MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. Russia’s UFC Reigning Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has become the highest-paid athlete in the UFC, his manager Ali Abdel-Aziz told the MMA Fighting portal.

On Tuesday, Nurmagomedov signed a new contract with the UFC on several bouts. No other details of the deal have been unveiled. The Russian will face US interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier in a title unification bout on September 7 at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi.

"We’re extremely happy," Ali Abdel-Aziz said. "We’re well taken care of. We can’t ask for any better. We very grateful. Easiest negotiation I ever did. It was fair, straight to the point. This is one of the biggest deals in UFC history. I don’t care Conor [McGregor], I don’t care this is one of the biggest guaranteed money [contracts] in UFC history. When you do this kind of deal, people normally burn bridges. The bridges only got stronger, that’s all I’m going to say," he said.

"My opinion right now, Khabib is the pound-for-pound greatest fighter we’ve ever seen," Abdel-Aziz said. "He never lost. He’s never been caught. He’s never been dropped. He’s dominated every round against almost every opponent. No [performance-enhancing drugs], nothing. This is why he’s the highest-paid athlete in the UFC today. Believe me. He’s the highest-paid athlete in the UFC today. And I’m saying that again because I see everything. They showed me everything. Khabib is the highest-paid athlete in the UFC and we are happy. It’s time to fight."

Nurmagomedov, hailing from Russia’s North Caucasus Region of Dagestan, was the first Russian to win the UFC champion’s belt during the fight against his US opponent Al Iaquinta in the spring of 2018. The 30-year-old Russian fighter, nicknamed ‘The Eagle,’ currently holds an unblemished record of 27 wins in all of his mixed martial arts fights (8 by KOs, 9 by submission and 10 by decision).