{"id":372231,"date":"2020-12-28T20:34:22","date_gmt":"2020-12-29T04:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=372231"},"modified":"2020-12-28T20:34:22","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T04:34:22","slug":"khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/","title":{"rendered":"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights"},"content":{"rendered":"

If anyone knows who the best fighters at 155-pounds are, it’s probably the guy who is the<\/em> best of the bunch, and that’s Russia’s Khabib Nurmagomedov.<\/p>\n

The undefeated 29-0 king of the UFC’s lightweight division has since called an end to his career after a dominant win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. And with that being the case, it’s left everyone wondering how things will unfold atop the division.<\/p>\n

When it comes to the top three, “The Eagle” has some names in mind.<\/p>\n

“Lightweight has always been very competitive,” Nurmagomedov told Match TV<\/a>. “All major UFC events in 2020 were built around lightweight. First [it was] Conor [McGregor’s]<\/a> comeback, then Gaethje against [Tony] Ferguson. Then [Dustin] Poirier’s comeback. Then my fight with Gaethje. This weight [division] has always been interesting and competitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cTop three [lightweight] fighters right now? Poirier, McGregor, and [Islam] Makhachev. He is not in the top-five yet, but those are the best fighters. My belt will be taken by the winner of Dustin and Conor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for the rising teammate of Nurmagomedov in Islam Makhachev, he has been out of action since September 2019. The pair would each pick up wins that night at UFC 242 with the 18-1 Makhachev extending his winning streak to six while Nurmagomedov defended his title against Dustin Poirier.<\/p>\n

For Poirier, he most recently rebounded with a win vs. Dan Hooker after the two put on a fight of the year contender. Ultimately the performance earned “The Diamond” a massive rematch as he takes on Conor McGregor at UFC 257 on January 23. As mentioned by Nurmagomedov, he’s expecting the winner of the fight to end up competing for his yet to be vacated crown.<\/p>\n

Despite committing to retirement, Khabib Nurmagomedov noted that he’s been in touch with UFC President Dana White and is aware of the promotion wanting him to fight again. Though they haven’t yet discussed why the belt isn’t vacant at this very moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If anyone knows who the best fighters at 155-pounds are, it’s probably the guy who is the best of the bunch, and that’s Russia’s Khabib Nurmagomedov. The undefeated 29-0 king of the UFC’s lightweight division has since called an end to his career after a dominant win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. And with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54445,"featured_media":346077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10114,39610],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nKhabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If anyone knows who the best fighters at 155-pounds are, it's probably the guy who is the best, and that's Khabib Nurmagomedov.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If anyone knows who the best fighters at 155-pounds are, it's probably the guy who is the best, and that's Khabib Nurmagomedov.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"| BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/Islam-Makhachev-Khabib-Nurmagomedov.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"399\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Drake Riggs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrakeRiggs_\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bjpenndotcom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Drake Riggs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Drake Riggs\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/cb9453802ca47ce42b30bfa92ade0bc7\"},\"headline\":\"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/\"},\"wordCount\":331,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Khabib Nurmagomedov\",\"UFC\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2020\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/\",\"name\":\"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"If anyone knows who the best fighters at 155-pounds are, it's probably the guy who is the best, and that's Khabib Nurmagomedov.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MMA News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"UFC\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\",\"name\":\"| BJPenn.com\",\"description\":\"MMA & UFC News, Results & Fight Videos\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\",\"name\":\"| BJPenn.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":148,\"caption\":\"| BJPenn.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bjpenndotcom\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/0fficialbjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bjpenndotcom\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/cb9453802ca47ce42b30bfa92ade0bc7\",\"name\":\"Drake Riggs\",\"description\":\"Drake Riggs is an MMA writer based out of Brush Prairie, Washington, USA who specializes in feature pieces, the women's fight scene, lists, news coverage, and rankings. He has been a passionate fan of MMA ever since 2009. Drake has most notably written for BJPenn.com, FanSided, The Body Lock, South China Morning Post, MyMMANews, WhatCulture, Cageside Press, Sherdog, The Scrap, and MMA Today. He has also written for and created video content for RT Sport. As for other sports, Drake is a longtime fan of the NFL's Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @DrakeRiggs_ . Also check out all of his video content on YouTube at YouTube.com\/DrakeRiggs where he uploads fighter interviews, podshows, and various other types of content.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/drakeriggs.journoportfolio.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drakeriggs_\",\"Drake Riggs\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrakeRiggs_\",\"YouTube.com\/Drake Riggs\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/author\/drake\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights","description":"If anyone knows who the best fighters at 155-pounds are, it's probably the guy who is the best, and that's Khabib Nurmagomedov.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights","og_description":"If anyone knows who the best fighters at 155-pounds are, it's probably the guy who is the best, and that's Khabib Nurmagomedov.","og_url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/","og_site_name":"| BJPenn.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn","article_published_time":"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":696,"height":399,"url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/Islam-Makhachev-Khabib-Nurmagomedov.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Drake Riggs","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrakeRiggs_","twitter_site":"@bjpenndotcom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Drake Riggs","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/"},"author":{"name":"Drake Riggs","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/cb9453802ca47ce42b30bfa92ade0bc7"},"headline":"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights","datePublished":"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/"},"wordCount":331,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Khabib Nurmagomedov","UFC"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2020","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/","name":"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00","dateModified":"2020-12-29T04:34:22+00:00","description":"If anyone knows who the best fighters at 155-pounds are, it's probably the guy who is the best, and that's Khabib Nurmagomedov.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/khabib-nurmagomedov-shares-picks-for-the-ufcs-top-three-lightweights\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MMA News","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"UFC","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/ufc\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Khabib Nurmagomedov shares picks for the UFC\u2019s top three lightweights"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/","name":"| BJPenn.com","description":"MMA & UFC News, Results & Fight Videos","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization","name":"| BJPenn.com","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png","width":600,"height":148,"caption":"| BJPenn.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/instagram.com\/bjpenn","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bjpenn","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bjpenndotcom\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/0fficialbjpenn","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn","https:\/\/twitter.com\/bjpenndotcom"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/cb9453802ca47ce42b30bfa92ade0bc7","name":"Drake Riggs","description":"Drake Riggs is an MMA writer based out of Brush Prairie, Washington, USA who specializes in feature pieces, the women's fight scene, lists, news coverage, and rankings. He has been a passionate fan of MMA ever since 2009. Drake has most notably written for BJPenn.com, FanSided, The Body Lock, South China Morning Post, MyMMANews, WhatCulture, Cageside Press, Sherdog, The Scrap, and MMA Today. He has also written for and created video content for RT Sport. As for other sports, Drake is a longtime fan of the NFL's Green Bay Packers and Jacksonville Jaguars. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @DrakeRiggs_ . Also check out all of his video content on YouTube at YouTube.com\/DrakeRiggs where he uploads fighter interviews, podshows, and various other types of content.","sameAs":["https:\/\/drakeriggs.journoportfolio.com\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drakeriggs_","Drake Riggs","https:\/\/twitter.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrakeRiggs_","YouTube.com\/Drake Riggs"],"url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/author\/drake\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54445"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}