MMA Rumors: UFC Champ Khabib Nurmagomedov Breaks Silence On Potential Conor McGregor Rematch

Since suffering a massive defeat at the hands of UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor has yet to fight again in the octagon. Five months after the controversial match, “The Notorious” made headlines after he announced on social media that he’s permanently retiring as an MMA fighter to focus on his whiskey business.

UFC President Dana White doesn’t seem to believe McGregor is really retired and said in a recent interview with TMZ Sports that he will be returning to the Octagon this year. The outcome of the recent UFC 238 event is expected to play a major role in determining who McGregor will fight next. However, even without knowing the results of the event, White definitely knows who McGregor desperately wants to fight when he once again enters the octagon — undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Unfortunately, despite the possibility of having another huge payday, Nurmagomedov doesn’t seem to be interested in facing McGregor again. After beating him in a dominant fashion at UFC 229, Nurmagomedov believes there’s no longer any reason for the UFC to schedule a rematch between him and McGregor. If there’s a man in the UFC lightweight division who deserves to be his next title challenger after he fights Dustin Poirier, Nurmagomedov thinks its Tony Ferguson.

“The last three years he has only one victory and amateur boxing. How does he deserve a rematch?” Nurmagomedov asked, according to ESPN.

“He tapped. He begged me, ‘Please don’t kill me.’ Now he’s talking about a rematch? Tony Ferguson [is] on the line. People who have win streaks [are] on the line. But not the guy who don’t win nothing [sic] the last three years…. Right now I’m focused on Sept. 7.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib): Conor McGregor begged 'please don't kill me' during #UFC229 fight https://t.co/od5GCuoiPn

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 12, 2019

As of now, even Dana White can’t deny that Tony Ferguson is more deserving to fight for the UFC lightweight title than Conor McGregor. After beating Donald Cerrone via TKO at UFC 238, Ferguson extended his winning streak to 12 and he is now ranked second in the UFC lightweight division. Though their fight has been rescheduled multiple times, Ferguson and Nurmagomedov will definitely love to see who between the two of them is the real king of the UFC lightweight division.

However, before talking about a potential match against Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov said that he first wants to focus on his upcoming fight against interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier.

“I don’t want to underestimate my opponent, Dustin,” Nurmagomedov said. “He’s a tough challenge for me and right now I don’t want to think about other opponents.”

Nurmagomedov and Poirier will be facing each other at UFC 242 on September 7, 2019, at du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.