De flesta var nog ganska så säkra på att Khabib Nurmagomedov skulle vinna mot Darrell Horcher på UFC on FOX 19 tidigare denna månad. Men Rafael dos Anjos, som förlorade mot honom för två år sedan, var inte särskilt imponerad på honom.
På UFC on FOX 19 den 16 april kom ryssen Khabib Nurmagomedov (23-0) tillbaka till oktagonen efter två års paus på grund av skador. I matchen dominerade han nykomlingen Darrell Horcher (13-2) och vann i den andra ronden. Men någon som inte blev särskilt imponerad av ryssens match är den han mötte i matchen innan skadepausen, Rafael dos Anjos (25-7). Han säger till MMAfighting.com att ryssen såg ut att vara ur form.
”I was not even a little impressed. He fought a guy who has a full-time job and took the fight on a week’s notice. After the first minute, with all due respect, (Horcher) looked pink, completely out of shape, and (Khabib) still needed almost two rounds to finish the fight.”
”Congratulations to the opponent that accepted the fight, but there’s no way… When I lost to Khabib, I was ranked No. 5 or 6 and many things have changed since. He beat a guy who has a full-time job, and I beat Jason High, Ben Henderson, Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone.”
Han tycker att det är lustigt att ”The Eagle” säger sig behöva en paus efter den här matchen då RDA själv gick match mot Jason High (19-5) mindre än två månader efter förlusten mot ”The Eagle” och fortsatte så matcherna som kom efteråt. Man måste jobba hårt om man vill komma åt bältet.
”He’s saying he needs some rest because he trained for three months for this fight? Wait a minute… Forty days after fighting him, I fought Jason High. Two months later, I fought Ben Henderson. When you want the belt, you have to work for it. I think that after a performance like that, he should at least fight Tony Ferguson in May. The number of UFC fights he has, I did it in one year.”
”I offered him to fight me in July when his fight got cancelled, but he couldn’t do it for religious reasons, I guess, but the opportunity was offered and he didn’t say yes. Now he beats a guy who has a full-time job and thinks he deserves a title shot? In my opinion, he does not. He has to work more. He can’t live the rest of his life saying ‘oh, I beat Rafael, I’m the champion without the belt’. He has to work. Forget about that. I’ve done a lot of things and evolved more since that fight.”
När RDA får frågan om han är intresserad av att möta ”The Eagle” den 12 november när UFC kommer tillbaka till delstaten New York säger han att ”The Eagle” inte förtjänar en titelmatch just nu på grund av sina resultat.
”I can’t make plans for November in April. Khabib hasn’t fought in two years and wants to take six months off? What is that? If I take two years off, I would want to fight as much as possible. Many things will happen until November. I think he should fight more. He can’t expect to fight for the title whenever he wants, especially since his results don’t guarantee that. He beat a guy who has a full-time job.”
En returmatch mellan Rafael dos Anjos och Khabib Nurmagomedov skulle se totalt annorlunda ut än den förra matchen då mycket har hänt under de två år som har gått sedan matchen.
”I was a different fighter back then. I’ve done wrong things with my diet and my personal life, and I wasn’t 100 percent focused in the fight. It would be a completely different fight now. Take a look at my results and his results. It would be completely different. Two years have passed, the game has changed, and he needs better results.”
Tycker ni att Nurmagomedov är värd en titelmatch mot Rafael dos Anjos?
