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UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov would rather not watch UFC champions Islam Makhachev and Belal Muhammad fight each other.
UFC lightweight champ Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) is eager to move up to welterweight to pursue dual champion status, but with Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) as the current welterweight champ, plans to do so were put on ice. Muhammad has trained with Team Nurmagomedov on several occasions. “The Eagle” admits he would be uncomfortable helping Makhachev prepare for Muhammad.
“If they had asked me to fight Belal when I was an active fighter, I would have said no,” Nurmagomedov said on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman. “But for example Belal and Islam, okay, you have to talk to them. My heart – my heart is not right. It would be difficult to prepare Islam to defeat Belal.”
Nurmagomedov, who cornered Muhammad for his TKO win over Sean Brady at UFC 280, admits a game plan wouldn’t be easy for the welterweight champion, who remains undefeated in his last 11 fights create.
“I don’t think it will ever happen,” Nurmagomedov said of Makhachev vs. Muhammad. “It will be very difficult for me to prepare anyone to beat Belal. If you want to beat Belal, I think you have to stop him. Without a break it will be very difficult. What are you going to do?
“Okay, if you turn it off, first of all, it’s very hard to control it for 25 minutes. Secondly, it is very difficult to dominate him with his attacking play in all 25 minutes because he messes everything up. He won’t stick around.” You every 25 minutes. He wrestles and punches, wrestles and punches. He is good.
Instead, Nurmagomedov suggests Muhammad fight Kamaru Usman if the “Nigerian Nightmare” can bounce back with a big win.
“I think I want to see that fight (Muhammad vs. Usman),” Nurmagomedov said. “I want to see it because Kamaru deserves it. People can say whatever they want. Kamaru deserves this fight. Of course Shavkat (Rakhmonov) is on the line, but I think if Kamaru beats a guy, someone like Jack Della Maddalena, he could fight for the title.
Related
Dan Hooker on the “myth” of the fight against Islam Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov
UFC lightweight title history: Jens Pulver, Islam Makhachev, Khabib, Conor and more
“Today Islam has grown a lot”: Khabib Nurmagomedov praises Makhachev’s performance at UFC 302
Henry Cejudo: Belal Muhammad is stylistically “the person closest to a man like Khabib Nurmagomedov”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘My heart is not right’ as Islam Makhachev fights Belal Muhammad
