Khabib Nurmagomedov may be fighting for an interim title, but there isn't a soul in the world capable of convincing him he won't emerge from the Octagon as the undisputed lightweight champ on Saturday.
"The Eagle" will meet Tony Ferguson in the co-main event of UFC 209, and while Conor McGregor remains the undisputed king of the 155-pound division, Nurmagomedov firmly believes he's the world's preeminent lightweight, and that his date with Ferguson is the Las Vegas card's true marquee matchup.
"We have real fight now. This is like the people’s main event. This is one of the biggest fights of 2017, of all time in the UFC. I think about other guys? Of course not," Nurmagomedov told reporters Wednesday, according to MMAjunkie's Mike Bohn. "I'm going to make my win streak a 25-win streak, take belt, become the new UFC lightweight and undisputed and undefeated champion, and after we'll see what happens."
McGregor won the strap with a second-round knockout of Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 - a title shot many expected to go to Nurmagomedov. The 28-year-old ended up disposing of Michael Johnson in the same bill, and with Ferguson now riding a division-best nine-fight win streak, The Eagle is certain he and El Cucuy will make history come fight night.
"Tony Ferguson before this fight have eight-win streak. I have seven-win streak. Why don't we fight? Because this is a business matchup. This is money fight. This is why they make this fight. I understand, but people know who is the real fighter, who is the high-level fighter in the lightweight division."
Ferguson wholeheartedly agreed with his foe's estimation of the bout, although he needed far less words to do so.
"We're the co-main event," he said Wednesday, "but we're the real main event, baby. I don't care what anybody says."
In the official main event, Tyron Woodley will defend the welterweight title in a rematch with Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.
