One of the main sporting events of the autumn promises to be the next fight of Habib Nurmagomedov. At the moment, the current UFC lightweight champion is serving a disqualification for participating in a fight in the UFC 229 tournament, but in September he will be able to return to octagon and hold a second belt defense. Given his squabble with Conor McGregor, one could expect a rematch with the Irish, but the Russian himself said about a different career development.
“The approximate date is September, the rival is the winner of the Holloway-Porye battle. 80 percent that he will be held on September 7. So be it. Now nothing is approved, we are negotiating. We are waiting for April 14, when the battle between the fighters will take place. The time and place of the next bout depends on who becomes the interim champion, ”Match TV quotes Nurmagomedov.
Thus, the Russian fighter almost swept away the likelihood of a possible rematch with McGregor, who recently organized a PR campaign to organize this fight. For nine days, Conor managed to end his career, several times hard to insult both Nurmagomedov and his wife, and then declare his return to mixed martial arts. But, apparently, similar tricks of the ex-UFC champion in two weight categories did not allow him to secure another meeting with Habib.
In addition, Nurmagomedov very clearly outlined the circle of fighters with whom I would like to meet as soon as possible. In addition to Holloway, he was joined by Tony Ferguson, who has a series of 11 victories in a row and is the first number in the lightweight rating. As you know, over the past few years, the UFC leadership has attempted to organize a duel between a Russian and an American four times, but the promotion plans were hampered each time by injuries to one of the athletes.
At the same time, Nurmagomedov noted that he was considering another candidate, but refused to give the name of a possible opponent.
“We'll leave the third one unnamed. By this time, any fighter can draw, ”the undefeated athlete concluded.
The fight for the temporary title in lightweight will be held at the UFC 236 tournament, which will be held on May 14 in the US city of Atlanta. The clash between Holloway and Porier will lead the main card of the tournament. It is noteworthy that the title of the interim middleweight champion will be played on the same show. Kelvin Gastelum and Israel Adesanya will argue for him.
As for the fight between Holloway and Pore, the Hawaiian is the current UFC semi-lightweight champion and a favorite of the future battle. Many bookmakers prefer it to Max, and the athlete also does not suffer from a lack of confidence.
"I am going to destroy him." This best explains my intentions. Send him to the cemetery. Not far from my house there is one. I’ll visit him every day, ”says ESPN, Holloway.
An additional motivation for Holloway is the fact that he had previously conceded Pore. This happened in his debut fight in the UFC, in February 2012. For the Hawaiian, this fight was only the fifth in his career and in all its glory showed his inexperience. The athlete made an offensive mistake and allowed Dustin to hold a kimura (painful hold in hand), which decided the outcome of the fight.
Since then, Holloway suffered two more defeats - from Conor McGregor and Denis Bermudes, after which he won 13 victories in a row. Max broke the resistance of almost every top fighter of his weight class and deservedly became a champion. Famous athletes such as José Aldo, Anthony Pettis, Brian Ortega, Jeremy Stevens and Kab Swanson are among the defeated.
Unlike his counterpart, Pore was not able to achieve success in a featherweight. He suffered three defeats in seven matches, and after losing all the same McGregor decided to return to the light division. It was in this category that he performed at the beginning of his career. Here he spent ten fights, eight of which took over. He lost only to Michael Johnson, and his first battle with Eddie Alvarez was declared invalid as a result of a banned strike by the ex-UFC champion.
For a long time Dustin was not perceived as a contender for the title, and his participation in the fight for the temporary belt can also be called a coincidence. According to the fighter himself, the UFC leadership initially intended to fight between Holloway and Ferguson, but he refused, without explaining the reasons. Pore was chosen as a replacement, which currently occupies the third place in the lightweight rating. Above just all the same Tony and Conor.
For Porier, a duel in the UFC 236 tournament will be the 31st and draw a line under the first ten years of his career in mixed martial arts. He spent his first fight on May 16, 2009 at the USA MMA 7 regional promotion show.
“I think that if the opportunity to compete for the title presented to me a few years ago, I would not be ready. During this time I overcame a lot, matured not only as a person, but as a husband and father. I feel that now is a great time to enter the cage and put everything on the line, ”Pore concluded.