Rafael dos Anjos claims he had Khabib Nurmagomedov “snoring” with choke in 2014 fight

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos claims that he briefly put Khabib Nurmagomedov to sleep in their 2014 fight.

Nurmagomedov, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, retired after a submission defeat of Justin Gaethje in the UFC 254 main event last month. Despite that retirement announcement, UFC President Dana White is optimistic the champion will fight again.

Speaking at a press conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Nurmagomedov addressed a possible comeback, specifically for rematches with Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier, who he submitted in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

“What for? I choked both,” Nurmagomedov said. “Why should I do this?

“There is no sports interest there,” Nurmagomedov added. “I choked both of them, both were champions, both surrendered to me.”

This comment from Nurmagomedov inspired dos Anjos to take a trip down memory lane to his own 2014 fight with the Russian, which he lost via unanimous decision.

Despite losing that fight, dos Anjos claimed that he actually briefly put Nurmagomedov to sleep with a choke.

See what he had to say below:

 

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“Khabib said he is not interested in fighting Conor or Dustin as he choked both of them,” dos Anjos wrote. “He did not choke me. As a matter of fact I got him snoring until a slipping rib saved him from [unconsciousness]. He beat me fair and square, but no one got closer to putting the Champ out. My plan was to beat his brother [Islam Makhachev] and go after that neck again. That plan felt apart for reasons beyond my control, but I will keep sharping my tools just in case he decides to come back and chooses me.”

What do you think of this comment from Rafael dos Anjos? Would you like to see him fight Khabib Nurmagomedov again?