Conor McGregor: If Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘continues to dodge’ pledge to fight again, title should be withdrawn



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With a fight against Dustin Poirier set in just days, Conor McGregor is trying to stay focused on UFC 257. But it’s nearly impossible for the former two-division champion to ignore the shadow of Light King Khabib Nurmagomedov hanging over the event.

McGregor fell to Nurmagomedov by a bare fourth-round rear choke in their previous meeting in 2018, and since then “The Notorious” has only competed once in an unbalanced victory over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. Nurmagomedov went on to defend his title two more times before immediately calling it a career after a submission victory over Justin Gaethje last October.

The retirement announcement came as a shock to everyone around Nurmagomedov, who has declared his intention to retire from the sport after making a promise to his mother after his father’s tragic death earlier in 2020. Since then, UFC president Dana White hints at Nurmagomedov’s eventual return, though a planned announcement regarding his decision to fight again or not ended without any real clarification on his future.

White claimed that Nurmagomedov said that if there was something that really impressed him in several upcoming lightweight fights, he might consider a return to action. McGregor was quick to take this for granted, but acknowledged his own desire to step back with the lightweight champion if given the opportunity.

“I really don’t care,” McGregor said of Nurmagomedov at the UFC 257 pre-fight press conference. “He didn’t say that, Dana said that. Let’s go through the fight. All these men are here, there are many challenges. It is a difficult business. Things have happened in his personal life, I wish him no harm. Like I said, it was in 2018, a lot of time has passed.

“The world knows this fight is not over. The war is not over. Sport needs it. People need it. I’m not going to chase him if he doesn’t want to. That’s it. I will keep my calm and continue. This is what I am doing. I’m back here at the 155-pound division. I’m going to show the world what’s going on over time and that’s it. It starts on Saturday night against Dustin Poirier.

Earlier in the week, when McGregor arrived at the host hotel, he was actually standing a few yards from Nurmagomedov, who was in Abu Dhabi to corner his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC Fight Island 8 on Wednesday.

Many reporters in the field have noticed how close the rivals are to each other, which probably wouldn’t break anyone in normal situations. But McGregor and Nurmagomedov engaged in a few altercations outside of the cage that only added to their disdain for each other.

For his part, McGregor was not paying too much attention to where Nurmagomedov was when he arrived on Fight Island. However, he can’t say for sure what might happen if they cross paths again.

“All of these events took place in 2018, now we are in 2021,” McGregor said. “What I will say is that as long as we fight again, there will be no problem. That’s it. If he keeps running I’m not sure we’ll see what happens.

With so much indecision swirling around Nurmagomedov’s future, McGregor pleads for the UFC to make a decision on the lightweight title still wrapped around the undefeated Russian’s waist.

If he returns, McGregor is ready for the rematch. Otherwise, the Irish superstar wants the division to overtake Nurmagomedov, which means crowning a new lightweight champion.

“I would if this man continues to sidestep that and avoid the commitment to compete again, the title should be taken away and we should be getting into a title fight,” McGregor said. “But I’m sure it will happen after this fight.

“I’m interested to hear what’s the excuse or what will be said after the fight, but I’m predicting a title strip.”

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