Conor McGregor may be targeting a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov later in 2020 – and Dana White may be on board with the idea – but it seems Khabib Nurmagomedov’s camp aren’t interested in facing the man “The Eagle” finished at UFC 229 last year.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz said he understood why the UFC president is linking McGregor with a potential rematch for the UFC lightweight title, but also stated that the Irishman wasn’t in the Russian champion’s immediate plans.
“Listen, Dana’s the greatest promoter in history (and) I respect the man very much,” he said. “He has to make people care about Conor. And by mentioning Khabib’s name, he is making Conor more relevant. It’s OK. He promote, can do whatever. Khabib has a plan, Dana has a plan, sometimes we’ll get upset, sometimes we’ll agree. But business moves on.
“But Conor’s not on our radar. He might lose to “Cowboy” as far as I understand. I think he might lose.”
Abdelaziz also said he was unimpressed by recent photos showing McGregor in excellent shape ahead of his UFC 246 return against Donald Cerrone on Jan. 18, and said that all the pre-fight talk from the Irishman’s camp should be taken with a pinch of salt ahead of the fight.
“Listen, his coaches before the fight (with Nurmagomedov) said: ‘He’s ready, he’s gonna knock Khabib out inside three rounds, he’s never been in better shape.’ And after that, they said: they had a horrible camp, his food was like a balloon. They’re liars.
“He looks like a blew-out balloon. He’s a bodybuilder. That’s what I think. He’s getting no love from us.”
And with Abdelaziz stating that McGregor wasn’t in position to challenge his client later this year, he suggested another one of his fighting stable was a more worthy contender to Nurmagomedov’s UFC lightweight crown.
“What about guys like Justin Gaethje?” he suggested. “He’s been winning and knocking people out. Logically, he is (the next top contender). He’s ranked number three. Number two, Dustin Poirier, fought for the title. That’s the only fight that makes sense for him, for his career, to fight the champion.”
Gaethje has made no secret of his desire to face McGregor inside the octagon, but Abdelaziz says the UFC has made a wise move by keeping the Irish superstar well away from the former WSOF champion and his hard-nosed, come-forward fighting style.
“Listen, Conor does not want to have to do anything with Gaethje,” he said. “We understand, like I said, Gaethje takes a lot of people into deep water. We understand Conor is a quitter – he quit when he was in deep water. The UFC made the right choice not to (have Conor) fight Gaethje, because he would have beat his ass. Simple.”
Ali Abdelaziz on potential Nurmagomedov-McGregor rematch: 'Conor's not on our radar'