"He looked more or less competitive" - Rising featherweight Movsar Evloev reveals who was Khabib Nurmagomedov's toughest opponent in the UFC
Rising featherweight Movsar Evloev has revealed who Khabib Nurmagomedov’s toughest opponent in the UFC was. Evloev believes that out of all the fighters Nurmagomedov fought, Conor McGregor was his toughest challenge.
Movsar Evloev thinks that Conor McGregor “looked more or less competitive” in his UFC 229 fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov. For a long time, the consensus in the combat sports world has been that McGregor was indeed Nurmagomedov's toughest test.
It’s often emphasized that Khabib Nurmagomedov had little to no trouble with his opponents in the UFC. The only fights that possibly troubled him were his bouts against Gleison Tibau at UFC 148 and Conor McGregor at UFC 229.
Movsar Evloev recently spoke to RT Sport MMA. Upon being asked about the elusive Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson matchup and the rivalry between the two, Movsar Evloev stated:
“Tony would absolutely be a very interesting matchup for Khabib. But every time this fight was set to happen, and everybody was evaluating their chances, I always had Khabib as the favorite. But Tony was always a dangerous opponent. He has always been unpredictable; could catch his opponents off guard with an unexpected move and claw out the victory. He could have been an exciting matchup for Khabib. But Khabib was always the favorite to me.”
Movsar Evloev stated who he believes is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s archrival, alluding towards the Irishman. Evloev said:
“And out of those he actually fought, I think, it’s still Conor. He looked more or less competitive. Up until the very end of their fight with Conor, there was still some intrigue.”
Watch the interview below:
Movsar Evloev addressed the guillotine choke that Khabib Nurmagomedov almost fell victim to against Dustin Poirier
Movsar Evloev referenced the tight guillotine choke that Dustin Poirier had trapped Khabib Nurmagomedov in at UFC 242. Nurmagomedov managed to escape and subsequently submitted Poirier with a rear-naked choke. Evloev recalled this and noted:
“And as for Justin (Gaethje) and Dustin Poirier, except for the moment with that guillotine which looked very tight, everything was quite obvious even before the fights started.” (*Video and translation courtesy: RT Sport MMA)
Movsar Evloev is coming off a unanimous decision win over Hakeem Dawodu at UFC 263. Evloev holds an undefeated professional MMA record of 15-0 and is regarded as one of the brightest prospects in the UFC featherweight division today.
Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from the sport of MMA after his second-round submission win against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020. In the ensuing months, Nurmagomedov has consistently maintained that he doesn’t intend to compete in professional MMA ever again.
'The Notorious' Conor McGregor is scheduled to fight Dustin Poirier in their trilogy matchup at UFC 264 on July 10th, 2021.