UFC on FOX 19's Khabib Nurmagomedov happy to rest up if he's put on New York card

TAMPA, Fla. – Khabib Nurmagomedov has been on the sidelines for nearly two years, so after his win on Saturday, naturally he wants some time off.

It’s not quite that simple, though. For starters, Nurmagomedov has a very important religious period coming up. The Islamic observance of Ramadan starts in June, so fights are out of the question for “The Eagle” during that monthlong period.

Nurmagomedov (23-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was supposed to headline Saturday’s UFC on FOX 19 card at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., against Tony Ferguson (20-3 MMA, 10-1 UFC). But Ferguson fell out of the fight the week prior and instead Nurmagomedov dominated Darrell Horcher (13-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the FOX-televised main card. Even though he pulled out, Ferguson has been calling Nurmagomedov out for a fight in late May.

A more realistic timetable, Nurmagomedov said, is this fall. But don’t mistake that for laziness on his part.

“After two years, six months is nothing to me (to wait for my next fight),” Nurmagomedov said. “Tony’s called me (out) for May 29. But I’m training for this camp since the beginning of January, almost 100 days. I’ve been training very hard for my comeback. I (wasn’t in) shape. But after 100 days, you see my performance.”

That lengthy fight camp on the heels of his long injury layoff was something he needed to adjust to. But the kind of rest he’s looking for ought to have him part of the UFC’s Nov. 12 debut in New York at Madison Square Garden.

“I know and I feel my body needs rest,” he said. “In June at the beginning of Ramadan, I want to rest a little bit and come back in September or October. But I think if the UFC wants to make a very smart decision for New York, New York has a couple million people who speak Russian. I’m famous in New York, I think. I can fight in New York. But now, I think I deserve a little bit of rest (after) my comeback.

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 19, check out the UFC Events section of the site.