Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘A lot of fans are upset with me. It’s is 100% my fault’
By José Youngs
Khabib Nurmagomedov speaks for the first time since pulling out of UFC 209
Khabib Nurmagomedov has broken his silence on the weight-cutting fiasco that forced him out of his highly anticipated interim title fight against Tony Ferguson.
Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were originally slated to fight for the interim UFC lightweight title in the co-main event of UFC 209 in March. But a little more than 30 hours before they were slated to exchange leather, Nurmagomedov found himself being rushed to the hospital after his body began to fail him following a disastrous weight cut.
As a result, doctors informed ‘The Eagle’ he would not be medically cleared to fight Ferguson, forcing the UFC to scrap the bout entirely.
“You know I don’t remember a lot of things, to be honest,” Nurma told RT (h/t ibtimes). “Last night (before weigh in) and I know – I am going to a hospital, I feel bad.”
“I know that a lot of fans are upset with me about this and I agree with this guys. Because this is one of the biggest fights in Russian MMA. For me, I can make history but I am going to the hospital you know.”
UFC President Dana White would later reveal the fight could have been saved if Nurmagomedov’s team had contacted the UFC first instead of rushing their fight to the hospital.
But Nurmagomedov doesn’t want to here it as he takes full responsibility for shattering the dreams of fight fans.
“I think this is my fault, this is my fault,” he added. “I know that (my) body don’t listen to me and I think, I know, this is my fault. How can I say that this is the coach’s fault or the diet guy’s fault? This is 100% my fault.
“But sometimes this happens, sometimes you can die, you know. Everybody can die, everybody can (get) sick. Now I need a couple of months. Like two or three months. After three months I come for hard training and I want to fight in September.”
This also marked third time Ferguson and Nurmagomedov saw their scheduled fight fall aprt. The were originally scheduled to fight atThe Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale in December 2015 before a broken rib took Nurmagomedov out of the bout. The fight was then re-booked for a second time, this time at UFC on FOX 19 April, but it was Ferguson who pulled out with a rib injury.
Needless to say, the two fighters are the definition of “unfinished business.”
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“I feel a little bit better (towards Ferguson),” said Nurmagomedov. “But to be honest, you know when you want to smash somebody so badly, how do you feel about this guy? This is my dream fight – a fight with Tony Ferguson.”
“I know I pulled out, but he pulled out one time, too. But nobody talked when he pulled out. When I pull out – everybody talks about this. But it’s ok. Inshallah I will come back and we’ll see what happens.”