Grant Dawson thinks Usman Nurmagomedov has the accolades to get a big fight if he joins the UFC roster.
PFL lightweight champion Nurmagomedov (22-0) is now a free agent, and his teammate, UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, is pushing him to join the UFC.
Dawson knows how hard it is to earn your stripes in the stacked UFC lightweight division. The American Top Team fighter was once on a 12-fight unbeaten streak, but wasn't able to draw a major top contender.
"Another tough dude in a tough weight class," Dawson told MMA Junkie. "Sucks, but I mean, I'm not going to lie to you, man. It sucks. Another guy – have you seen that meme? Have you seen that meme where it's like at lightweight, if you want to become champion, you have to get through
Justin Gaethje, Ilia Topuria, Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira just to get knocked out by whoever the champ is at the time. It's just so crazy, and then now we've got a new guy coming in. If he is, is that for real?"
If Nurmagomedov does indeed join the UFC roster, Dawson wants to see him tested against the upper echelon right off the bat after remaining Bellator and PFL champion for almost four years.
"I think you throw him in there with the best of the best," Dawson said. "I mean, come on, man. He's proven it. He's not champion at some rinky-dink promotion that nobody's heard of. PFL is probably the second biggest promotion in America, if not the world. Maybe RIZIN or whatever. But the way he's beaten guys, he's undefeated, a lot of finishes.
"I think you have to give him a big name, and I think, you do him and Max (Holloway), Charles (Oliveira), Arman (Tsarukyan) – if Arman's not the champion at that point. I mean, it makes sense. You could even throw them in there with a title fight, man. They've done it before."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Grant Dawson: Usman Nurmagomedov deserves big name or even UFC title shot
