Ali Abdelaziz understands the magnitude of a Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor rematch, but doubts Nurmagomedov echoes the same sentiment.
UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC), who announced his retirement this past October, is scheduled to meet Dana White later this month to discuss his future.
“The Eagle” has dominated the lightweight division’s top contenders, but one massive rematch potentially looms. The sport’s biggest pay-per-view draw, McGregor is set to rematch Dustin Poirier in the UFC 257 main event on Jan. 23 on “Fight Island,” and Nurmagomedov will be on location watching.
But Abdelaziz doubts money is what would lure Nurmagomedov into fighting McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC), whom he already submitted at UFC 229 over two years ago.
“(Would) beating Conor McGregor mean anything? I don’t know,” Abdelaziz told TMZ. “But I think it would mean a lot for the fans, and I think financially, it’s a huge fight. But we know Khabib. It’s hard to persuade him financially.
“But my man Dana White and Khabib, they’re going to meet. I think they’re going to meet in Abu Dhabi, and after that, Khabib’s going to come to Vegas and they’re going to go to dinner in Vegas, and we’re going to figure it out. Like I said, this is big boys’ business. I’m going to let them do what they do, and I’ll be a fan.”
Nurmagomedov’s win against McGregor was one-sided, and he was even able to score a brief knockdown of the elite striker. He used heavy pressure to get the fight to the mat and eventually submitted McGregor in Round 4.
So Abdelaziz sees no real motivation for Nurmagomedov to run things back with McGregor, despite White’s aspirations of seeing a rematch.
“He beat the (expletive) out of Conor,” Abdelaziz said. “He did everything he wanted to do. He beat him in the striking department, he beat him the wrestling department, he beat him in the grappling department. He broke his soul. He took his will.
“We don’t really care about him. Somebody might say $100 million or something like that. I don’t think would persuade Khabib if Khabib did want to fight. I really don’t know. I really didn’t pressure Khabib or ask him about it too much. I let him be.”