Khabib Nurmagomedov addresses queue of lightweight contenders, will defend against whoever UFC chooses

Khabib Nurmagomedov is sitting atop the throne in what’s likely the most stacked weight class in the sport. There are several contenders who would serve as worthy challengers to his UFC lightweight throne, and “The Eagle” said he’s ready to take on all comers.

The month of April put a major spotlight on the 155-pound division. Nurmagomedov (26-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC) kicked things off by claiming the belt at UFC 223. His performance was following by a “Fight of the Year” candidate win by Dustin Poirier (23-5 MMA, 15-4 UFC) at UFC on FOX 29, then closed out with Kevin Lee’s (17-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) victory in the UFC Fight Night 128 main event on Saturday.

Poirier and Lee put themselves in good position to be considered for title shots, but of course that’s only in the cards if former UFC champ Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) does not make a return to the UFC sooner than later. There’s also former interim titleholder Tony Ferguson (23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC), who has been scheduled to fight Nurmagomedov four times, but “El Cucuy” is on the mend for most of the year due to a recent knee surgery.

The situation could play out in a number of ways, and Nurmagomedov said he’ll be prepared to defend his title regardless of how the cards fall (via Instagram):

Lightweight division is the most competitive division in #UFC At this moment, atmosphere is very heated: there is Conor and Tony, Porier, Lee and Alvarez, all of them are good. Fight with any of these guys would be very interesting and competitive. I never choose opponent, fought with any fighter who was offered me to fight, and I’m not going to change that. I’m coming back November – December to defend my belt. Whoever @ufc decide to fight me with, I’ll sign. ?? ?????? ???????? ?????? ??? ????? ???????????? ? #ufc ? ?????? ?????? ???????? ????? ??????????, ???? ?????, ???? ????, ???? ?????, ?? ? ????????, ?????? ?? ??? ????? ?? ??????. ? ????? ?? ??? ????????? ???????, ???????????? ???. ? ??????? ?? ??????? ???? ??????????, ?????? ? ???? ???? ??? ?????????? ? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ????????? ???????? ?????????. ? ????????? ????????? ? ?????? ??? ? ??????? ??????????. ????? ??????? #ufc ?????? ?? ? ?????. #bigdramashow #ufclightweight #mma #ufc #???????????????????????? #inshaaAllah

A post shared by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on Apr 22, 2018 at 1:46pm PDT

Lightweight division is the most competitive division in #UFC
At this moment, atmosphere is very heated: there is Conor and Tony, Porier, Lee and Alvarez, all of them are good. Fight with any of these guys would be very interesting and competitive.
I never choose opponent, fought with any fighter who was offered me to fight, and I’m not going to change that.
I’m coming back November – December to defend my belt. Whoever @ufc decide to fight me with, I’ll sign.

After winning the belt with a unanimous-decision win over Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 in Brooklyn, N.Y., Nurmagomedov made it clear he wouldn’t fight until after summertime. He will be observing Ramadan from May 15 to June 14, after which he could conceivably begin a training camp.

McGregor would seemingly be the frontrunner to fight for the belt, but legal woes stemming from his well documented alleged bus attack during UFC 223 fight week has left “The Notorious” somewhat in limbo.

For more on the UFC schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.