News Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov: Khabib vs Ferg, Kevin Lee vs Islam, Conor vs Islam for rematch in 2021

[Da Boss]

Not a fan of Kabib but I do have respect for his father. Very intelligent man in the fight game.

 

[mkess101]

Not a fan of Kabib but I do have respect for his father. Very intelligent man in the fight game.

The thing you really have to respect about him is that he didn't let his ego hold his son back. He coached him throughout his youth, and obviously as his father is as invested as is possible in Khabib's success. But so many parents in that situation feel like they have all the answers, won't listen to outside voices, etc. But he allowed (and encouraged afaik) his son to go to AKA to get better training partners and to grow his game.

No matter what you think of Khabib or his father (and I'm not really a fan at all, I'm a Tony fan) you really do have to respect that a lot. My guess is that it wasn't easy for Abdulmanap to let go like that but he knew it was best for his son's career so he did it anyway.

 

[Andreh]

Good thread, as always. Thanks.

Yes he ducked Poirier, this is a free world and you can believe what you want. Baldy Diana had promised a TITLE SHOT to the winner of the interim belt between Poirier and Tony Ferguson. Khabib could not fight earlier because of his suspension for 9 or so months. Tony Ferguson refused to fight Poirier for the INTERIM BELT and the chance to fight Khabib.

As Tony ducked Poirier (yes this was damned stupid because he would have face Khabib by now, win or lose). So yes Tony ducked Poirier. Maybe he felt he didn't need to risk his unbeaten record or what.

Tony ducked Poirier so hard and this is not even debatable. As you even said, he would be fighting for the title much earlier, not only now. And now he will pay the price, will lose easily.

 

[mkess101]

Good thread, as always. Thanks.

Tony ducked Poirier so hard and this is not even debatable. As you even said, he would be fighting for the title much earlier, not only now. And he will pay the price, will lose easily.

Dumbest shit I've read in a long time. How many fights in a row should someone have to win before they fight for the actual belt? Especially when they already won the fake belt once and had it stripped despite being able to fight on the same fucking card that the belt was next defended on LMAO.

Why did they need an interim title fight? Was Khabib injured and out indefinitely? Or was he out until a predetermined time when they could have just made the title fight of him vs Tony? No good reason Tony should have had to win another fight when he'd won 11 in a row already, only a true moron thinks he should have had to.

 

[fortheo]

I agree with most of what he said, but I disagree with his analysis of the Lee vs. Gillespie fight. Kevin Lee didn't accidentally set up and land that head kick.

 

[mkess101]

We'll see, bro. I sure hope you are right. I would like to see Tony win. That said, I have my serious doubts based on styles. Tony is not exactly hard to take down and we have seen what happens when he faces wrestlers like Castillo and 1 round Lee. I just hope the fight materializes this time more than anything.

Tony isn't hard to take down no. But he's far more capable off his back than Conor, that's not debatable. Lee mounted him rd 1, fine. He also did zero damage to Tony whatsoever despite spazzing out with gnp and using a ton of energy. Tony's durability and cardio give him so many more options than someone like Conor has.

Castillo fight was pretty long ago, and Tony has even said there were tactical mistakes he wouldn't repeat from that fight.

 

[Dragonslayer82]

Okay we don't really disagree too much then, but I think the word "ducking" is just wrong here, that's all.

Here's the real thing though: Khabib couldn't fight. Fine. But this wasn't an injury situation where he was out an indefinite amount of time. They KNEW he was back in September, right? Why the need for an interim belt at all? They didn't strip Khabib, so aside from $$ what was the point of the interim title in this situation. If it was based on merit, why would you not just say "The guy who's won 11 in a row will fight the champ in the fall once the suspension is up." Tony would have waited, obviously. Dustin could have fought Max and headlined a card still (maybe not a ppv with no fake belt on the line, but a big ESPN card for sure) and the winner of that fight would have faced the winner of Tony vs Khabib.

That's why Tony turned it down, he was calling BS on what the UFC was doing. Then they told him "Too bad, this is how we operate, deal with it." He fights for a living and they made him a good financial offer to fight Cowboy on that big Chicago card, so he took it.

I agree with what you're saying, that would have definitely been the sensible thing. Yes Duck is the wrong word, because it's implying he was afraid, that would never ever be the case. Sleazeball Baldy decided to punish Tony for not accepting the fight with Dustin. It was vindictiveness.

That said I couldn't argue with Dustin Poirier getting his title shot either. The guy had been on a tear since moving up to LW. He whooped 3 former World champions (1 existing at the time at FW) to get to his title shot and made Gaedje look human by knocking him out. Dustin had been making all the noises about the interim until Khabib's suspension ended.

 

[MMAart]

Conor rematch 2021

 

[Ace70 V2]

Wasn't expecting Johnson get mentioned. And Gathje kinda got dismissed.

 

[mkess101]

I agree with what you're saying, that would have definitely been the sensible thing. Yes Duck is the wrong word, because it's implying he was afraid, that would never ever be the case. Sleazeball Baldy decided to punish Tony for not accepting the fight with Dustin. It was vindictiveness.

That said I couldn't argue with Dustin Poirier getting his title shot either. The guy had been on a tear since moving up to LW. He whooped 3 former World champions (1 existing at the time at FW) to get to his title shot and made Gaedje look human by knocking him out. Dustin had been making all the noises about the interim until Khabib's suspension ended.

