Two weeks ago, the UFC announced that Khabib Nurmagomedov would be fighting interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson at UFC 223, and with a title shot finally in his sights, it’s possible “The Eagle” is looking to fly the coop on MMA soon.

Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently spoke to TMZ Sports about the uncertainty of the lightweight title situation, with Abdelaziz saying that Ferguson and Nurmagomedov will be fighting for the “undisputed” title and that Nurmagomedov might retire from MMA not long after that.

“On fight night, Khabib will fight for the undisputed lightweight belt,” declared Abdelaziz. “My demands have been fulfilled. I can give a sh*t what everybody asks, what everybody’s saying. I don’t care if Conor’s stripped [or] not stripped. I know that April 7, Khabib will fight for the lightweight belt and Conor’s belt will go in the trash.

“We’re gonna beat Tony. We’re gonna stop Tony in three rounds. Khabib’s probably gonna retire undefeated because he’s gonna beat Conor, he’s gonna beat Tony, and he’s probably gonna say ‘Bye-bye.’”

Nurmagomedov is currently 25-0 with nine consecutive victories inside the UFC but the fates have conspired to keep Nurmagomedov from ever challenging for a title. He was previously set to face Ferguson for the interim lightweight belt last year but was hospitalized for a bad weight cut shortly beforehand. He rebounded with a dominant win over Edson Barboza at UFC 219 and will now face Ferguson for the interim belt while the UFC decides what to do with Conor McGregor and his undisputed championship.

Prevailing wisdom says that McGregor will be stripped of his title before Ferguson and Nurmagomedov face off, elevating their clash to be for the true 155-pound championship. If that does come to pass, and Nurmagomedov claims the title, Abdelaziz says Nurmagomedov is going to make McGregor “beg” for a title shot.

“Khabib said he’s gonna make the motherf**ker wait,” said Abdelaziz. “That’s what he told me, word for word. ‘When I beat Tony, Conor’s got to get in line or he can go fight Nate Diaz or somebody and make some money.’ [Khabib] said he’s gonna make the division right. At the end of the day, he said Conor’s gonna have to beg.

“On April 7, El Cucuy’s gonna get an ass-whooping and maybe Conor, maybe we’ll give him a crack. You see all his b**ch-ass coaches saying ‘Oh, Conor will knock out Khabib in the first round.’ Motherf**ker, you should have fought Khabib when you were supposed to fight him, when you said you wanted to fight him in Russia!”

McGregor previously showcased some interest in fighting in Russia, Nurmagomedov’s home nation, but nothing ever came of it. Instead, McGregor has spent his time involved in one of the most lucrative fights in history, boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr. last summer. But with McGregor seemingly soon to return to MMA and Nurmagomedov impressing in his last showing, trash-talk between the two camps has fired up again Abdelaziz concludes by lambasting McGregor and his team.

“All these dudes come out of the woodwork saying, ‘Conor would beat this guy’ but Conor’s a b**ch,” said Abdelaziz. “Let’s be real. Conor only fought guys he can beat. This guy’s such an attention whore he posted this, ‘Oh, I’m gangster.’ He’s the farthest thing from being a gangster. He’s not. He’s just a lucky mother**cker. He’s promoted himself very well, and good for him. Every bit of money he made, he earned. I respect in in this aspect but as a fighter I don’t respect him because the best fighters in the world should fight the best and he never fought the best.”

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MUST-READ STORIES

Ronaldo Souza stopped Derek Brunson in the first round at UFC on FOX 27.

Lorenz Larkin got his first win inside the Bellator cage on Friday night.

Ronda Rousey appears at WWE Royal Rumble, signed as full-time wrestler.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk thinks she and Ronda Rousey lost due to bad weight cuts.

Kelvin Gastelum is disappointed he didn’t get considered for interim title shot.

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VIDEO STEW

Bellator 193 highlights.

LFA highlights.

BJJ Scout.

DC changing his mind.

T-Wood’s TMZ show.

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LISTEN UP

Luke Thomas. Luke streams his commentary and reaction to UFC Charlotte.

6th Round. Immediate post-fight reaction to UFC Charlotte.

Severe MMA. Recapping UFC Charlotte and looking at the Stipe-DC superfight.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

The one guy unhappy about the upcoming superfight.

Is Cain hinting at DC-Cain?! Could we be so lucky?

Bobby Knux is back.

Congratulations.

Been a while.

Kevin Lee’s Instagram posts have been getting spammed with #Islamtime.

Setting up for Rashad’s inevitable Bellator run.

A bold man.

Teasing to be the Champ Champ.

If this isn’t photoshopped, Derrick Lewis is insane.

Cool fight clips from the weekend.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Joe Warren (15-6) vs. Joe Taimanglo (23-8-1) Bellator 195, March 2.

Justin Gaethje (18-1) vs. Dustin Poirier (22-5, 1 NC), UFC Glendale, April 14.

Carlos Condit (30-11) vs. Matt Brown (21-16), UFC Glendale, April 14.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2011: Nick Diaz submitted Evangelista Santos with an armbar to retain the Strikeforce welterweight title. In the co-main event that evening, Ronaldo Souza submitted Robbie Lawler with a rear-naked choke to retain his middleweight title.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Hope everyone enjoyed the fights this weekend. Impressive stuff from Jacare, proving he’s still got enough for one last title push. Maybe we’ll see another aging veteran pull off a big win this weekend at UFC Belem.

Take it easy and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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