Khabib Nurmagomedov has gone on record numerous times to confirm that he will never fight Conor McGregor again. After all, his win over “Notorious” at UFC 229 two years ago was a one-sided affair (see it again here).
Still, it seems every time “The Eagle” has a mic or camera in front of him, McGregor keeps being brought up. Recently, reports stated that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was looking to book Khabib and McGregor as opposing coaches for the revival of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF). It was a notion that the Lightweight champion quickly shut down.
That’s because according to Nurmagomedov, no amount of money — not even full ownership of the promotion — would get him to do the show against his bitter rival.
“This Ultimate Fighter with him, it’s good attention for him,” Nurmagomedov during a recent interview with ESPN’s Bret Okamoto. “I don’t want to give him this — I would never do this for him.
“Even if they give me $5 billion,” he continued. “Even if they gave me UFC, I would never do this. This is good attention for him. It’s done. Everything is done. Oct. 6 I finished him and I finished everything about him. I have new challenge, Dustin Poirier and now Justin Gaethje. We will see who is going to be next, but I don’t think it’s going to be Conor McGregor.”
Nurmagomedov is set to face Gaethje in the main event of UFC 254 on Oct. 24, 2020, in a highly-anticipated Lightweight title unification bout on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
McGregor, meanwhile, recently agreed to rematch Poirier for an event later this year. Despite their willingness to run it back, it seems neither combatant has gotten word from the promotion as to whether or not it will go down this year.
If and when that fight comes to pass, the victor will likely secure himself a shot at the title, which will come much easier for “Notorious” if Gaethje manages to upset “The Eagle” later this month.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 254 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN 2/ESPN+ at 12 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 254: “Khabib vs. Gaethje” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.
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