Zubaira Tukhugov says Khabib Nurmagomedov, who trains twice daily, would dominate Sean Strickland if they ever competed, predicting Khabib would take him down and finish him. Tukhugov also revealed that Artem Lobov withdrew from their planned PFL fight after seeing Tukhugov in peak physical condition at a pre-fight photo shoot, and that Lobov has since gone silent on social media and stopped responding to messages. He identified Arman Tsarukyan as the one genuinely challenging grappling matchup for him and said he would welcome that contest in the future. Tukhugov is scheduled to compete against Elvis Brener at ACB JJ in Moscow on July 5.
Zubaira Tukhugov made headlines this week with a series of bold claims in a recent interview, weighing in on Khabib Nurmagomedov's hypothetical matchup with a current champion, the collapse of a planned fight with Artem Lobov, and a future bout he says genuinely excites him.
Tukhugov stated that Khabib, who he says is still training twice a day, would "destroy" middleweight champion Sean Strickland if the two ever competed. His reasoning was straightforward: Khabib would take Strickland down and finish him. The undefeated Russian, now 37, retired with a perfect 29-0-0 record and remains one of the most dominant grapplers in the sport's history, averaging 5.32 takedowns per 15 minutes across his career. Strickland, the 35-year-old American champion fighting out of Xtreme Couture, carries a 31-7-0 record and leads all active fighters in significant strikes landed per minute at 6.04, with a 76-inch reach that makes him a formidable offensive threat at range.
On the subject of Artem Lobov, Tukhugov revealed that the 39-year-old Irishman withdrew from their scheduled PFL bout after seeing Tukhugov in peak condition at a pre-fight photo shoot. Since then, Tukhugov said, Lobov has gone quiet on social media and stopped returning his messages. Lobov, a southpaw with a 13-15-1 professional record, had been expected to provide Tukhugov with a high-profile opponent.
Tukhugov reserved genuine respect for Arman Tsarukyan, identifying him as the one opponent whose grappling he views as a true challenge, and said he would welcome that matchup down the line. More immediately, Tukhugov is set to compete against Elvis Brener at ACB JJ in Moscow on July 5.
Why it matters
- Khabib's name attached to any matchup, even hypothetical, draws significant attention to lightweight and cross-divisional conversations.
- Lobov's withdrawal leaves Tukhugov without a marquee opponent and raises questions about whether that fight gets rescheduled.
- A future Tukhugov-Tsarukyan bout would carry legitimate grappling stakes given both fighters' backgrounds.
