Unbeaten lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov requires knee surgery and will likely miss the remainder of 2014.
The fighter’s manager Mike Constantino told MMAFighting Tuesday that Nurmagomedov tore the meniscus in his right knee late last week and it needs to be surgically repaired.
This is a major blow to Nurmagomedov’s momentum, as the 25-year-old was potentially one win away from earning a title shot.
Nurmagomedov had agreed to a fight with Donald Cerrone at UFC 178 on Sept. 27 after Cerrone’s knockout win over Jim Miller last Wednesday, but the matchup was nixed when Nurmagomedov’s injury occurred.
“It was done. The bout agreements, done,” UFC president Dana White told reporters in Ireland over the weekend. “Email went out [Thursday] from [UFC matchmaker] Joe Silva saying that this fight is done, both contracts were signed [then] boom, 20 minutes later: ‘you’re not going to [expletive] believe this, the fight is off.'”
Nurmagomedov (22-0) is 6-0 in the UFC including wins over veterans Rafael dos Anjos, Gleison Tibau and Pat Healy.