MMA boss Khabib Nurmagomedov has sent a warning to big league firms like the UFC
- Khabib Nurmagomedov's MMA firm Eagle FC makes its American debut Friday.
- He told reporters this week that unhappy fighters in organizations like UFC can join him at Eagle.
On the eve of Eagle Fighting Championship's debut event in the US, the company's boss Khabib Nurmagomedov has issued a warning shot to big-league mixed martial arts firms like the UFC.
"We are trying to sign good athletes, great athletes with good names," Nurmagomedov said at a pre-fight press conference this week.
Nurmagomedov left the UFC as its lightweight champion with an unblemished and impressive 29-0 record that included wins over Rafael dos Anjos, Conor McGregor, and Dustin Poirier.
After submitting Justin Gaethje at a behind-closed-doors event on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi approximately 18 months ago, Nurmagomedov dropped to his knees and gave a teary retirement speech.
Since then, he has purchased Gorilla Fighting Championship, a Russia-based MMA firm, for $1 million and renamed it Eagle FC.
Under Nurmagomedov's leadership, Eagle FC has held events exclusively in Russia until this month.
On Friday, January 28, Eagle FC has a show in Miami, featuring a main event involving Tyrone Spong and Sergei Kharitonov, with a co-main event between Rashad Evans and Gabriel Checco.
Ray Borg, a former UFC athlete, also competes on the card.
As Kharitonov is a former Bellator MMA athlete, and Evans is a former UFC champion, Nurmagomedov told reporters this week that there will always be room in his roster for athletes from prominent organizations.
"I just want to say be careful," he said. "If they don't treat good fighters, Eagle FC is here."
Friday's Eagle 44 event will be broadcast on the FLXcast app, which is free to sign up for.