Khabib Nurmagomedov is getting prepared for UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi, and his big comeback in the octagon after the epic fight against Conor McGregor. His next opponent will be Dustin Poirier, one of few fighters who might endanger Khabib’s perfect record.
The interest for this contest is massive, and the army of MMA fans around the world is anxiously waiting to see the Eagle once again.
Still, Nurmagomedov can’t forget the clash against the Notorious and everything that happened in and outside the ring. According to the undefeated champion, the whole deal with McGregor is far from finished for him.
In one interview, Khabib stated that once he meets with McGregor outside the ring, he will fight him, along with the entire Irishman’s team. Yet, he also said that there wouldn’t be an official rematch between the two anytime soon.
“This guy [McGregor] have to come back and make nine- or 10-fight win streak. Then we gonna fight,” Nurmagomedov said.
He believes that McGregor first has to prove himself worthy of another chance to compete with him, as he doesn’t think that Nototorious is a classy fighter anymore. He underlined the fact that money won’t change his stance about this one, and that there isn’t the offer in this world which could make him change the current decision. He also made a message to Dana White not to waste time on trying the persuade him to fight McGregor again.
“Dana ], no need to call me. Why he have to call me about this fight? We talk with Dana sometimes, he’s a good guy, but don’t talk with me about this crazy fight.”
Khabib has other plans right now. If he retains the belt after the clash with Poirier, according to his words, the next target is Tony Ferguson, or if possible Georges St-Pierre who is retired. Nurmagomedov thinks these two guys are the real champions and hold a very high opinion of them.
But the Russian Eagle added one thing. If he stumbles upon McGregor or his team anywhere, he won’t hesitate a second in trying to hurt them.
“Even if we see [each other] somewhere, we’re going to fight, 100 percent. It doesn’t matter if someone go to jail or something like this. I’m not scared about this.”
McGregor insulted Khabib numerous times. Before the match, he was talking rude things about Khabib’s family, religion and the fighter himself. Also, the Irishman attacked the bus with Nurmagomedov’s team and injured several people. During all the press conferences, he tried to humiliate his rival and to diminish his achievements.
Because of that, Khabib still holds a grudge against the Notorious, and he won’t go over that. The same goes for his team. That is why he attacked them following the match at UFC 229.
After that, Nurmagomedov didn’t receive his win bonus and wasn’t able to fight for nine months due to suspension.
We’ll see if that left some trace on him already this Saturday.
