Khabib Nurmagomedov says fellow ex-UFC champion Jose Aldo is past his prime

Khabib Nurmagomedov is not buying that Jose Aldo has another title run in him.

The former UFC lightweight champion was rather dismissive of Aldo’s recent win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 265 and says the way Aldo lost to Petr Yan in their vacant title fight a little more than a year ago proves he doesn’t have that much fight left in him.

Since losing to Yan, Aldo (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC) has won back-to-back bouts over Marlon Vera and Munhoz, but Nurmagomedov insists that unless the 34-year-old Brazilian is able to beat the top contenders, no one can claim he’s gotten a second wind.

“How is he showing it?” Nurmagomedov told RT Sport. “He got beat up when he fought … Petr, right? A guy wins one fight and everyone starts talking. When Conor (McGregor) fought (Donald) ‘Cowboy’ (Cerrone), he looked like a lion. When he fights stronger opponents, he looks like a scared chicken. Fighting top fighters shows your worth. … The level of Russia’s football team will be shown against Croatia, not Malta.

“A fight against ‘Cowboy’ won’t show what level you’re at, just like Aldo’s fight against Pedro Munhoz. Let him fight Petr the same way. Then we can say he’s peaking again. You saw what he did. He closed up and waited for the ref to stop the fight. That shows that you’re not at your peak. If you’re getting hit and you’re conscious and you’re not defending yourself, I call those fighters businessmen. They come out to make money.”

Nurmagomedov, who retired after three marquee title defenses over McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje, didn’t mince words when talking about Aldo’s recent bantamweight run.

“There are real champions that go hard on everyone,” Nurmagomedov said. “They don’t care (about) the money. Of course it’s an important aspect, but he has the competitive spirit. So there’s no way Aldo is having a second peak. You can try to prove it all you want, but I’ve been through this. I know better than you. You’re a journalist, and I’m a fighter.”