Khabib Nurmagomedov is currently on a mixed martial arts (MMA) break because of Ramadan, but the current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion is eagerly looking ahead to his first-ever title defense.
Speaking on live chat recently, “The Eagle” talked about potential dates for his Octagon return, and also didn’t hesitate to throw out a few names as potential challengers.
“A lot of people ask me about my next fight. To be honest I don’t know. I don’t know when it’s going to be. Now we talk about this with the UFC. It’s going to be maybe 9 September or 6 October. I don’t know about opponent; Conor, GSP, whoever. It doesn’t matter, we’ll see. Next couple of weeks it’s going to be very fun because now we’re beginning to talk about my next fight with the UFC. I feel great, I feel good. Now we have Ramadan and we train only night and feeling good and great. My weight is good, my shape is good. I am always training everyday, sometimes I train two times.”
Nurmagomedov earned the 155-pound strap at UFC 223 by defeating a very game Al Iaquinta after five rounds of action (see it again here). While Conor McGregor is the obvious first option to face Khabib (largely due to this), UFC is still waiting to see what becomes of “Notorious” once he heads back to New York next month for a court hearing.
As for a showdown against St-Pierre, the former Welterweight and Middleweight champion seems to be open to the idea. Whether or not the promotion is keen on giving “Rush” another title shot after leaving them high and dry after winning the 185-pound strap, is another story.
Nevertheless, we now have an idea as to when Nurmagomedov will defend his title. The who, though, is very much still up in the air.
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