Khabib Nurmagomedov tells Conor McGregor: ‘Die like Irish warrior, don’t run like chicken’
Undefeated No.1 UFC lightweight contender issues challenge to Conor McGregor - and says he's prepared to go through fellow top contender Tony Ferguson to get his shot at the Irishman
RUSSIAN lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov wants a shot at newly-crowned UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor.
And ‘The Eagle’ has gone straight to the source to demand the title fight he believes he deserves.
Nurmagomedov has a perfect professional record of 24 wins, no losses, including eight wins in a row in the UFC.
He demolished fellow contender Michael ‘The Menace’ Johnson at UFC 205 in New York before demanding the UFC gives him his shot at the gold in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan.
“I wanna stay humble, but I have to talk, because your guy has talked too much,” he said.
“Your guy, at the beginning of the year, he tapped like (a) chicken. End of the year, he fight(s) for the title. Crazy!
“Hey, you know, guys. This is true. This is not trash talking. Irish, only six million. Russian, 150 million.
"I want a fight with your chicken because this is number one easy fight in the lightweight division.”
And this week he upped the stakes further, sending a direct message on Twitter to McGregor himself, telling him to “Die like Irish warrior, don’t run like chicken”.
“Conor you the Champion now you need to fight with me,” he wrote.
"If you run every time you look in the mirror you not going to respect yourself, your kids not going to respect you, your friends, your family won’t respect you.
"Die like a Samurai don’t chicken out please. I know I’m bad matchup for you but you the champion and you need to fight the best. It’s ok.
"Die like Irish warrior don’t run like chicken. Irish people have history and fight for long time you need to represent your people with honor.”
But while Nurmagomedov remains steadfast in his desire to get a title shot, he’s also admitted that with McGregor potentially out of action until the summer due to the impending arrival of his first child, 'The Eagle’ will almost certainly have to fight someone else first.
That someone else would appear to be fellow top contender Tony Ferguson, whose win over former champion Rafael dos Anjos saw him leapfrog Nurmagomedov as the UFC’s No.1 lightweight contender going into UFC 205.
Nurmagomedov’s demolition of Johnson at Madison Square Garden saw him return to the top of the rankings, and he told Match TV that he’s ready to go through Ferguson first in order to book his shot with McGregor next summer.
“What they will do is unclear. Now they are saying he is away until May or June," he said.
"I can still fight Ferguson and beat him. What’s next after that?”
And the Russian star hinted that the Ferguson fight is close to being agreed and suggested there could even be an interim belt up for grabs between the two.
“There are already negotiations; I’m 90% sure it will happen,” he said.
“I can’t wait until summer. I have missed out on two years of my career.
“If I fight Ferguson for the interim belt and win, then fight Conor for the title unification in (UFC International) Fight Week in July and do a press tour in the US, Europe, Russia and Asia, everyone could make money.”
