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“Not Many Good Fighters Around the World” – Khabib Nurmagomedov Explains Why He Won’t Hire Female Fighters at Eagle FC

Published 12/17/2021, 2:30 AM EST

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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s MMA promotion, Eagle FC, will soon make its United States debut. The event will be held on January 28, 2022, and will be headlined by Tyrone Spong in his return to mixed martial arts. He will take on MMA veteran Sergei Kharitonov, who came in as a replacement for Antonio Silva. The card will also feature UFC Hall of Famer Rashad Evans.

However, when the promotion debuts in the U.S. in January, it will not feature any women’s bouts. But it is something that can change in the future. In a recent press conference, when asked about the absence of female divisions, Khabib said, “I’m like, we can watch what Julianna Pena did with Amanda, but Julianna Pena she is not the greatest or something like this. She just beat Amanda Nunes and we can watch not many good fighters around the world. Only like five, six. We’ll see.”

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Many people have criticized Nurmagomedov for his decision to not keep women’s divisions. However, the promotion will feature Felicia Spencer as a commentator. This is something that even UFC doesn’t do for its main cards-Laura Sanko does feature as a commentator on the Dana White’s Contender Series.

‘If You Don’t Know, Now You Know’- Khabib Nurmagomedov Hilariously Steals Dana White’s Iconic Promotion Line to Promote Eagle FC

New weight classes to be introduced

As a part of Eagle FC moving to the United States, the promotion will launch new weight classes. Two notable inclusions will be 165-pound and 175-pound divisions in the promotion. It will feature a total of eight weight classes, including 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, and 205 plus heavyweight.

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Former UFC lightweight Kevin Lee revealed that the motivation to join Eagle FC was to compete at 165 pounds. He said, “That was a big part of this decision. I’m really grateful that Eagle FC is willing to do a 165-pound division. I think it’s going to benefit a lot of guys and I’m the best one in the world at that weight. I’ve said that for a long time and it’s a big part of the reason why I’m coming over.”

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According to Khabib Nurmagomedov, the promotion will explore the option of introducing the flyweight division. If there is enough talent in the future, they might introduce it, but there will be no flyweight division when the promotion makes its U.S. debut.

Do you think Eagle FC should introduce a women’s division? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by:

Arunaditya Aima

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Arunaditya is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. Having completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Multimedia Journalism from IIJNM, Arunaditya aspires to be an important voice in the world of MMA and interview the likes of Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes, and other such superstars of the sport. He has followed the sport for over a decade and is an ardent fan of Georges St-Pierre, who he believes is the greatest of all time.
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