"Don't take away his greatness" - When Khabib Nurmagomedov showed his humble nature after talks about easily defeating Israel Adesanya

Khabib Nurmagomedov once heaped praise on Israel Adesanya when asked whether or not he'd have successfully defeated the middleweight champion.

Nurmagomedov is widely considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, evidenced by his stunning 29-0 record. 'The Eagle' called time on his career in 2020 as the lightweight champion, successfully submitting Justin Gaethje before hanging up his gloves.

The Russian fighter's decision to retire from the octagon at just of 31 years old has meant fans have often had to theorize how Nurmagomedov would have done in dream matchups.

One such opponent was Israel Adesanya who Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, claimed he could have defeated.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov was then asked about his chances against Adesanya during his UFC Hall of Fame induction night last year. 'The Eagle' immediately laughed off the question before praising Adesanya's dominance at 185 pounds. He said:

"I'm not gonna fight him [Israel Adesanya] at 185 pounds. I'm not gonna fight with him. Right now this is his time. Dont take away his greatness, you know? How many years is he middleweight champion? Three? four? I think he deserves some respect. Don't treat him like this by saying some lightweight can beat him easily. "

He added:

"If we wants to grapple, we can grapple, you know. In the gym. Like I did lately with all these heavyweights, light heavyweights, middleweights. People talk about this, I didn't say this [about defeating Adesanya]."

Catch Nurmagomedov's comments here:

Dustin Poirier reveals why loss to Justin Gaethje hurts more than his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov

Dustin Poirier suffered a stunning head kick knockout defeat to Justin Gaethje at UFC 291. The loss was also his first outside of a title fight since 2016.

In the days following the fight, Poirier appeared on The MMA Hour to provide his reaction to the defeat. It was there that Louisiana native claimed the defeat has been tougher to take than when he was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 242.

According to Poirier, he felt as though Nurmagomedov was a better fighter than him. The painful part about his latest loss is that he feels he is better than Gaethje. The 34-year-old explained:

"Khabib was better than me. I lost Saturday to somebody who I think I'm better than."

He added:

"Yeah. Yeah. I was away from home for nine weeks in training camp. I dieted 11 weeks, sacrificed so much, was really focused, man, was really, really focused, and felt great, the best I've ever felt. Honestly, the best I've ever felt."

Catch Poirier's comments on Khabib Nurmagomedov here:

Dustin Poirier: “Khabib was better than me. I lost Saturday to somebody I think I’m better than." #TheMMAHour

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