Khabib Nurmagomdev may not be ready to fight Conor McGregor, but The Eagle is ready to follow in his footsteps. Rather than The Notorious, the 31-year-old would be open to face retired boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather, instead. However, it would not be a pure boxing match but a mix of it and mixed martial arts.
According to a report from TMZ Sports, the UFC champion is down with the idea if it were a mix of both boxing and MMA. For those who have followed Nurmagomedov and Mayweather, this is not the first time that both were coy to the idea of another fantasy match. Nothing has moved on from there, with both sides failing to agree on the type of match both icons should have.
"If he want to fight, come to UFC!" Khabib says. "This is real fight. You know, I'm not boxer. I'm not, like, just wrestler. I'm MMA fighter."
It remains to be seen if Mayweather will respond to Nurmagomedov and his suggestion. But knowing Money, it should be him calling the shots and not anybody else. Hence, this rant from the Russian mixed martial artist is unlikely to gain ground unless there is big money involved. Most know that Mayweather changes his tune when the revenue is presented but trying out mixed martial arts remains low on the American's part.
The closest thing to seeing this happen is that Mayweather is talking with UFC president Dana White. Michael Benson reported that the Flamboyant One allegedly wants two specific fights - one against McGregor and another against Nurmagomedov. It was not mentioned what kind of match it would be.
Speaking of White, it appears he is more inclined to focus on actual UFC action. And one clash he wants to see is a Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor rematch. The Irishman is fresh from an impressive win over Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. It took the Irishman just 40 seconds, proving to one and all that he can still compete inside the Octagon.
White's only concern is the waiting game. Nurmagomedov will face Tony Fergusson at UFC 249 on Apr. 18 and he is not sure of McGregor will be willing to wait that long, TMZ Sports reported.
“Khabib if he wins,” White said. “But I don’t know if Conor wants to wait for him. We’ll see what happens. Conor might not wait.”
Khabib is unlikely to be ready until late summer or early fall. This means McGregor would be idle for about eight to nine months, in conflict with his plans to be more active this 2020. Also, the name of Justin Gaethje has cropped up as the Irishman's next opponent, MMA Fighting reported. If so, the earliest possible time to see a Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor rematch may be towards the end of the year.
