Abus Magomedov wants Israel Adesanya: 'He talked a little bit of sh*t'

Abus Magomedov is not one to make callouts, but he’s made an exception and broken that personal principle.

Magomedov (29-7-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC) called out former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya for a fight following his latest feat in the octagon. Saturday, on the main card of UFC Fight Night 280 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Magomedov rocked and then slept Michal Oleksiejczuk (22-10 MMA, 10-8 UFC) to bounce back from a loss to Joe Pyfer and set himself 4-1 in his past five outings. After the win, Magomedov grabbed the microphone and shot his shot.

“I have one name, I hope Mick (Maynard) going to give me that fight,” Magomedov said in his in-cage post-fight interview. “I want to fight against Israel Adesanya. Now we’re almost at the same level. I hope I’m going to get the fight after this performance.”

Magomedov believes Adesanya serves as an excellent opportunity for his career. He also would like to settle a bit of a beef, as he’s felt in the past Adesanya has been dismissive of him.

“I’m not someone who do some callouts and all that stuff,” Magomedov told UFC.com back stage. “Only one guy and it was Adesanya. We have back in the day some conversation, and he talked a little bit of sh*t about me and now it’s time, I think. I hope we fight one day. A lot of respect for Adesanya, he was champion. I was growing up with his fights, but now is my time.”

Time will tell where Magomedov will land next in terms of his UFC career. For now, Magomedov is happy with what he showed on Saturday.

“Man, I’m happy,” Magomedov said. “It was a tough opponent, and I knew before like he’s a veteran with almost 20 fights in the UFC and big experience. I knew I had to stay concentrated and do my job, and in the end, it pays off.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Abus Magomedov wants Israel Adesanya: ‘He talked a little bit of sh*t’