MMA Rumors: UFC Champ Khabib Nurmagomedov Reacts To Conor McGregor’s Retirement, ‘I Don’t Think He’s Finished’
When he suffered a massive defeat at UFC 229, former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor was expected to focus on finding his way back to the top of the lightweight rankings and having his revenge against UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, five months after his controversial fight against Nurmagomedov, McGregor announced that he’s putting an end to his mixed martial arts career.
Most people were shocked and saddened by McGregor’s decision, but there some who don’t believe that “The Notorious” is serious with his retirement. Add Nurmagomedov to the list of people who think that McGregor will fight again in the Octagon.
“I don’t think he’s finished,” Nurmagomedov said, via ESPN.
As he explained further, Nurmagomedov believes that McGregor just said that he will retire after he failed to reach a deal with the UFC. Nurmagomedov said that McGregor is just acting like a “jealous wife, who says ‘I will leave’ all the time but then comes back.” The undefeated Russian champion, however, isn’t the only one who thinks that McGregor’s MMA career isn’t yet over.
In an interview with KLAS-TV (transcribed by The Sporting News), UFC President Dana White echoed the same sentiment as Khabib Nurmagomedov. White also revealed that he plans to personally talk to Conor McGregor in the coming weeks to discuss his MMA future.
“I think that there’s some things that Conor wants and I think that Conor wants to get together face to face, he and I, and we probably will in the next couple of weeks and we’ll get this thing figured out. Listen, who gets respected more than Conor McGregor does? Come on. The guy’s never been disrespected, definitely not by me. And he’s got a lot of money too.”
It's not the first time McGregor has crossed into questionable territory with his trash talk. https://t.co/btwfo9zCHo
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) April 3, 2019
White admitted that he knows what McGregor wants, which is to have ownership stakes in the UFC. Though he’s currently one of most popular MMA fighters in the world, White said that they won’t give McGregor’s demands. If he really wants to have ownership stakes in the UFC, White said that McGregor needs to buy it using his own money.
White admitted that McGregor is “very valuable” to the UFC. Though they aren’t willing to give him ownership stakes, White revealed that they are trying to think of other ways to make “The Notorious” happy. If there’s another thing that could make McGregor happy, it could be an immediate rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov. However, while McGregor’s suspension is set to end on Saturday, Nurmagomedov will only be allowed to fight again in the Octagon in September.
