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Current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight champion Jose Aldo recently insinuated that Khabib Nurmagomedov turned down the chance to fight him for the interim lightweight title, which was targeted to go down in early 2017.
And while "The Eagle" didn’t confirm or deny it, one can interpret his recent Instagram post as he did, since he tells the Brazilian bomber that he "doesn’t bully the little" and advises him to stay in his lane.
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Of course, a fight between Khabib and Tony Ferguson has been booked several times only to fall through because of injuries to both parties. But seeing as they are the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked fighters in the world, respectively, it seems that fight is the next logical one to make.
Which raises the question: Why would UFC even bother trying to book an interim lightweight title with the featherweight champion and the No. 1 ranked fighter at 155 pounds?
The answer could be pretty simple, as one can assume that they are trying to give Aldo the same opportunity given to Conor McGregor — who won the 155-pound belt while he was still ruler at featherweight by knocking out Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 — to keep him happy.
And since Max Holloway is unfit to compete in a title unification match against Aldo at UFC 208 on Feb. 11, 2017, it seems an interim 155-pound title fight for Aldo was the next option for UFC matchmakers. Which is baffling, really, since you have two top contenders in Ferguson and Nurmagomedov ready to bang it out with one another, perhaps for the interim strap.
Then again, it could simply be for a No. 1 contender’s spot, as "Notorious" could be back into the mix sooner, rather than later.
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