Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor took place at UFC 229 (Bleacher Report)
Dana White thinks the prospect of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor 2 could force the Russian into making UFC return
Khabib Nurmagomedov called it a day at UFC 254 after he ransacked Justin Gaethje to extend his professional MMA record to 29-0.
Maybe that was for the good. After all, ‘The Eagle’ had achieved everything he could in the promotion.
He ran over everyone in the division, including all of the top guys. He also defended his lightweight belt successfully for the third time.
Apart from a fight against Charles Oliveira, which Chael Sonnen believes can cement his legacy, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of reasons why The Eagle could consider a return.
However, UFC president Dana White thinks that a rematch with Conor McGregor would be too good for the Russian to turn down.
He revealed this on ESPN MMA this week, where he was incredibly adamant that the right guy would force Nurmagomedov into making his UFC comeback.
“I believe if this thing plays out, the right guy, however the fight happens, he will fight him. I believe that, I truly believe that; and you know it too Khabib, you know it. I know you know it. I can see it in his face when we talk, I know.”
White assumes that the hate that The Eagle harbours for ‘The Notorious One’ is enough to make him fight one more time in the octagon.
“He hates Conor McGregor so bad, the hate that these two have is real as anything you have ever seen. And I believe if Conor came out of this thing, and Conor was going to be the guy to win the title, I truly believe that he would fight Conor.”
It is understandable why Dana White is intentionally ignoring all words and signals from Khabib regarding his retirement.
Khabib is one of the greatest of this generation, and he is not going to let another legendary Russian fighter turn down UFC again. Moreover, the prospect of their rematch breaking PPV records is too enticing.
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