Khabib Slams The UFC’s Signing Approach – ‘This Is Not Fair’
Ex-UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has slammed the UFC, accusing it of favoring trash talkers over fighters who are better skilled.
Khabib expressed growing frustration over what he sees as a shift in how the UFC signs and keeps fighters. He argued that elite athletes—particularly those from his home region of Dagestan—are being sidelined because they prefer to remain humble and let their performances in the cage speak for themselves. The comments come amid the 34-year-old welterweight Rinat Fakhretdinov, who was released in September.
This is despite being undefeated with a 6-0-1 record, which was shown in his first round stoppage win over Andreas Gustafsson in September. While the UFC roster still features Dagestani powerhouses like Islam Makhachev, Magomed Ankalaev, and Umar Nurmagomedov, Khabib remains unsatisfied. To the former undefeated champion, the departure of winning fighters like Fakhretdinov signals a worrying trend for the future of the sport.
Khabib Reacts
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“I feel very bad for U.S. promotions — very, very bad. Because there are so many hungry fighters coming, and they don’t like to talk, they don’t like trash talk. They just come, smash people, and take money. And U.S. promotions, they don’t like this. They like trash talking, they like entertainment. I understand. In one way, it’s business. But at end of day, this is sport. It’s sport. One-on-one, you go alone inside of cage, and we’ll see who is the best in the world.
“A lot of young guys coming. For example, in my gym — I have a couple of gyms in Dagestan — and there are 500 amateur guys, and they all want to be like Khabib. They all want to be champion. They all want to take over in the world, and they’re all good. What are we going to do with them? Like, how are you going to stop them?
The Reality
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The UFC relies on pay-per-view (PPV) buys and gate receipts. While skill is the foundation, entertainment value sells. The UFC has a responsibility to its fans to produce compelling narratives. Before becoming champion, Belal Muhammad was often criticized for a “boring” style despite a massive winning streak. The UFC didn’t sideline him because he wasn’t skilled; they struggled to market him.
Being “humble” does not have to mean being “silent.” The UFC provides the platform, but fighters must build their own brand. Alex Pereira speaks very little English. Yet, he is one of the UFC’s biggest stars. He achieved this through a finishing rate and aura, not by being a loudmouth. And yet, Khabib had his own grievances.
Khabib’s Mindset
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“It’s very hard, or just not sign them. Right now, I see some promotions, they follow the politics and just don’t sign them because they’re tired. Because all Magomedov, Nurmagomedov, they jump to the UFC and take over. In the last couple of years, they changed a little bit of politics, and I don’t like this, to be honest.”
“At the end of the day, like I said, this is sport. It has to be fair. And even in the last couple of years, we saw so many fighters cut. They cut so many fighters that don’t even lose in UFC. They just finish contract, they don’t give them new contract. Honestly, somebody has to talk about this, and I think this is not fair. This is what I don’t like,” Khabib stated
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