I don't blame Dustin either. I agree, he'd been on a great run. And as a fighter he SHOULD advocate for himself.

The issue is just...you have a guy who'd won 11 in a row (with 8 of them by finish!) and you tell him with a straight face "Hey, we need you to go ahead and win yet ANOTHER fight and then we PROMISE you'll get the shot at Khabib..." That's just ridiculous.

 

[Dragonslayer82]

I don't blame Dustin either. I agree, he'd been on a great run. And as a fighter he SHOULD advocate for himself.

The issue is just...you have a guy who'd won 11 in a row (with 8 of them by finish!) and you tell him with a straight face "Hey, we need you to go ahead and win yet ANOTHER fight and then we PROMISE you'll get the shot at Khabib..." That's just ridiculous.

Baldy hasn't become a billionaire from being nice, he's a cunning two face sleazeball of the highest order. He absolutely does not give a shit at how fighters risk their lives and health to earn a living (most apart from the champions).

 

[mkess101]

Baldy hasn't become a billionaire from being nice, he's a cunning two face sleazeball of the highest order. He absolutely does not give a shit at how fighters risk their lives and health to earn a living (most apart from the champions).

For sure, it's just disheartening when the supposed hardcore fans don't see through the bullshit. They act like the belts aren't devalued by that kind of nonsense.

I just want to see the best fight the best. When there's 2 guys on 11 fight win streaks, schedule that f'ing fight. Don't make up another fake belt and then act like it matters.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Thanks for the cliffs TS. A very solid post. It's appreciated.

About this:

About Khabib fighting in Russia

- Khabib will probably not fight in Russia because of PPV.
- It would take a huge amount of money from private sponsors to bring a Khabib card to Russia

Between Kadyrov and Putin, he can probably raise a huge amount of money from private sponsors.

 

[Ackmed]

Okay we don't really disagree too much then, but I think the word "ducking" is just wrong here, that's all.

Here's the real thing though: Khabib couldn't fight. Fine. But this wasn't an injury situation where he was out an indefinite amount of time. They KNEW he was back in September, right? Why the need for an interim belt at all? They didn't strip Khabib, so aside from $$ what was the point of the interim title in this situation. If it was based on merit, why would you not just say "The guy who's won 11 in a row will fight the champ in the fall once the suspension is up." Tony would have waited, obviously. Dustin could have fought Max and headlined a card still (maybe not a ppv with no fake belt on the line, but a big ESPN card for sure) and the winner of that fight would have faced the winner of Tony vs Khabib.

That's why Tony turned it down, he was calling BS on what the UFC was doing. Then they told him "Too bad, this is how we operate, deal with it." He fights for a living and they made him a good financial offer to fight Cowboy on that big Chicago card, so he took it.

Do you believe Tony refusing the Poirier fight had nothing to do with risk of losing? It was just because of negative feelings towards the "interim" label?

He accepted a fight with Donald Cerrone. So if, hypothetically, Dana had offered Tony an interim match against Donald he would have refused due to the "interim" stigma?

And if instead Dana offered Tony the Dustin match, not as an interim title shot but just as a fight like the Donald match, Tony would have accepted?

Tony's definitely the #1 contender but to say his decision to fight Donald instead of Dustin had nothing to do with risk/reward is naive IMO.

 

[mkess101]

Do you believe Tony refusing the Poirier fight had nothing to do with risk of losing? It was just because of negative feelings towards the "interim" label?

He accepted a fight with Donald Cerrone. So if, hypothetically, Dana had offered Tony an interim match against Donald he would have refused due to the "interim" stigma?

And if instead Dana offered Tony the Dustin match, not as an interim title shot but just as a fight like the Donald match, Tony would have accepted?

Tony's definitely the #1 contender but to say his decision to fight Donald instead of Dustin had nothing to do with risk/reward is naive IMO.

It's hard to say for sure. There were a lot of moving parts. I think a lot of it was him being pissed about them wanting him to fight for yet another interim belt, yeah. Also, it was in the middle of his personal issues so the timing was not good. I honestly think they realized what a bump to that Chicago card that Ferguson vs Cowboy would be (esp with Cowboy coming off that destruction of Iaquinta) and paid Tony way more than he imagined they'd offer.

But of course, this is all speculation.

 

[Ackmed]

Thanks @shoorik1987 for always taking the time to translate this stuff for us!

Much appreciated.

 

[Ackmed]

I love how Abdulmanap always predicts things within specific number of minutes, and his track record has been quite accurate!

After round 2 of Islam vs Ramos he goes "keep it up Islam and you'll drop him within 2 minutes of round 3..." and BAM! Ramos falls within the first minute lol.

Its not like he was battered by round 2 so it wasnt an obvious prediction by any means.

 

[Ackmed]

Also interesting that he's suggesting having Islam vs Fighter Kevin Lee on the same card as Khabib and Tony.

I thought they'd want it separate so if Islam loses or gets hurt it wont affect Khabibs mindset before the main event....just shows how confident they are in Islams skills to get the win!

 

[Ackmed]

Also I like the idea of trading Conor a Khabib rematch if he agrees to a fight with Islam first.

 

[D 1 Wrestler]

Most dangerous opponent hes ever fought is Conor. He knows