Khabib Nurmagomedov has, again, weighed in on the possibility of a rematch with Conor McGregor. In an interview with TMZ, the UFC lightweight champion doubled down on his belief that a rematch between the two superstars would only be good for the drama and the money — not the actual competition.
"They just want to see drama. If you ask people who's going to win, 99% is going to say Khabib, like he did the first time, right? But people want to see a big drama show, only for this one. If we talk about money, this is good. If we talk about drama, this is good. If we talk about real lightweight contender or real lightweight championship fight, this is not good. This is not a real lightweight championship fight. But if we talk about drama and money, of course this is good."
Nurmagomedov believes that the only reason fans want to see a rematch is to see a continuation of "what happened last time." He's referring to the drama and antics that led up to their first fight at UFC 229 in October 2018, in which McGregor was arrested for throwing a dolly through a bus window in pursuit of Nurmagomedov.
Nurmagomedov went on to win that fight by submission in the fourth found. The drama didn't end with his win though as an ugly brawl erupted between the two men and their respective teams shortly afterward. Both fighters were suspended and fined, but have since returned to the Octagon.
Nurmagomedov defended and unified the UFC Lightweight Championship when he beat Dustin Poirier in September of last year. He's now scheduled to defend the title against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18. McGregor, meanwhile, came out of "retirement" — he didn't fight at all in 2019 — and convincingly beat Donald Cerrone at UFC 248 in January. Nurmagomedov was not impressed with McGregor's welterweight win.
"[Cerrone is] not a high-level lightweight, or welterweight, right now. Of course he has big name, but his time is finished. ... [McGregor] has to fight really tough opponents, like Justin Gaethje, or something like this. And he has to come back to the lightweight division, he has to cut weight."
At this point, a rematch between these two superstars seems very unlikely. There seems to be no shortage of bad blood between them, however.