This past weekend at UFC 205 in New York, top ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmgomedov continued his undefeated streak as he scored a 3rd round submission win over Michael Johnson to extend his unbeaten streak to 24-0 as he cemented his place at the top of the UFC’s lightweight division.
The fight was a particularly impressive one for Nurmagomedov, who dominated the fight from bell to bell with his elite level sambo, landing devastating ground and pound shots before ultimately submitting Johnson in the third round.
As if the win wasn’t impressive enough, footage from ‘UFC 205: The Thrill and The Agony’, showed Nurmagomedov talking to Johnson while landing his ground and pound shots, instructing Johnson to give up. In addition, more footage from the ‘UFC 205: The Thrill and The Agony’ video showed Nurmagomedov talking to UFC President Dana White between rounds, instructing the UFC president to give him a title shot, despite him still being in the middle of a fight with Johnson.
In the main event of the card, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor successfully moved up to lightweight and captured the UFC lightweight strap, becoming the first man in UFC history to simultaneously hold belts in two weight divisions. Given Nurmagomedov’s impressive win over Johnson, as well as his now 24-0 professional record, many assumed that ‘The Eagle’ and McGregor would square off for the lightweight championship, however there have been no talks of potential dates for the fight, or even whether or not Nurmagomedov will be getting the title shot.
In an effort to potentially position himself in a spot to challenge for UFC gold, Nurmagomedov took to Twitter with an ultimatum for UFC President Dana White.
I want to fight for @ufc title for respect but if I don't get my title shot next I have different plan I won't be fighting in UFC @danawhite
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) November 16, 2016
This isn’t the first time Nurmagomedov has given the UFC an ultimatum. Prior to his fight with Johnson, Nurmagomedov stated in an interview that if the UFC doesn’t give him a title shot following a win over Johnson, he would make sure the UFC never held an event in Russia.