Khabib Nurmagomedov was in cousin Usman’s corner for the latter’s PFL lightweight title clash on Friday.
Usman continued his dominance in the promotion as he beat Archie Colgan in the first round, and also kept his unbeaten streak intact.
The 28-year-old is one of the best MMA fighters outside of the UFC, but one moment got blown out of proportion after the clash, according to MVP executive Nakisa Bidarian.
After the result was announced, Khabib seemed to grab the PFL lightweight belt from Jake Paul’s hands and wrapped it around Usman.
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Many accounts hinted that Khabib might not have been happy with Paul’s presence in the cage, but Bidarian rubbished those suggestions:
“Such nonsense. Jake actually went up to Khabib specifically and said once they say Usman I hand you the belt. And guess what the entire mma internet is still talking about.”
Bidarian also explained how the trio discussed MMA and much more:
“Khabib is a gentleman. Spent 15 minutes with Jake and I talking about MMA and how proud he is of the fighters he works with. Great night. Great start. Big future.”
Check out Nakisa Bidarian’s comments below:
While there might have been some respect between Khabib and Paul, Usman didn’t see it that way as he took a bit of a shot at the influencer-turned-boxer after the fight.
Usman Nurmagomedov slams Jake Paul after PFL win
Jake Paul might have merged the PFL with MVP, but that hasn’t given him a free shot at insulting other fighters.
Paul claimed, after Usman Nurmagomedov’s win, that Khabib’s cousin could defeat UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje.
However, Usman wasn’t impressed with these comments and was asked about Paul after his fight. The PFL champion didn’t think much of Paul as an athlete and said:
“Like a promoter, he talk too much, of course. Like a fighter, he’s not a fighter. He’s not a fighter, he’s a YouTuber guy. He come from YouTube…a lot of money…if you want to see fighter, come to my gym.”
He also shared a lot of respect for Gaethje:
“When somebody doesn’t give the respect for Justin [Gaethje], this is not good. Justin Gaethje is a legend. Really happy he is champion right now. I wish all the best to Justin.”
