UFC’s cash cow Conor McGregor is back in the mix following his impressive return to the octagon at UFC 246 this past weekend, where he defeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in under a minute. Even before McGregor’s TKO victory fight fans were giddy with excitement over who his next opponent could be, and the speculation has ramped up even more following the dominant performance.
However, according to UFC President Dana White, there is only one option: Khabib Nurmagomedov.
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Although fans would love a Conor McGregor vs Jorge Masvidal ‘BMF’ title fight or the trilogy with Nate Diaz, White says the Khabib rematch is the right fight to make. As we know, their first clash at UFC 229 in October of 2018 ended with a massive melee and some lengthy suspensions after Khabib submitted the Irish superstar.
Their feud has died down considerably since then, but there’s no doubt that both sides would pick up right where they left off.
“We’re looking at Hagler-Hearns,” White said, per ESPN. “We’re looking at like Ali-Foreman, Ali-Frazier. This is a massive fight with global appeal. It’s the fight you make, it’s the fight that makes sense. It’s for the 155-pound title.
“If Conor and Masvidal fight, neither one of them even has a title. Although Conor does want his BMF title. He doesn’t have a world championship. So Khabib is the fight to make. It’s huge for Khabib’s legacy, too. If he beat Conor McGregor, then he beats Tony Ferguson, then he beats Conor McGregor again, I mean this is how this kid, when he retires, he’s 30-something-and-oh and he’s beaten all of the best.”
Of course, this is assuming the undefeated Lightweight champion retains his title against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18. Should that be the case, White believes the McGregor-Khabib rematch could set a UFC record for most pay-per-view buys, and even rival the McGregor-Mayweather boxing match in terms of profit.
