Midnight Mania! Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘cannot be compared’ to Muhammad Ali

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Muhammad Ali is widely considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. An Olympic gold medalist who ended his professional career with a 56-5 professional record as a multiple-time champion. Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that Khabib Nurmagomedov — arguably the most dominant fighter on the planet right now — occasionally draws comparisons to “The Greatest.”

Though he appreciates the thought, Nurmagomedov is reluctant to consider such comparisons, as he believes the circumstances are far too different to compare.

“I think comparing Ali and me is probably wrong,” Khabib told True Gym MMA in a recent interview, per The Sports Rush (transcription via BloodyElbow). “Only if we talk about the fact that we are both champions and both Muslims. But all the things he did outside the ring, with this I cannot be compared indeed. At the time when he was a champion, he was...another race, and at that time in America, black people were treated badly, and according to his stories, he was not even served in restaurants.

“He threw away the gold medal. He changed the attitude towards his race very much. So, we cannot be compared. To be able to compare me with him, I need to go back to those years and be black, and be a champion. After that we would see how I would have behaved in such a situation, In this case, we can be compared.

“I like that people compare us, but I think it is inappropriate.”

Nurmagomedov is currently scheduled to defend his title opposite interim champion Justin Gaethje on Sat., October 24, 2020 at UFC 254.

Shameless Self-Promotion

I accepted a short-notice fight for the Global Legion FC Flyweight title on September 26th in Tampa, Florida! For each of my previous professional fights, I’ve raised funds to cover camp costs via my banner, in which members of the Mania community can get their name/nickname/username on the banner via a $5 or more donation. The promotion has rules against advertising during their shows, so the banner is unlikely to make it into the actual cage, but it will still be signed and raffled to a random supporter.

For anyone reading who enjoys my writing and would like to support/enter the raffle, I have Venmo (AndyLRichardson), PayPal (andrewlr15@yahoo.com), and a GoFundMe. There will be a PPV stream link that I’ll include here as well once I have it ... Let’s bring home a belt, y’all!

Insomnia

Genuinely folks, I am conflicted. On one hand, I would absolutely love to see Michael Chandler step up and fight Tony Ferguson, which would be such an incredible fight.

At the same time, Dustin Poirier deserves to be paid, and the accusation that he is afraid of Ferguson ... well ... it’s absurd.

Body conditioning videos forever:

Liver shot!

One Championship adds insult to injury.

Will Johnny Walker return to his winning ways this weekend opposite Ryan Spann? He better, because the original hype train is fully burned.

Slips, rips, and KO clips

I do not usually link entire fights in this section, but since Paulo Costa vs. Yoel Romero was such an amazingly absurd spectacle, I feel like it’s a special occasion.

Legendary boxing.

“Contender Series” brought the violence last night, as usual!

Random Land

Ninja cat!

Midnight Music: I listened to one of my Spotify Daily Mixes of mostly classics tonight. It’s been a little while (I hope) since I last posted a Beatles song, so here’s a favorite of mine that popped up (and yes, the Smokey Robinson original is quite good too).

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 254 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN 2/ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 254: “Khabib vs. Gaethje” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.