Would Khabib be in for a Conor McGregor rematch? Maybe for $100M, dad says
Conor McGregor won his first bout since a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018 with a TKO of Donald Cerrone that took 40 seconds at UFC 246.
Khabib’s camp was, of course, tuning in and his father has now chimed in on the possibility of a rematch. McGregor, 31, wants another shot and called the 31-year-old Russian fighter out ahead of his UFC return. Nurmagomedov beat McGregor in the fourth round at UFC 229 in October 2018, though McGregor insists he was winning most of the fight.
UFC president Dana White is also keen to schedule the rematch, calling it a “massive fight with global appeal, it’s the fight that you make, it’s the fight that makes sense.”
It’s the fight that could cost him a major chunk of cash.
Khabib’s father: ‘Give us $100M’ to face McGregor
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s father and trainer, seems to want a rematch if the price is right. And that price is steeper than the $50 million the fighter reportedly received after the first fight in 2018, though that also includes financial opportunities after the match. Per MMA Mania, Khabib made $2 million from the McGregor fight itself and likely made more in the area of $10 million.
“We also need revenge against Conor, but give us $100 million,” Abdulmanap told Russian outlet RIA Novosti.
“The day after the fight against [Tony] Ferguson [on April 18], give us that amount and then why not hold a rematch? I don’t know, maybe Dana White wants to arrange it [for that amount], he needs that fight.”
Russian outlets noted the fighter’s father’s quotes were tongue-in-cheek and of a joking nature. He also claimed McGregor showed “nothing new” in his 40-second TKO, which would seem to indicate there’s nothing more for Nurmagomedov to prove.
Khabib’s father saw ‘nothing new’ in McGregor return
Abdulmanap didn’t seem as impressed with McGregor’s return as others watching.
“Nothing surprising, I saw nothing new,” he said, per MMA Mania. “This is the weight of [170 pounds], where the strongest fighters are gathered, regardless of weight category. Therefore, I think that absolutely nothing has changed in this weight, the current champion has remained on the throne.”
“The contender for this title [in lightweight] is Tony Ferguson,” Nurmagomedov added. “If Conor wants to prove something in the weight of [170 pounds], then there are Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal — these are the greatest fighters. And McGregor and Cerrone in this weight is about the third 10 [rating]."
Nurmagomedov (28-0) and Tony Ferguson (26-3) have agreed to fight for the UFC lightweight championship at 155 pounds. That’s schedule for April 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn after more than four years of withdraws and delays.
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