No matter what the UFC is offering, Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t interested in giving Conor McGregor “good attention.”
The UFC lightweight champion, Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) was in the promotion’s plans to coach the upcoming return of “The Ultimate Fighter” against McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC).
However, Dana White has since revealed Nurmagomedov declined the “TUF 29” coaching gig because of McGregor posting screenshots of private conversations he had with the UFC president.
In an interview with ESPN on Monday, Nurmagomedov elaborated on his decision to turn down “TUF,” saying nothing could sway him otherwise – not even an obscene amount of money.
“This Ultimate Fighter with him,” Nurmagomedov said. “This is good attention for him. I don’t want to give him this. I never give him this, even if they gave me $5 billion dollar. Even if they give me UFC, I’ll never do this. This is good attention for him.”
As for the future, Nurmagomedov considers his business with McGregor over. With new challenges in his way, Nurmagomedov doesn’t think a fight against the Irishman is likely.
“Done – everything is done,” Nurmagomedov said. “(On) October 6, I finished him and I finished everything about him. I had new challenges – Dustin Poirier, now, Justin Gaethje. We’ll see who’s going to be next but I don’t think it’s going to be Conor McGregor.”
The two fighters squared off in October 2018 at UFC 229, where lightweight champion Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor (22-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) in the fourth round. The finish was quickly put on the back burner when Nurmagomedov jumped into the crowd and initiated a post-fight melee with McGregor’s corner.
Since that fight, McGregor just one MMA fight – a 40-second TKO win over Donald Cerrone in January. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov has gone 1-0 with a win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in September 2019.
Nurmagomedov is set to defend his UFC lightweight championship Oct. 24 against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 on Yas Island Abu Dhabi. As for McGregor, the former UFC double champion is not currently booked, though an offer stands from the UFC for him to fight Dustin Poirier.