'I think they played games' - Khabib Nurmagomedov claims UFC used him to make Conor McGregor sign for the Eddie Alvarez fight
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov remains entertained in retirement. He recently appeared on an episode of Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson. His teammate and former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo was part of the podcast.
Among other topics, Khabib Nurmagomedov spoke about when the UFC wanted him to fight Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title. Cejudo asked him if the UFC were treating him like a pawn between Alvarez and McGregor's negotiations, and Khabib Nurmagomedov said yes. He said:
"I think they play game. They play game and I sent Dana message - 'Hey, I understand everything. If you guys give him this fight, I understand.' This guy's like big name, that time I don't have big name. You just use my name to force them sign contract. I understand everything."
'The Eagle' further revealed why he thought the entire thing was suspicious from start to finish. He added:
"They sent me contract, fight versus Alvarez, fight for the title. First of all, they send me fight in Canada, I sign contract. Then they send me fight with him in Madison Square Garden, I sign contract, and I was like - 'What's going on? Why this guy sent me two different contracts?' Then I sign contract and I see in media like Conor gonna fight with Alvarez, I was like - 'Hey I supposed to fight with him, I sign already contract.'"
Khabib Nurmagomedov fought on the same UFC 205 card as McGregor vs. Alvarez
While Khabib was gutted by not getting his title shot, he did want to fight someone. The Dagestani fighter revealed that he asked the UFC for an opponent on the same card, and he fought Michael Johnson on the preliminary card of UFC 205, winning via submission in the third round. Khabib revealed:
"Just give me someone, I wanna fight same night. You got a big organization, find someone. They said okay, it was like one month before the fight, they say - 'You just be ready, we're gonna find you someone.'"
Watch the full episode here: