It would be fair to say that to date, 2017 has been a disaster for “The Eagle” Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The Dagestani lightweight, who has never lost a round, let alone a fight in the UFC, was slated to fight Tony Ferguson for the UFC interim championship in March at UFC 209 in Las Vegas, but was forced to withdraw the day before the fight after being hospitalized due to complications with his weight cut.

After the cancellation, Ferguson went on to win the interim lightweight strap at UFC 216 after defeating Kevin Lee.

Nurmagomedov will compete in the co-main event of UFC 219 on December 30 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to close out the UFC’s calendar year and he is hoping to avoid what happened in March, with the help of nutritionist Tyler Minton.

“Everything is good. My weight is good. I need to only cut like 6 or 7 pounds, I feel perfect,” Nurmagomedov told TSN on Wednesday, two days before he will weigh in for UFC 219.

Despite his current state, being back in Las Vegas has certainly brought back unwelcome reminders of his weight cutting mishap earlier this year.

“Of course I think about it, I have memories about it, I don’t think I ever can forget it. For me it was a very big miss because the UFC gave me a title shot,” said Nurmagomedov. “But now everything is different, now the UFC has given me a tough opponent, the UFC told me that the next time you need to deserve your title shot, I said okay I agree with you guys and I want to fight the toughest opponent, whoever the highest ranked is and they gave me Edson Barboza. Now we are here, everything is done”

Barboza poses unique challenges for Nurmagomedov, an exceptional grappler who once scored 21 takedowns in a single fight. Barboza has only been taken down twice in the last four years over a span of 10 fights and has a marked advantage over Nurmagomedov in the striking department as a multiple time Muay Thai champion.

“I know he has very good takedown defense, he has very good footwork, movement, kicking and everything, that’s why he’s one of the best in the world,” said Nurmagomedov. “I’ve been watching his fights for a long time and I agree that he’s a very tough opponent, but I’m not easy too, I’m going to keep going, if he wants to beat me, he’ll have to knock me out, otherwise I’m going to catch him like a hungry eagle in the cage”

Even though the fourth-ranked Barboza is a tough challenge, the unflappable Nurmagomedov feels that he’s the best lightweight in the world.

“This is about every second, my goal is to beat my opponent in every second and of course my goal is a title. I feel like I am one of the best in the world and that’s why I compete here. If I didn’t feel that way, I’d never come to this sport. I feel like I can beat anybody in my division,” said Nurmagomedov.

With Ferguson holding the interim title and Conor McGregor holding the now-disputed lightweight title, Nurmagomedov says that the UFC has given him assurances that he will be able to earn another chance at championship gold.

“That’s what the UFC told me, they said I have to beat Edson and after that I’m going to fight Tony Ferguson. Because Conor does not want to come back,” said Nurmagomedov. “Maybe, (McGregor’s return) is 50/50, but I don’t think about it, I don’t think about Tony, I don’t think about Conor, because I’ve got a tough opponent and that’s why I’m focused on Edson Barboza”

As per usual, Nurmagomedov has been training for Barboza at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), who he feels is on the cusp of great things in 2018, even though his teammate Luke Rockhold is currently training in Florida with his other teammate Daniel Cormier’s future opponent Volkan Oezdemir.

“I don’t think about this situation. Luke is my very good friend, (Cormier) is my very good friend, we’ve known each other a long time. These guys helped me a lot. When I came here, I didn’t know English and didn’t know a lot of things, these guys taught me and I want to say thank you,” said Nurmagomedov. “I want to say good luck to both of them, their next fights are title fights and I believe that these guys are going to take the belt and become champions. I believe they are the best middleweight and light heavyweight in the world.”

When asked if AKA could bring home three titles in 2018, Nurmagomedov had an even more ambitious outlook.

“Cain Velasquez too, I think Cain is planning to come back in March or April, he’s going to fight a big fight and then after he’s going to fight for the title. We believe we have at AKA the best lightweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. AKA is one of the best gyms ever to compete at AKA,” said Nurmagomedov.

In order to earn a championship, both Nurmagomedov and his teammate Velasquez will need to be more active as they have combined to fight only five times in the last four years. Despite that, at 24-0 and one of only two undefeated fighters in the top-5 of any UFC division, Nurmagomedov has long been considered one of the best fighters in mixed martial arts and he aims to prove that with a win over Barboza.