The UFC wants to book Khabib Nurmagomedov’s lightweight title unification bout against Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi on September 7th. The problem with that? Khabib has stuck by his friends and teammates, Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Zubaira Tukhugov, after they were all suspended for their actions following Khabib’s UFC 229 win over Conor McGregor. Khabib is eligible to return in July, but he says he won’t fight until his teammates are off suspension as well - which was scheduled to be in October.
Luckily for the UFC, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has come to an agreement with Abubakar and Tukhugov to shorten their suspensions by 35 days - which falls in line very nicely for Khabib vs.