Khabib Nurmagomedov used to make a statement every time he stepped inside the Octagon. As he only aims to “maul” his opponents in his fights, some of his rivals remember their experience of sharing the Octagon with the Dagestani phenom. Recently veteran lightweight Michael Johnson opened up about the daunting experience. Interestingly, his statements sparked a huge debate regarding Dagestani fighters.

As we all know, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s pressing and grappling-heavy style led him to amass a legendary 29-0 record. When Michael Johnson butted heads with ‘The Eagle’, he claimed to have found it very hard to get any kind of f control during the fight. Claiming that the UFC Hall of Famer felt like a middleweight fighter, Johnson praised Nurmagomedov for how “good” he was.

“I just went in there kind of waiting for him to shoot, trying to find my motions. I was kind of crouched down, and I couldn’t really move around,” Michael Johnson stated on the ‘Overdogs Podcast’. “Bro, he’s good, strong. He felt like a middleweight, and that’s a problem. I couldn’t move.”

Many of Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s former opponents have claimed to have felt a paralyzing amount of pressure while taking on the phenom. Moreover, it’s not just him, but his protégé, Islam Makhachev, has also been called a bit too strong as a lightweight fighter

So, guess what happened following Michael Johnson‘s statements on the recent podcast appearance? Fans immediately started calling out the former UFC lightweight champ for not competing at their actual weight.

Are Khabib Nurmagomedov and Co. fighting in easier weight classes? Fans claim so

There have been many fighters who’ve been called out for fighting in a weight class because of the possibility of favorable outcomes, and it is a novelty in combat sports space. However, some fans are convinced that Khabib Nurmagomedov was competing in a couple of weight classes lower, claiming, “Maybe because he’s an actual MW,” on Instagram. But another fan did one better, as he claimed that ‘The Eagle’ might have been around a couple hundred pounds. “Because he was fighting a dude who weighed 190.”

It’s not surprising that fans believe that the former lightweight champion weighs around a couple hundred pounds, especially because of his protégé. Islam Makhachev has previously claimed that Khabib Nurmagomedov had been walking around 200 pounds now that his gloves have been hung up for years. “Of course, since Habib weighed 230 lb,” another fan added in that regard. Moreover, the fans claim that their conviction grew stronger about Khabib being a middleweight when Makhachev was recently revealed as weighing 180 pounds just a couple of weeks shy of his fourth title rematch at UFC 311. “If Islam moving at 180 I’m sure Khabib was too.”

But the conversation took a turn for the worse when the fans started pointing fingers at the whole Dagestani camp. “Weightbullies all the dagestanis,” said one fan. It’s nothing new for them though because even Daniel Cormier, Islam Makhachev’s former teammate, couldn’t help but call the lightweight champion a ‘weight bully’ during his recent revelation. This issue has led fans to omit Khabib Nurmagomedov from their greatest UFC fighters list. “How people call him goat i will never understand,” another fan added. However, one fan appeared to talk about the real picture in the modern era, stating, “Do people not realize damn near everyone is a weight bully nowadays,” highlighting that many fighters try to take the easy route.

Despite fans’ beliefs and claims, the Dagestani fighters are continuing to show how dominant they are in MMA, and just like Khabib Nurmagomedov, many more fighters have made names in the UFC, and many more will get to that spot in the future. But do you believe they’re taking an easier route with the choice of weight classes?