Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t think Conor McGregor’s comeback fight with Donald Cerrone was a fix, but he does believe the UFC handed the Irishman a soft reintroduction to the octagon at UFC 246.
Speaking at a press conference in Russia to promote his UFC 249 title fight against Tony Ferguson, Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) criticized the UFC’s choice of Cerrone as a suitable opponent for a potential title contender fight, but the reigning UFC lightweight champion stopped short of accusing the UFC of booking a fixed fight.
“A big organization with a lot of history won’t take such risks,” Nurmagomedov told reporters, via RT Sport translation. “If someone finds out that the fight was fixed, it would be a huge blow to the UFC’s reputation. They picked a good opponent though, an opponent that never won anything serious. He could have kept winning and winning and, when it came time for a big fight, he just gave up because he’s mentally weak. It’s just a well organized circus.”
Nurmagomedov explained his comments before the McGregor-Cerrone fight, where he had described the matchup as being like the “minor leagues,” and suggested that the UFC hand-picked Cerrone to give McGregor the perfect reintroduction to active competition while keeping casual MMA fans happy.
“I was basing it on how well they picked an opponent for his return so as to ‘wow’ people,” Nurmagomedov said. “Why? Because 90 percent of people who watch MMA have no clue about the sport. They just watch it and don’t even know the names. And the other 10 percent …
“Millions of people watch, but there aren’t a million fighters. There are 300, 400, 500 that fight in the UFC. They have trainers, so let’s say (there’s) 10,000 people that know MMA. They see who loses and under what circumstances, what moves, when he fought, where he fought, what organization. Few people know those details, others just don’t care who’s fighting and how, who he fought in the past, who the opponent is. They don’t know anything. They just watch the fight, and UFC works very well with that.
“So they picked him (Cerrone), and their plan worked, and people started to talk about it again, about a rematch and other stuff. Cerrone lost seven out of his last 10 fights. A man comes out 10 times and loses seven, and he gets called a legend? Well, let him be a legend, but his time is up.”
Cerrone’s body of work over his two-decade career has seen him claim a host of UFC records, including the most fights, most wins, most finishes, and most post-fight bonuses. But while those achievements might make “Cowboy” a future UFC Hall of Famer, Nurmagomedov said his recent form inside the octagon meant that McGregor’s win could not be considered worthy of a title shot.
“We’re talking about a contender fight, about a contender, a person who’s supposed to come out and fight for a world title,” Nurmagomedov said. “There are other fighters who’ve proven themselves with their status, their convincing victories. There are other contenders, but (the UFC) went another route, one that’s more suitable for the media, the people, but one that makes no sense to experts. … I just wanted to reach people, for them to understand what kind of an opponent they put in front of him.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov sees through UFC's Conor McGregor matchmaking: 'Their plan worked'
