AJ McKee is closing in on his dream shot at Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.
But first, McKee (22-1) must defeat Paul Hughes (12-1) at PFL: Battle of the Giants on October 19 at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN+).
McKee believes his fight against Nurmagomedov (18-0) is the deciding fight.
“I think it’s the fight that everyone has wanted to see for a while,” McKee told MMA Junkie Radio. “Obviously I caught staph during the tournament, something happened to him during tournament testing or whatever, so he got a small suspension. But we just keep fighting and perfecting our craft.”
“I can’t really look past Paul Hughes because styles make fights and every fight is a different fight. So for me it remains to concentrate on Paul Hughes. But after that fight between Usman (vs. Alexandr Shabliy) and Khabib (Nurmagomedov) I came over and he said, “See you in Dubai, brother,” and I started laughing. It was just funny because he knows I’m watching, which is why I’m there.
Before defending his title against Alexandr Shabliy in September, Nurmagomedov said he saw McKee as a top contender. McKee isn’t sure why he was booked against Hughes instead of being the next title contender, but says a fight with Nurmagomedov is inevitable.
“I have no idea – he might need a little break,” McKee said. “I think that’s the next fight though. Khabib kind of told me, I’ve been waiting for this for a minute and I think everyone knows this is the fight to make.”
“I think that’s the fight they’re going to fight. It’s the fight that somehow makes sense. But of course I have to do my job. There is another man in front of me. When you look at it. “We all know based on the stats who deserves this title shot, but I just have one more step to prove.
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For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: AJ McKee: Usman Nurmagomedov “the fight everyone has wanted to see for a while”