Tim Elliott handed Khabib Nurmagomedov the second loss of his career as an MMA coach when the gritty Lee’s Summit native outpointed Tagir Ulanbekov for a unanimous decision win. While not a devastating defeat, it still stung—and, of course, controversy wasn’t far behind. Elliott was accused of grabbing Ulanbekov’s gloves, a move that allegedly stalled the Dagestani’s momentum. Ulanbekov accepted the loss with composure, but even three years later, the scars remain. In a candid moment, he recently revealed what ‘The Eagle’ whispered to him mid-fight.

Elliott pulled a shocker when he defeated Ulanbekov, handing him the second defeat of his career at UFC 272. The Dagestani was the fan favourite to win the battle, but Elliott had another plan, and that plan irked Khabib Nurmagomedov to the core. Mid-fight, cameras panned to Elliott, where he was blatantly grabbing Ulanbekov’s glove, a clear foul. Tagir Ulanbekov was utterly helpless in this situation as he looked to “The Eagle” for assistance. And guess what Nurmagomedov said?

The Dagestani flyweight sat down with ‘Red Corner MMA’ where he expressed what he was doing when Elliott grabbed his gloves. Ulanbekov stated, “Khabib shouted at me and said grab his gloves too and punch him back.” Well, Nurmagomedov’s words didn’t work for Ulanbekov in hindsight, but as competitive as Khabib is, he did not take the defeat lightly.

The former lightweight king was seen shouting furiously at referee Chris Tognoni from the corner, livid over the lack of action. But Elliott? He didn’t hear Khabib’s outburst—and frankly, he doesn’t care. After his defeat against Elliott, Ulanbekov bounced back strong and is now riding a three-fight winning streak under the UFC banner.

But was the American fighter sorry for his deeds? Well, certainly not, as for him, he would do it all over again if required. According to Elliott, he is a fighter, and he was doing whatever was necessary for him to clinch the victory. Let’s have a look at what his thoughts are on his controversial win.

Tim Elliott disregarded Khabib Nurmagomedov’s anger at UFC 272

“At the end of the day, if Tagir would’ve beat me, nobody would’ve said s— about the glove grab, nobody would’ve said anything about the cheating. The only reason why people are upset about the glove grab s— is because they lost,” said Elliott in his conversation with We Got Next.

He further added, “His team lost and it just makes them look bad. They wouldn’t have said anything about anything had they won, so it’s just one of those things. If you’ve ever been in a fight — and maybe I’m different — I’m trying to win, man. It’s the referee’s job to step in there if I’m doing something wrong. He was telling me all kinds of s***, he told me to let go of the glove and I let go of the glove. But for me, it’s not that big of a deal. I’m in there fist fighting. “

At the post-fight press conference, Tim Elliott emphasized that we are in the fight business and that a fighter should do everything within their power to secure victory, without any remorse. In his last statement, Elliott claimed it wasn’t his fault that his hands were in the gloves. Since the gloves are essentially an extension of his hands, he argued that he grabbed them unintentionally