More details have today emerged about the injury that has forced Khabib Nurmagomedov to pull out of a fight with Donald Cerrone at UFC 178 in September just 20 minutes after the bout had been confirmed.
Nurmagomedov suffered a torn meniscus on his right knee in training which will require surgery, and that means the fast rising Russian fighter will be out of action until at least January.
The 25 year-old is currently unbeaten in his 22 fight mixed martial arts career and has made a big impact since joining the UFC in January of 2012 with six victories in a row.
As such he’s been marked as a potential title contender in the future and is currently placed at No.4 in the competitive lightweight division’s ranking system.
Cerrone lies just one place behind him at No.5 and, given his eagerness to fight on a regular basis, it’s expected that ‘Cowboy’ will be given an alternative opponent sooner rather than later, though it remains to be seen if he will remain on the UFC 178 fight card currently headlined by a rematch between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson.
Nurmagomedov’s injury absence shouldn’t hold back his hopes of earning a title shot too much since current champion Anthony Pettis isn’t currently scheduled to defend his belt against Gilbert Melendez until December.
