Khabib: Doctors Said I Almost Died During UFC 209 Weight Cut

Khabib Nurmagomedov almost died.

The Russian underwent a rigorous weight cut in attempt to reach the 155-pound weight limit for his scheduled interim lightweight title bout against Tony Ferguson at last month’s UFC 209 pay-per-view (PPV). Nurmagomedov failed to make weight when he was hospitalized and forced off one of the most anticipated cards of the year.

Remaining relatively silent since the whole ordeal, ‘The Eagle’ joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour earlier today (Mon. April 3, 2017) to discuss what went down that morning. Nurmagomedov stated that he can’t even remember some of his weight cutting process (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“In the evening, I feel badly. I feel different. I never feel like this,” Nurmagomedov said. “One day before weigh-in, of course I don’t feel good all the time, but I think this is like something different. And when I go home the night before weigh-ins, I feel crazy. I’m cutting weight with my team, and I don’t remember how I cut weight. I don’t remember a lot of things, something going wrong.

“I feel so bad. I never feel like this.”

After the doctor said he almost died attempting to make the weight, Nurmagomedov and his team made the decision not to continue forward with the bout. The Russian said the history of mixed martial arts (MMA) competitors who have died in the past cutting weight played a factor in his decision:

“The doctor say, ‘you cannot fight. You almost die. How you fight? How you can fight if you almost die? … No way. We say no fight, 100 percent. No make weight. No fight. No nothing. You need to stay in the hospital for seven hours, we have to make sure your body is good.’ But I feel I almost died,” Nurmagomedov said.

“We know a lot of times when you’re cutting weight, you can die. I know one month ago somebody died in Brazil. Before, somebody died in Japan. We know sometimes this happens. But this can happen with me too. If we still cutting weight, and we still force my body, maybe I can die too?

“But it’s okay,” Nurmagomedov added. “Sometimes when I have injury or when I have bad situation, I all the time come back strong. Now, I know a lot of people asked about this, a lot of fans asked about this because this is a very big fight. The UFC promote this fight very good. We promote this fight. A lot of people are waiting for this fight. I know a lot of fans are upset about this, and I understand this, but I want to say sorry about everything. And I come back. I’m going to come back.”

For those who now say that Nurmagomedov would do better to move up to 170 pounds, the Russian does not share the same sentiment. He will instead wait three to five months before attempting to return around the end of September:

“I don’t think I’m cutting too much weight,” Nurmagomedov said. “I make weight, 155.5 pounds, when I fight with Michael Johnson (at UFC 205) and I feel very good. I feel perfect. I make weight no problem.

“I’m just coming from Germany. I need like three or five months to make my body the same, three or five months of rehab. And obviously I’m going to Germany, I’m going to fix everything. This problem, this is not about cutting weight. This is about my health, and I have to [fix] my health in three or five months, and I’m going to come back. I think I can fight end of September.

“In Germany I’m going to check my body, what happened, everything,” Nurmagomedov added. “And I have a little bit of a problem with something, but I don’t want to talk about this. But I need a couple months to fix everything.”

Nurmagomedov continued to reiterate that he has been making 155 pounds his entire fighting career, and has no plans at moving up to welterweight anytime soon:

“I never fight 170, because I can make [155]. I make 155 all of my career,” Nurmagomedov said. “I make all my amateur career at 155. All the time, I can make and I will make 155. Of course, before, I think about ‘maybe I fight at 170, superfight,’ something like this. But I want to say that I never fight 170. Never. I know this. This is not changing. I am going to fight only 155, and now I have difference motivations. I want [figure out] how I can make 155 and how I can become UFC lightweight champion. This is my different and new motivation.”

In the end ‘The Eagle’ takes full responsibility for what happened, and offered his apologies to Ferguson and his fans. He vowed to come back strong once his body is full healed: