Just as there is no shortage of friction in the upper tier of the lightweight division, injuries are also prevalent at the elite level of the 155-pound fold. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Anthony Pettis have exchanged barbs in interviews and across social media platforms over the past year, with trigger points for both being focused on the other fighter's inability to remain healthy.
The undefeated Dagestan-born lightweight was forced to withdraw from his scheduled bout with Donald Cerrone at UFC 187 on May 23 due to suffering a knee injury, to which "Showtime" decided to pour the proverbial salt on the wound by suggesting karma was paying the young Russian back for his earlier slights in Pettis' direction.
Strangely enough, the Milwaukee native would pull out of his bout with Myles Jury at UFC on Fox 16 a short time later, as an elbow injury struck the former champion once again.
I'm 23 fights deep in the @ufc since 21 I never pulled out a fight ur #bothmadefromglass #lolaturshittalkin #rookies pic.twitter.com/3EM9lBYGaO
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) May 8, 2015
These turns prompted Nate Diaz to chime in on the matters at hand. Stockton's most notable lightweight dogged "The Eagle" and Pettis for constantly pulling out of fights with injury. Diaz jumping in the mix only served to irk Nurmagomedov further, and he discussed his two rivals—and how he'd prefer to settle those feuds—during a recent visit on The MMA Hour, via Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com.
In the interview with Ariel Helwani, the American Kickboxing Academy standout was adamant about his willingness to face both Pettis and Diaz, and firm in his confidence he would emerge victorious in both matchups.
I can fight these guys both same night. These guys are easy money for me.
"Before all the time, I ask UFC, 'Please give me Nate Diaz, please give me Anthony Pettis. But all the time these guys scared and no give answer to UFC. These guys no want fight before with me. But now these guys talk s--t, because I'm injured. Because I can't fight now.
While Nurmagomedov is recovering from his knee injury and hopes to return in the fall, being forced to withdraw from his highly anticipated tilt against "Cowboy" created some serious backlash throughout the MMA community.
Prior to landing the fight with Cerrone, the 26-year-old contender had already been on the shelf for a lengthy stint as he recovered from injury, and another setback seemed to erase a good portion of the momentum he had in the lead-up to UFC 187.
Furthermore, Nurmagomedov's injury also brought criticism to his home gym as well. The San Jose-based outfit has been notoriously plagued by fighter injuries over the years, with UFC President Dana White lashing out at their approach during a recent interview with Setanta Sports, via Dave Meltzer of MMAFighting.com. While Nurmagomedov wasn't willing to lend credence to that notion, he did tell Helwani he would be adjusting his training approach in the coming months.
Fans sometimes talk crazy, but it's OK. I understand fans are a little bit upset, I'm upset too. I'm not happy. One year, I [don't] fight. This is not good news for me, not good news for fans. I understand this."
"If you want to win, you need to go crazy. MMA every day is a high level, you need to be training hard, to push yourself. MMA all the time has injuries. Next time, I think I train a little bit more smart. I think this is very good experience for me.
Even though Nurmagomedov's return to the Octagon is still several months away, he's already eyeing the potential opponents he will face when he receives a clean bill of health. While a rematch with current champion Rafael dos Anjos would be the ideal scenario, he knows the upcoming matchup between the Jackson/Winkeljohn-trained fighter and John Makdessi at UFC 187 has the potential to impact that situation tremendously.
That said, even if Nurmagomedov doesn't receive a title shot upon his return, he's made it clear a bout with Pettis or Diaz would be suitable as well.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
