Following on from the news over the weekend that Tony Ferguson is out of his scheduled lightweight championship defence against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, it comes as no surprise to hear that president Dana White has confirmed that he’s never going to book this fight again.

Nobody can blame him either, as the frustration has been visible with this marking the fourth time the fight has fallen through at the final hurdle.

UFC 223

However, The Eagle is still going to be competing at UFC 223 in Brooklyn on Saturday night, as current featherweight champion Max Holloway has stepped in at the last-minute to save the main event with the undisputed lightweight championship on the line.

Understandably, Blessed is drawing plenty of praise for stepping with a one-week notice with the odds stacked against him. Nurmagomedov recently appeared on The MMA Hour where he surprisingly revealed that if he was in that situation, he wouldn’t be stepping in as a last-minute replacement.

In his view, his legacy means more to him than stepping in to make money.

According to MMA Fighting, he said: “I care about my legacy. I don’t want to fight for the money. I don’t fight for the money. Every person is different.

“If UFC has a problem, it’s UFC’s problem. That’s why my name is Khabib. UFC’s name is UFC. I care about my legacy. Why anyone take [fight] six days before fights? I would not do this.”

Despite that, the dangerous Dagestan native isn’t overlooking Holloway and hopes he knows what he’s getting into.

LEGACY OVER MONEY

He added: “I scared about this when I think about this. I don’t want to underestimate this guy. This guy has 12 [-fight] win streak in the UFC. One of the greatest who ever compete in UFC.

“No one is like me. Nobody [was] wrestling with him [in past fights]. But now, he is on different territory, different weight class, different animals. Everything is different. He wants to fight for the money. I respect him. Aloha, Max. He champion for a reason at 145.”

Khabib has a reputation of being a fearless competitor, and this isn’t what you’d expect him to say considering how confident he comes across, such as claiming he’s ready to fight twice in one night.

At the end of the day, though, he has created a lasting legacy and perhaps it wouldn’t be wise to step in at the last minute to jeopardise that.

What do you make of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s comments on not doing what Max Holloway did? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.