Khabib Says “Cowboy” Deserves Title Shot With UFC 187 Win
If Dagestani-native Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov spent as much time in the Octagon fighting as he does on the sidelines nursing injuries, he could very well be in a position to fight for the title, or better yet, he could be the champion. “The Eagle” is undoubtedly one of the top fighters in the UFC’s lightweight division, using his dominant wrestling to amount an undefeated 22-0 record and an impressive 6-0 UFC record.
Nurmagomedov was set to square off with the surging Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at last September’s UFC 178 in what was most likely a title eliminator bout, but was forced out due to injury. Apparently healthy, “The Eagle” again signed on to face “Cowboy”, who has strung together an impressive seven-straight wins, at this weekend’s (May 23, 2015) UFC 187, but yet again was scrapped due to injury.
Cerrone will remain on the card as it was recently announced that he will meet late replacement John Makdessi, who last competed at April’s UFC 186 scoring a win. Appearing on a recent edition of the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Nurmagomedov said that believes that “Cowboy” should be awarded a title shot if he is victorious this weekend:
“I think if ‘Cowboy’ wins, he have [an] eight-fight win streak and this is awesome,” Nurmagomedov said. “He deserves [it].”
However, if Cerrone loses, Nurmagomedov wants the title shot himself. A title shot for “The Eagle” would mean a rematch, as he actually beat current champion Rafael dos Anjos in his last bout in April 2014:
“If ‘Cowboy’ lose, I want to fight for the title when I come back,” Nurmagomedov said.
Makdessi is obviously not Nurmagomedov, and everyone knows that, with many saying this should be an easy affair for the red hot “Cowboy”. And although “The Eagle” agrees that this is an easier fight for Cerrone, he’s not counting out Makdessi either:
“I think this fight is more easy than me, but I don’t think this fight is easy for [Cerrone], because this guy has a style a little bit hard for him,” Nurmagomedov said. “This guy all the time pressure, aggressive fighter.”
Nurmagomedov admits that the UFC has offered him this fight twice now, and twice he has pulled out, but one day he still plans to meet Cerrone in the Octagon:
“I want fight with this guy, because two times UFC gives me this fight and two times I have been injured,” Nurmagomedov said. “One day I want to fight with this guy.”
Will “The Eagle” be able to return healthy sometime soon?
