Shabliy suggested stripping Nurmagomedov of the Bellator title

“I believe that while the champion is suspended, the belt should be played out in our fight, because at the moment there is no champion, and we are holding five-round fights and making champion weight,” the Russian said in a pre-fight interview ahead of the Bellator 301 tournament in Chicago. “There is no champion, there is an investigation going on, so it would be great if our fight was a championship fight, because the real championship belt should be played in the final anyway. On the other side Bren lost the fight, that leaves our pair and the belt should stay in the grand prix. It would make sense if our fight was a championship fight.”

Shabliy is convinced that his fight with Freire will not need a judges’ decision.

“I’ve already beaten one former champion, Brent Primus – it took me two rounds to deal with him. This former champion I’ll knock out in a few rounds too.”

Last week, the head of the California State Athletic Commission, Andy Foster, announced that Usman Nurmagomedov failed doping tests and has been disqualified for six months, and his fight with Brent Primus, headlining the Bellator 300 event in San Diego on October 7, has been ruled a no contest.

The Russian in a published statement acknowledged the presence of a banned substance in his system, explaining that it was part of a medication prescribed to him by his doctor. At the same time, Nurmagomedov did not have a therapeutic authorization to use the drug, as he did not notify the Athletic Commission.

Bellator president, Scott Coker, told MMA Fighting that a decision on Nurmagomedov’s future will be made after the results of the “B” sample are known, but until then, the Russian will retain his title despite the disqualification.