Conor McGregor has plenty of options for his next fight, but it doesn’t appear a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of them.
Khabib’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, spoke with ESPN on Saturday night at UFC 247 in Houston and said his client is still not interested in fighting McGregor unless it’s outside of the octagon.
“The only chance this fight could happen is in the street,” Abdelaziz said. “(McGregor would) have to do something spectacular. He’s (expletive), you understand? Conor McGregor is one of the biggest stars because he’s one of the biggest scumbags.”
Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor via submission in the fourth round at UFC 229 for the lightweight belt back in 2018. The lead-up to the fight was marred by numerous cases of aggression between the two lightweight combatants, highlighted by McGregor’s arrest for targeting Nurmagomedov by throwing a dolly at a bus prior to UFC 223.
The Irishman also made remarks about Nurmagomedov’s family and religion, calling Abdelaziz a “terrorist snitch” during the UFC 229 pre-fight press conference. A brawl between the two camps ensued immediately following the championship fight in Las Vegas.
“Let’s be real,” Abdelaziz said. “We don’t like this guy. We’re never gonna like him. Probably every time we see him, there’s gonna be problems. He said things about family, things about religion, things about race. He crossed the line.”
Nurmagomedov is currently scheduled to defend his lightweight belt at UFC 249 against Tony Ferguson. McGregor is coming off a 40-second knockout victory in January at UFC 246 against Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The victory, however, didn’t impress Khabib’s camp.
“Conor needs to earn things,” Abdelaziz said. “He was a champion. He needs to earn things. Khabib really, really wants to make him earn it. It doesn’t matter, because what he says.”
