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Conor McGregor still has a Khabib Nurmagomedov rematch in mind, although he acknowledges the odds of that happening have dropped significantly.
The former two-time UFC champion said at the UFC 257 press conference on Thursday that he considers there is a lot of unfinished business between him and Nurmagomedov. But if Nurmagomedov wants to retire, McGregor has said he will have no choice but to move forward.
Nurmagomedov’s father and head coach Abdulmanap died of complications from COVID-19 last summer. Nurmagomedov, the current UFC lightweight champion, announced his retirement after a title defense against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October. He mostly kept the post he had retired since then, although he left a small window open for a comeback.
“It’s a tough business,” McGregor said. “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. war is not over. Sport needs it to happen; people need it to happen. I’m not going to chase him if he doesn’t want to. And that’s it. I’m going to keep my cool and carry on . And that’s what I do. I’m back here in the 155-pound division. I’m going to show the world what’s going on with the times. “
Nurmagomedov beat McGregor via a fourth round submission at UFC 229 in October 2018. The preparation for that fight was lousy, with McGregor being arrested for throwing a cart through a bus window looking for Nurmagomedov, who had slapped McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov a few days earlier. . After Nurmagomedov’s victory over McGregor, he came out of the Octagon and started a brawl with McGregor’s team. Inside the cage, McGregor was attacked by Nurmagomedov’s training partners. There have been several suspensions issued by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
McGregor and Nurmagomedov are at the same hotel this week in Abu Dhabi. McGregor takes on Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 257 on Saturday. Nurmagomedov is in town to work the corner of his cousin Umar, who won on the UFC Fight Night card on Wednesday. The two haven’t met, and UFC security is aware of the threat.
“What I will say is that as long as we fight again there will be no problem,” said McGregor. “That’s it. If he keeps running I’m not sure. We’ll see what happens.”
Nurmagomedov remains the UFC lightweight champion, but McGregor doesn’t think it will last much longer.
“I would argue the case, if this man continues to dodge this and dodge the commitment to compete again, the title should be withdrawn and [Poirier and I] should engage in a title fight, ”said McGregor. But I’m sure it will happen after this fight. I’m interested to hear the apologies or what will be said after the fight. But I predict a title strip. “
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