Khabib Nurmagomedov has joined the group of UFC veterans who think Petr Yan ought to have won in the judges’ verdict in the UFC 280 contest with Sean O’Malley.
Yan was challenged by O’Malley, who won the greatest victory of his life yet. Although the MMA world respects O’Malley, most fans and experts believe that Yan deserved to have won the decision.
Nurmagomedov was backstage waiting to corner Islam Makhachev, and his response to the O’Malley vs. Yan verdict was being live-streamed.
Khabib said: “Split? How? How? No, how? How is it possible, brother? I swear I gave him every round. It was close, but he won every round.”
Yan has now suffered back-to-back split decision defeats. He’s nearly out of the debate about a shot at the championship title. Meanwhile, O’Malley may be a contender for the next bantamweight championship match.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has experience as a coach, competitor, and promoter. The former lightweight champion spoke candidly on MMA’s decline in popularity in an interview with UFC Russia:
“Maybe it’s because the flame inside me went out, but I think there’s been a dip in MMA. Everyone has their viewpoint. I think the flame went out a little, that there was a decline. There will always be stars. UFC’s PR machine is strong. Say what you will, but they created a powerful machine in the last 30 years. They will ignite the flame, but I don’t wake up early to watch fights anymore.”
Despite his retirement from MMA, Nurmagomedov is still actively involved in the sport. It is possible that he will constantly be in the UFC limelight now that Islam Makhchev is the lightweight champion. This may help bring back the popularity of MMA to the world.