Khabib Nurmagomedov hasn’t been seen in the Octagon since defeating Michael Johnson on the UFC 205 preliminary card.
Kevin Lee is challenging for the UFC Interim Lightweight Title this weekend at UFC 216 and he claims that Nurmagomedov is simply avoiding challenging fights.
“It’s weird,” Lee said at a UFC 216 media event. “The man don’t fight! So, what can I do? What can I do? How longs that dude been out? How long, it’s been over a year now? He doesn’t want to fight nobody, really. He doesn’t want to fight nobody that proves to be a challenge to him. He wants to hold on to that imaginary ‘0’ that he thinks he’s got.”
Lee is facing Tony Ferguson at UFC 216 and Ferguson has had a history of canceled fights with Nurmagomedov.
There is one thing that Lee does admire about Nurmagomedov and that is the fact that he has a whole country still supporting him, despite a lack of Octagon activity.
“He’s got a whole country behind him,” Lee said. “He’s got all of Russia. The man don’t even have to fight and somehow he’s still keeping himself in the media.”
UFC 216 takes place on Saturday, October 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
