With a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz not on the table (for now), Conor McGregor has turned his attention to the current lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Shortly after Nurmagomedov turned in a dominant effort in a submission win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 242, McGregor was back on Twitter demanding a rematch with what we assume is the unbeaten champ, this time in Russia.
Book my rematch for Moscow.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) September 7, 2019
Nurmagomedov hadn’t fought in nearly a year coming into Saturday’s main event against Poirier, but looked just as explosive as he was against McGregor in October 2018. He controlled the pace and wore down Poirier before finishing him in the third round.
The champ’s last fight with McGregor ended with fireworks, as Nurmagomedov submitted him, then jumped out of the Octagon leading to an all-out brawl between both camps. That resulted in varying suspensions for all involved.
McGregor has been rumored for numerous fights since his loss to Nurmagomedov: a showdown with Donald Cerrone, another fight with Diaz and now, a rematch with Nurmagomedov. But Khabib doesn’t seem interested in giving McGregor another shot at the belt at this time. He mentioned in the leadup to his bout with Poirier — and said the same after the fight — that the next in line should be Tony Ferguson and no one else.
UFC president Dana White will ultimately put together was he deems the best fight possible. With four failed attempts at getting Ferguson and Nurmagomedov in the Octagon, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility for White to opt for a big money McGregor-Nurmagomedov sequel.
