my next fight but I have no any answer yet. I'm just waiting phone call from the UFC. But I think most likely my next fight will be against the winner of Cerrone - Miller bout."
Currently ranked at No. 4 and given his past track record, you would think Khabib -- or at least his management team -- would lobby a bit harder for a championship match.
He's done enough chirping on Twitter toward current UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, but has failed to voice his opinion to UFC matchmakers... at least in a public forum.
With Josh Thomson (ranked No. 3) currently booked to face Michael Johnson at UFC on FOX 12 later this month and Ben Henderson (ranked No. 2) pegged to face Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 49 in August, the path looks pretty clear for Khabib and Co. to argue their way into a championship match.
Then again, since Pettis is tentatively scheduled to defend the 155-pound title against Gilbert Melendez at UFC 182 on Jan. 3, 2015, Khabib would be looking at a 15-month layoff if he decided to wait it out.
That's a pretty long time to go without a paycheck.