Khabib Nurmagomedov On Why He Doesn't Want Conor McGregor Next, Fighter Escapes Wildfires, More
- It's Fight Week in the UFC! On Saturday, Donald Cerrone will take on Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Gdansk, Poland. The main card starts at 3 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass. Cerrone will be looking to end a two-fight skid, most recently losing to Robbie Lawler in July. Till is a rising welterweight prospect who is undefeated at 15-0-1. The card will also feature Poland-native and former top strawweight contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz, who will face UFC newcomer Jodie Esquibel in the co-main event.
- Number-one lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov was on The MMA Hour today and chose not to call out lightweight champion Conor McGregor, but rather took aim at interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson. The two of them have been scheduled to fight three times but they never met in the octagon as the matchup fell through each time. This past March, Nurmagomedov was pulled from his UFC 209 fight with Ferguson the day before the event after he was transported to the hospital due to weight cutting issues. Nurmagomedov said he believes McGregor should face Nate Diaz in a trilogy fight while he and Ferguson throw down:
"We have almost 12 weeks, 11 weeks before UFC 219," Nurmagomedov said on The MMA Hour. "And now is the beginning a very interesting moment in my life. I hope UFC gives me a championship fight. End of the year, I want to take everything back. Attention, belts; I want to take everything. End of the year, I want to fix everything. And we'll see what happens. But first of all, I think UFC has to make the fight, Conor versus Nate Diaz 3, and after, me and Tony. Because, my opinion, I think Tony Ferguson is the real champion. That's why. I don't think, if I fight versus Tony Ferguson, this is an interim belt. Officially, yes. But people want to see me versus Tony Ferguson. I think this is a much better fight, for everything. If I beat Tony Ferguson and take the interim championship belt ? Conor's the official champion, but he's not the people's champion."
- Last week we reported on number-two ranked flyweight Henry Cejudo losing his Olympic gold medal in the California wildfires. Cejudo appeared on The MMA Hour today and detailed the harrowing experience.
"I was scared," Cejudo said. "I thought I felt adrenaline fighting. This is something I've never felt before. I was kind of in survival mode. I'm a fighter, I'm a wrestler. The only thing I know how to do is survive. I was thinking this is a horrible way to die, man. Maybe I deserve to die, but not like this."
You can hear Cejudo's full interview by clicking here.