Khabib Nurmagomedov thinks talent needs to be rewarded above all in the UFC.
The UFC opted not to re-sign Rinat Fakhretdinov (25-2-1 MMA, 6-0-1 UFC), who was undefeated in the octagon and coming off a 54-second TKO over Andreas Gustafsson at UFC Fight Night 258 this past September. The UFC’s decision turned many heads, but this isn’t the first time a fighter with a winning record hasn’t been re-signed. Recent examples include heavyweight Martin Buday, and flyweight Muhammad Mokaev, who was on the cusp of title contention.
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Nurmagomedov’s team has a plethora of talent, but the former UFC lightweight champion knows first hand the importance of promoting fights – it’s just not a part of their team culture.
“I feel very bad for U.S. promotions because there are so many hungry fighters coming and they don’t like trash talk,” Nurmagomedov said during the World Sports Summit (h/t Red Corner MMA). “They just come, smash people, and take money, and U.S. promotions don’t like this. They like trash talking, they like entertainment. I understand in one way it’s business, but at the end of the day, this is sport. One-on-one, you go alone inside the cage and we’ll see who’s the best in the world, but a lot of young guys coming (who don’t trash talk). In my gym – I have a couple of gyms in Dagestan, there are 500 amateur guys and they all want to be like Khabib.
“They all want to be champions and they all want to take over the world, and they’re all good. How are you going to stop them? Right now I see some promotions follow politics and just don’t sign them because they’re tired. All Magomedovs, Nurmagomedovs jump to the UFC and they take over. In the last couple of years, they changed a little bit the politics and I don’t like this. At the end of the day, this is sport and it has to be fair. In the last couple of years, they cut so many fighters who didn’t even lose in the UFC. They just finished their contracts and didn’t give them a new contract. Honestly, somebody has to talk about this, and I think this is not fair. This is what I don’t like.”
Nurmagomedov was part of the highest-selling fight in UFC history when he fought Conor McGregor in 2018. Known for his trash talk and ability to promote fights, McGregor ramped things up in the lead-up to his fight against Nurmagomedov, which led to a physical altercation immediately after the conclusion of their fight. As soon as Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor at UFC 229, he jumped over the cage to attack McGregor’s team and a brawl ensued.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Khabib: UFC fighters with winning records getting cut is ‘not fair’
