UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was in attendance for Max Holloway’s recent fight with Calvin Kattar, and he liked what he saw.

After the fight, Nurmagomedov hailed Holloway as one of the best fighters in the world, and also tipped his hat to the Hawaiian for his mid-fight trash talk and showboating.

Nurmagomedov, after all, is famous for speaking to his opponents in the middle of his fights.

“I love this,” Khabib said on Full Reptile with UFC commentator Dan Hardy. “Fighting, at the same time talk with opponent, talk with some corner, talk with Dana. This is amazing feeling.”

Of course, that’s not the only facet of Holloway’s performance that impressed Nurmagomedov.

In the middle of the fight, Holloway proclaimed himself the best boxer in the UFC. Nurmagomedov isn’t sure about that, but is certainly impressed by the Hawaiian’s hands.

“About best boxer, I don’t know, but he’s one of the best for sure,” Nurmagomedov said. “And his cardio I think. He has very good cardio, very good chin, and now his experience every fight is coming more and more and I think his time is gonna come. This is what I think. This was his best performance but in the future, he has a couple years to show and become maybe best fighter of all time.”

While it’s clear that Nurmagomedov has ample respect for Holloway, the pair were actually briefly scheduled to fight in 2018, until the fight fell through due to weight-cutting issues on Holloway’s side.

“I really like Max,” Nurmagomedov said, looking back on their fight. “We were supposed to fight with him in 2018 and I remember this. I think he’s time is gonna come, maybe end of the year, maybe next year. It was his best performance but I believe he has potential to be more great fighter than he was a couple days ago.”

What do you think of these comments from Khabib Nurmagomedov?