Khabib Nurmagomedov went through incredible weight loss in the week leading up to his UFC 254 main event against Justin Gaethje, according to reports in Russia.
Fans were worried about the Eagle on Friday when he had to strip completely naked for the weigh in, ahead of the UFC lightweight unification fight on Saturday.
Advert
The Eagle's reaction to making the weight didn't look good and some even questioned if the fighter had actually made weight or not.
It's no wonder that Khabib was relieved though, as it's been revealed by Russian outlet Tass that he did undergo a huge weight cut in the past few days.
The report claims that the undefeated champion cut 19 pounds in just six days, with the final six pounds coming off on Friday morning.
Speaking after the weigh in, Khabib told BT Sport, "It was a hard night, like always. When I'm cutting weight, it's never going to be easy.
Advert
"Even if you cut a couple of pounds or you cut 20lbs, it's going to be the same. Cutting weight is always hard.
"When you're champion you have to show great example, you know?
"I want to be first everywhere.
"Even if I do some push-ups with my team-mates, when I go running through mountains, I want to be first always."
Coach Javier Mendez rubbished claims that the undefeated Russian had issue with the cut, telling MMA Junkie, "I can tell you that yesterday after the first weight cut, it was in the morning, he was six pounds off the weight, and he was going to do two cuts - one on Thursday morning and one at night.
Advert
"He felt so good, and he was six pounds off, and he felt strong and said he was going to do the cut the next day. And [by then] he had four-and-a-half, maybe five pounds to go this morning.
"I asked him, 'How was the weight cut?' And he said, 'Easy, coach, like last time.'"
Saturday on Fight Island will tell us exactly how difficult the weight cut was, with Gaethje ready to pounce on any issue and upgrade his interim title to an undisputed one.
Featured Image Credit: UFCTopics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, UFC News, MMA News, Tony Ferguson, UFC, MMA, Dana White
