Ali Abdelaziz reiterated what has been said so much — Khabib Nurmagomedov has no interest in a rematch with Conor McGregor.
Nurmagomedov retired from mixed martial arts in October but rumors of a return haven’t stopped whatsoever with UFC president Dana White set to meet “The Eagle” in Abu Dhabi this month to discuss a potential comeback.
Even if Nurmagomedov does come back, the question is who he would want to face. The obvious answer would be Georges St-Pierre, but for White as well as other observers, the ideal scenario is a rematch with McGregor.
However, Abdelaziz doesn’t see the value in a rematch — even with how lucrative it would be.
“(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, what they want to do. Like I said, this is big boys’ business. I’m going to let them do what they do and I’ll be a fan.”
Abdelaziz: Nurmagomedov Beat The Sh*t Out Of McGregor
Abdelaziz did go on to state that he could see Nurmagomedov returning for a fight — such as with St-Pierre — that gets him up in the morning.
But it likely won’t be a fight with McGregor, especially given how he comfortably defeated him in their UFC 229 meeting back in October 2018.
“He beat the sh*t 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 [that] 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. The guy has been a huge part of the sport, he’s been a huge part of my career, I’ve been a huge part of his career and sometimes, you have to let people do what they want to do. But listen, I believe in Dana White. If anybody can get it done, it’s Dana White.”
We’ll find out if White will be able to do just that in the coming weeks.
