Khabib Nurmagomedov politely declined Islam Makhachev' offer of the UFC lightweight belt after his win over Charles Oliveira in Abu Dhabi last night.
The legendary former lightweight champion's dad Abdulmanap, who passed away in 2020, coached both men through their early careers. And Makhachev was paying tribute to both his teammate and his ex-coach when he removed his lightweight title and handed it to Nurmagomedov, who held the belt for a brief moment before ultimately returning the belt.
Makhachev dominated Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight title almost two years to the day after Nurmagomedov had given it up when he retired from the sport. And in his post-fight interview he dedicated the victory to Abdulmanap, who he says told him in his youth that he would be champion.
"I just want to say, this, my belt, is for my coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov," he told Daniel Cormier in his post-fight interview. "Many years ago he told me, just train hard and you're going to be champion and I want to give this belt [to Khabib], because him and his father made me."
Nurmagomedov then told Cormier: "All of our life was training together, 22 years we stayed together and the last couple of years I told you guys Islam Makhachev is the best fighter, not in lightweight, he is the pound-for-pound No.1 fighter right now - today."
And the team have already set their sights on a pound-for-pound match-up for the ages against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Nurmagomedov wrongly claimed that Oliveira was ranked No.2 behind Volkanovski in the UFC's official rankings, but he was No.3, and as such a bout between the Australian and his Russian rival would be a legendary showdown.
Who do you think would win; Islam Makhachev or Alexander Volkanovski? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"You know what is interesting?" Khabib asked in the cage. "Charles Oliveira is No.2 pound-for-pound, he finished Charles. Now it's our plan to fly all the way to Australia and fight in the pound-for-pound king's back yard, you know we are going to finish this guy, I am ready."
Volkanovski got into the cage for a brief face-off with his rival, whom he was willing to fight asa back-up if Oliveira were to pull out of last night's fight even though he had broken his hand as recently as July. He declared that he would be happy to put his No.1 pound-for-pound status on the line in return for Makhachev's new lightweight belt.
"Let's do it," Volkanovski told Cormier after Nurmagomedov's call-out. "The lightweight championship on the line, the pound-for-pound No.1 on the line, let's do it!" The UFC is set to return to Australia for an event in Perth this February, which has been confirmed as a pay-per-view, which will feature Robert Whittaker vs Paolo Costa in a major undercard showcase.
