UFC 223’s Khabib Nurmagomedov: Where is ‘Burger King’ Conor McGregor?

Top-ranked UFC lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov couldn’t believe that, for the fourth time in a row, his bout with Tony Ferguson had been cancelled.

Ferguson, the interim lightweight champion, tripped and suffered a freak injury on Friday and was forced to withdraw from UFC 223.

After the initial shock wore off, ‘The Eagle’ asked the UFC for a replacement fight with none other than Conor McGregor. But it was Max Holloway who stepped up to the plate and saved the day.

Nurmagomedov, 29, can’t understand why ‘Burger King’ TV star McGregor didn’t rise up to the occasion and defend his title.

“Where is this Burger King?” Nurmagomedov told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s Edition of The MMA Hour, per MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi. “Take this Burger King here. Now, where is this guy? Six days to make weight. He can make weight. Bring this guy.”

Holloway, the reigning featherweight champ, will take on Khabib for the ‘undisputed’ lightweight title in the new UFC 223 main event, accepting the fight on just six days notice.

Nurmagomedov, who is one of the most feared contenders on the UFC roster, thinks the UFC are protecting ‘The Notorious’ and want to keep him out of harm’s way.

“I think they want him to look nice,” he said. “He famous. If I change his face… they won’t take somebody who has crazy face.”

McGregor hasn’t revealed whether the UFC offered him a fight with Nurmagomedov, but the Irishman did send out a crude tweet to both Khabib and ‘El Cucuy’ on Monday.

Nurmagomedov says that, while fans are itching for a superfight with McGregor, the Dagestani is more concerned with upholding the rankings and cementing himself as the ‘king’ of the lightweight division.

“It’s most interesting fight in MMA and boxing right now,” Nurmagomedov said.

“In jungle, only one king. You cannot be like, this guy king, this guy interim king. It’s all crazy stuff. I’m gonna take the belt, I’m gonna show my numbers. Ten years undisputed and undefeated champion and everything becomes calm, everybody understand.”

UFC 223: Holloway vs. Nurmagomedov takes place this Saturday, April 7 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.