Khabib Nurmagomedov Responds to Max Holloway Superfight Talk

Since Max Holloway stopped Brian Ortega last weekend at UFC 231, there’s been some talk about the featherweight champ moving up to lightweight, and even facing Khabib Nurmagomedov. But, according to recent report, the lightweight champ believes Holloway has some work to do before they square off.

Due to the fact Holloway cuts a lot of weight to make 145, and because of his well documented medical issues this past July, the consensus has been that sooner or later “Blessed” will leave featherweight behind him. After his win over Ortega, Holloway admitted that a showdown with Khabib likely interests him the most, as far as a superfight.

But, according to a recent tweet from MMA Team Dagestan, Nurmagomedov recently had this to say, when asked about the possibility of fighting Holloway:

@BlessedMMA said he was interested in this fight. Will this fight happen?
– @TeamKhabib: Max is doing well, this is interesting to me, he is my potential rival.. but this is different category for him, other body structure, another wrestling. I think he needs…

I think he needs to do some fights if he goes into lightweight division, to test your capabilities. This is purely my opinion. After all, in my weight there are those who deserve it more; @TonyFergusonXT, @DustinPoirier ..

There you have it, and really, the chances of a fight between Nurmagomedov and Holloway happening anytime soon were slim. Ferguson clearly deserves a title shot, and Dana White has said that as a fan, Khabib – Ferguson makes the most sense.

Also, notice that Khabib did not mention fighting Conor McGregor again…Although the champ submitted McGregor in October, in what was a fairly one-sided bout, talk about a rematch just won’t go away. But, this is another instance where Khabib either hasn’t mentioned fighting his rival again, or he’s outright shut down the possibility of a rematch.