With a win over Justin Gaethje this Saturday at UFC 254, Nurmagomedov would not only record his third straight lightweight title defense, he’d improve his unblemished pro record to 29-0. He’s beaten a dozen UFC opponents, with dominant victories against elite fighters like Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Al Iaquinta, Edson Barboza, and Rafael dos Anjos.
It’s rare for any combat sports athlete to go their entire career without a loss, but the 32-year-old Nurmagomedov plans to do just that and follow in the footsteps of legendary boxers like Rocky Marciano and McGregor nemesis Floyd Mayweather. Now it’s just a matter of finding the magic number that will be enough for Nurmagomedov to lay down his gloves for good.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Nurmagomedov told Yahoo! Sports (transcript via The Body Lock). “30-0 is going to be great. It’s looking good, it sounds good.
“30-0, okay. It’s going to be a great record, this is like Mayweather in MMA. We’ll see, I’m very close to it.”
Beyond the big question mark of how his fight with Gaethje will go, Nurmagomedov’s plan to go at least 30-0 is dependent on what’s next for him following another win. “The Eagle” will have seemingly cleared out his division, though several potential matchups continue to be proposed. McGregor has long campaigned for a rematch after losing to Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, a perpetually snake-bitten matchup with Tony Ferguson remains a possibility despite losing some of its cache with Gaethje having stopped Ferguson’s lengthy win streak, and both Nurmagomedov and UFC legend Georges St-Pierre have expressed a mutual interest in a legacy battle should “GSP” ever decide to compete again.
Nurmagomedov also recently said that UFC President Dana White has “something special” in the works for him, though neither man has gone into detail as to what that might be and Nurmagomedov expressly asked White to wait until after his fight with Gaethje to move forward with discussions.
Even if opponent No. 30 doesn’t turn out to be an earth-shattering name, Nurmagomedov is already confident that a win against Gaethje further cements his reputation among the all-time greats.
“Who knows?” Nurmagomedov said. “Okay, I finish Justin Gaethje, I finish one more guy, I dominate him—I think my name is going to be always in history,” Nurmagomedov said. “I think already my name is going to be in history because two years ago what happened [against McGregor] is never going to be forgotten. Even after 50 years, people are going to watch this fight and be impressed. This is like when Muhammad Ali fought [Joe] Frazier in Manila. People never forget this fight.
“I’m already in history but I need legacy. For legacy, Justin Gaethje is a great opponent right now.”
[h=1]MUST-READ STORIES[/h]Next. UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski is looking forward to a fight with Brian Ortega.
Evolution. Ortega had to level up to score a big win over “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.
Challenge. Jessica Andrade is ready for a fight with UFC flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko.
Get well. Umar Nurmagomedov’s UFC debut has once again hit a snag.
[h=1]VIDEO STEW[/h]UFC Fight Island 6 post-fight show featuring featherweight contender Calvin Kattar.
UFC Fight Island 6 post-fight press conference
UFC 254 cold open.
BOOOOOM!!!!! If this doesn't fire you up, NOTHING WILL pic.twitter.com/2MmUqetCGX
— danawhite (@danawhite) October 18, 2020
UFC 254 Countdown— danawhite (@danawhite) October 18, 2020
Father and son.
Dan Hardy breaks down all of Saturday’s action.
Teofimo Lopez vs. Vasiliy Lomachenko highlights.
[h=1]LISTEN UP[/h]6th Round. Immediate post-fight analysis of UFC Fight Island 6.
Severe MMA. Discussing UFC Fight Island 6, Khabib-Gaethje, and open scoring.
[h=1]SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE[/h]Khamzat Chimaev wants to travel back to UFC 1.
I want to fight three guys in one night old school let’s go @danawhite let’s piss everybody off
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) October 19, 2020
Triple C looking for another C.— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) October 19, 2020
@teofimolopez congratulations on your unification. Be a good babysitter and watch over Daddy’s belts! #younext pic.twitter.com/eMNfx234UV
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) October 18, 2020
Tony Ferguson. GSP? SUG???— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) October 18, 2020
“GSP On SUG Fuck Yeah Count Me In”
?? -CSO- # Hashtag Active @ChaelSonnen @vaynersports pic.twitter.com/2VDf2LI7oL
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) October 18, 2020
Dustin Poirier is ready for January.?? -CSO- # Hashtag Active @ChaelSonnen @vaynersports pic.twitter.com/2VDf2LI7oL
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) October 18, 2020
Jon Jones be Jon Jonesin’ on social media.
Sad when you see a person so motivated by hate.. no wonder hes seeing Someone for his mental state, that shits not sustainable.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
Interviewer: what’s your learning style, do you like reading, audiobooks?
Confused child: I like to call my learning style look-See-do
no wonder his inner circle is trying to keep him far away from me. His admiration is real, he’s allowed it to turn into an unhealthy hate
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
Confused child: I like to call my learning style look-See-do
no wonder his inner circle is trying to keep him far away from me. His admiration is real, he’s allowed it to turn into an unhealthy hate
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
Take a page from DC and leave the Jon Jones chapter alone. You’ll find yourself more happy. I don’t lose easy.. Fucking with me is bad for your health
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
Thiago Santos is a masterful knockout artist and I stood with him for 25 minutes. Fought him where he was absolute best, had Anthony Smith in the fetal position the whole fight. But sure I suck lol. Standards high when your I get it https://t.co/AxqlIC1Qcf
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
Motivated Jones takes your lunch money
— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
Michael Chandler is free to roam.— BONY (@JonnyBones) October 17, 2020
View this post on Instagram
When you get the knock on the door you’ve been waiting 48 hours for. - Feels good to be free. Let’s get fight week going! - See you at the top! - : @randelaleman - #mma #ufc #ufc254 #fightisland #ufcfightisland #wabudhabi #inabudhabi
A post shared by Michael Chandler (@mikechandlermma) on Oct 18, 2020 at 11:58pm PDT
View this post on Instagram
I am a huge fan of this mans character and heart. On to the next one.
A post shared by Justin Gaethje (@justin_gaethje) on Oct 19, 2020 at 12:50am PDT
[h=1]FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS[/h]Adam Borics (15-1) vs. Erick Sanchez (9-5); Bellator 250, Oct. 29.
Jared Scoggins (10-1) vs. Toby Misech (11-7); Bellator 250, Oct. 29.
Kevin Holland (19-5) vs. Makhmud Muradov (24-6); UFC Fight Night, Oct. 31.
Alex Morono (17-6, 1 NC) vs. Rhys McKee (10-3-1); UFC Fight Night, Nov. 14.
Jessica Eye (15-8, 1 NC) vs. Joanne Calderwood (14-5); UFC 257, Jan. 23.
[h=1]FINAL THOUGHTS[/h]With Brian Ortega vs. “The Korean Zombie” in the books, that’s one highly-anticipated Fight Island matchup that went off without a hitch. Surely, the same will hold true for Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje, right? Right.
Jed Meshew will be back tomorrow, thanks for reading!
[h=1]EXIT POLL[/h]
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let him know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram, add us on Snapchat at MMA-Fighting, and like us on Facebook.
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