Khabib Nurmagomedov took the world of mixed martial arts by surprise when he went on an undefeated spree and claimed victories over the strongest of lightweights during his reign. However, his legacy was met with hurdles when his name wasn’t big enough for the MMA promotion. He was snubbed out of the fight with Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight championship title. Instead, Conor McGregor got the chance to fight for a simultaneous second belt. 

A video of Nurmagomedov’s interview with Stephen Olexy from 2021 has now resurfaced on YouTube and has been making circles around the internet. Therein, the undefeated UFC legend revealed the tricks that Dana White played with the title shots.

Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals the dark truth about Dana White’s gameplan

In the resurfaced YouTube video, Nurmagomedov was interviewed by Stephen Olexy on his talk show, ‘Inspire Me Podcast’. And how can a conversation with Nurmagomedov be complete without a discussion of the chance he lost against Alvarez? The podcast host brought out the moment when Alvarez was pitted against McGregor at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden, even though Nurmagomedov had signed a contract to fight for the lightweight championship belt. 

The former UFC lightweight champion revealed that the UFC had sent him 2 separate contracts, one for MSG and one for Montreal. Needless to say, the Dagestani wanted to fight for the belt against Alvarez. However, things went awry for ‘The Eagle’. He recollected, “They push Eddie Alvarez to sign contract because they sent me and they told, ‘Hey, you’re gonna fight with Conor with our rules, or you wanna fight with Khabib like whatever you want.’ And he watched like, ‘Oh Khabib, he’s tough fight’ you know. And that time, I didn’t have big name, and then he signed contract with Conor, you know.”

It was then that Nurmagomedov found out the real factor that could garner him the title shots and big PPV numbers in the UFC. It was nothing but a big name. He continued, “But I understand that time this game, you know. Like if you have big name, you’re gonna take title shot, pay-per-view, everything. And I just say, I remember I sent Dana message, ‘Hey, doesn’t matter. Like this year or next year, I know I’m gonna fight for the title because I believe myself. But just give me someone, I wanna fight same card.’ He say, ‘Okay, we’re gonna give you.’” 

That was how he found his place in the preliminary card for UFC 205 against Michael Johnson. It was indeed Nurmagomedov who rose victorious with a phenomenal display of grappling dominance, ending in a kimura that tapped his opponent out. Soon, Nurmagomedov found his way to popularity and got the championship belt. Now, let’s shift our focus to the Dagestani’s title defenses.

‘The Eagle’s reign as the lightweight champion

Despite losing his title shot at UFC 205, Nurmagomedov didn’t stop striving for the title. It was in 2017, that his dream of becoming the UFC champ was fulfilled. He defeated Al Laquinta via a unanimous decision. He then went on to exact his revenge on ‘Mystic Mac’ for stealing his title shot against Alvarez and for all the unpleasantries exchanged during their fight buildup. It was indeed one of the most heated rivalries that the UFC had ever seen. But ‘The Eagle’ maintained his winning streak and defended his title by defeating McGregor via a rear naked choke in the 4th round. 

Nurmagomedov’s second title defense was against Dustin Poirier. And once again, he executed a phenomenal rear naked choke and won via submission. In 2020, Nurmagomedov defended his title for the final time as he defeated Justin Gaethje via a triangle choke. It was the moment that Nurmagomedov became a fighter with the highest number of UFC lightweight title defenses at the time. Quite an achievement, don’t you think?

What are your thoughts about the games that the MMA promotion plays with the title shots? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.