What's the story?
As reported by Daily Star, UFC 209 co-main eventer Khabib Nurmagomedov has reportedly been hospitalised just hours before the weigh-ins for the big event. Khabib is set to face Tony Ferguson for the UFC Interim Lightweight Championship tomorrow night in Las Vegas.
In case you didn't know...
Khabib has been protesting with the UFC for a title match for a long time now, with his most recent fight against Michael Johnson highlighting that even further. In between rounds the Russian was engaged in a conversation with UFC president Dana White, insisting that he fight for the belt.
Heart of the matter
Earlier this evening Russian newspaper Izvestia broke the news that Nurmagomedov was taken to hospital a mere few hours before the scheduled weigh-ins. The paper claim to have spoken to his father Abdulmanap, and this is what he had to say.
“Indeed, Habib was taken to the hospital.“But before weighing a further 3 hours, it may be all right.”
Ariel Helwani is currently claiming that Nurmagomedov may have struggled to make weight for the event.
What's next?
Khabib reportedly has less than an hour to make the first set of weigh-ins officially, but obviously if he has been taken to hospital then exceptions will have to be made. It's unclear as to whether or not the fight with Ferguson will be cancelled, as the UFC have yet to make an official statement on the matter.
Sportskeeda's take
If the reports are indeed true then this is a devastating blow for Khabib and all of the fans that were hoping to see him fight tomorrow night. Whilst he could still compete, it seems much less likely and the stipulations behind the fight could be changed.
We here at Sportskeeda would like to wish Khabib all the best, and as more information continues to pour in we will keep you updated as and when we know the latest.
