Khabib Reacts To Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez Announcement
Well, it happened. The news we were all expecting, then not expecting, was made official late last night. Headlining the UFC 205 New York card are Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor. Adding to the steam that announcement creates in some circles is the fact McGregor will retain his featherweight title. Agree or not, the bout against Alvarez is huge in many ways. Fitting with the recent trend of money fights, having a champion vs. champion fight in the NYC debut for the promotion is a massive selling point.
Opposing that trail of thought is the ever-raging discussion on ‘legitimacy.’ Most definitely an intriguing topic, that argument is based on rankings holding primacy over what will line the pockets of certain individuals. In this particular case, the persons making big profit will be the UFC brass, Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez. It’s hard to argue against the latter, but many purist fans find it hard to swallow fight announcements like these because of their apparent cash-fuelled nature. Alas, at the least, we have a huge fight to look forward to. Oh, and ‘The Notorious’ will not be stripped of the featherweight belt.
Good For Profits, Bad For Khabib
Aside from the likely irate Jose Aldo, there’s one particular fighter who’s very annoyed at this whole McGregor vs. Alvarez deal. You guessed it, number one lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov is furious right now. Taking to Twitter, the undefeated 155-pounder made his feelings clear:
I have two bout agreements that bullshit champ refuses to sign. I got used the whole time to make Conor and Eddie get on their knees and beg
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) September 27, 2016
Just for the record @Ealvarezfight and @TheNotoriousMMA fear me I'm just a man. Your time will come to get my hands on you
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) September 27, 2016
So funny 😂 #lightweightchamp @danawhite @Ealvarezfight @ufc @MarkCoachmark13 pic.twitter.com/Gq0ZmCYMAs
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) September 26, 2016
Every Cloud
On the plus side, Khabib Nurmagomedov will surely be in line for the next crack at the lightweight belt. Assuming he is willing to wait that long, ‘The Eagle’ must be due his championship fight. In all honesty, who the heck knows anymore? The current climate of money talking louder in the UFC has no end in sight. Rankings, common sense and fan opinion be damned, but is that all bad?
Taking to Instagram, Nurmagomedov continued to vent his frustration, calling the UFC a ‘freak show.’
Freak Show
When I signed agreement with @UFC it was sport. Now it became a freak show, or I don’t know how to call it right. Only thing that keeping me in this cracking sport, is that I don’t want to stop on the halfway, I wasn’t raised like this, not a quitter. I’ll keep moving forward InshaAllah.
You could make arguments for both sides, but right now only one thing is certain. Khabib is pissed, Alvarez vs. McGregor is happening and yet again the featherweight division gets the stanky leg. Discuss!
