Former UFC Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez says that he is “one of the only guys” that could defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The undefeated UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov sports a perfect 28-0 record. He is set to defend his Lightweight title against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249. Many fans and media regard “El Cucuy” as the best Lightweight fighter on the planet and believe that he is the biggest challenge out there for the Dagestani.
In a recent interview with LowKick MMA, former UFC Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez revealed that he believes Nurmagomedov will get past Ferguson with ease.
“I think Khabib will be just too strong for Tony, I don’t think Tony’s a strong guy. I think it was when Kevin Lee fought Tony. He might’ve got his back and he was getting positions on him that were very dominant positions,” Alvarez said. “I just think Tony makes too many mistakes. He makes too many mistakes and gets away with it pretty often. I don’t think he’s going to be able to get away with them facing Khabib. Khabib is too strong and too big for a guy like Tony. You need a smaller, stocky, strong wrestler to be able to compete and against Khabib. I don’t think a long lanky guy who is jujitsu based is the guy. I don’t think Tony is the style to beat Khabib.”
When asked about who the best person to beat Nurmagomedov is, Eddie Alvarez said that he would do it. He believes that his ability to wrestle and adjust his game plan would be the deciding factor.
“I think my style is difficult for Khabib to deal with. Not my regular style that I go out fighting, where I’m getting in people’s face and try to put on a war. I have the ability to adjust. I can fight multiple styles because I fought for such a long time,” Eddie Alvarez explained. “I’m probably one of the only guys who is able to implement a style and beat Khabib. I don’t think a lot of guys have the resources and the tools to even implement the right style to beat Khabib. I think I have the right resources and the right tools to do that. And a lot of guys don’t. I don’t think Tony does. I don’t think a lot of guys in the division do.”
Nurmagomedov was supposed to challenge Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight title at UFC 205. The fight was given to Conor McGregor instead, who went on to defeat Alvarez and become the first fighter to hold 2 UFC titles simultaneously. This is something that Nurmagomedov was not happy about, expressing his anger over the situation in a couple of tweets back in 2016, calling Alvarez a “bulls*it champ”
“I have two bout agreements that bullshit champ refuses to sign. I got used the whole time to make Conor and Eddie get on their knees and beg”
“Just for the record @Ealvarezfight and @TheNotoriousMMA fear me I’m just a man. Your time will come to get my hands on you”
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 7th March, 2020.
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