Khabib Nurmagomedov punching Michael Johnson (photo via UFC)

By FCF Staff

Following recent comments from Jose Aldo, whereby the renowned fighter inferred Khabib Nurmagomedov has turned down a bout with him, the lightweight contender has responded.

Aldo recently reported that he will not fight Max Holloway on February 11th, and that he expects to be booked for an interim lightweight title fight. While doing so, the featherweight champ told MMA Fighting that one of the fighters in line to be his opponent, turned it down, based on his father’s advice. Nurmagomedov was trained by his father growing up, and the latter continues to be one of his coaches.

Since then, Nurmagomedov posted the following comments on Instagram:

Aldo says, referring to me, that I refused to fight with him. Tell him that I do not bully the little. I want a real battle, and only Tony can give it to me. At this stage of my career, even if I win Daniel Cormier, fans will say that I have to fight with Tony, and I agree with them. I have spent my career in the UFC asking for the strongest opponents, currently in this division we must decide who is stronger, me or Tony? Without exception, all the fans and experts want to see this fight and I want to give it to them. And you, Aldo, I advise you not to lose the respect of your fans, including me, do not lose your head, do not fall for the mind games of the UFC, and be yourself. ❗ Альдо говорит намекая на меня, что я отказался от боя с ним. Передайте ему, что я маленьких не обижаю. Я хочу реальный бой, и это Тони. На данном этапе моей карьеры если даже я выиграю Даниеля Кормье, фанаты будут говорить, что мне надо подраться с Тони, и я с ними согласен. Я всю свою карьеру в UFC прошу самых сильных соперников, в данный момент в легком весе мне и Тони надо определиться, кто сильнее, я первый номер в рейтинге а Тони второй. Без исключения все фанаты и специалисты хотят этого боя, и я хочу подарить им это. А тебе Альдо я советую не терять уважение от своих фанатов, и в том числе от меня, не теряй голову, не подставляйся под игры UFC, и будь собой. #юфсишныеигрыопятьвтеме @ufc

A photo posted by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on Dec 21, 2016 at 10:22am PST