Khabib Wants Bout with GSP, Not McGregor
Last week, Khabib Nurmagomedov sent a message to Conor McGregor: “The game has changed.” Now, it appears the UFC lightweight champion’s sights have also changed.
As reported by MMA Fighting, Nurmagomedov’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, says Nurmagomedov is now more interested in a bout with former UFC Welterweight and Middleweight Champion Georges St Pierre, rather than settling his long grudge with McGregor. The only thing would be GSP would have to drop down to lightweight.
Abdelaziz attributes this to his client’s wishes to fight for his legacy, not over drama.
“We believe the fight to make is the Georges St-Pierre fight at 155 pounds,” Ali Abdelaziz said. “Khabib wants to fight for legacy and not for a soap opera drama show, and we think Conor doesn’t deserve this opportunity.
The guy hasn’t fought in almost two years. Why does he deserve to fight for the title? He should get his ass back in the line and work his way up.
The UFC reportedly was looking into an unofficial mini lightweight tournament featuring Nurmagomedov, McGregor, GSP and Nate Diaz. The tournament would have seen GSP and Diaz collide on August 4 at UFC 227 in Los Angeles, while Nurmagomedov and McGregor finally met in Russia in September. The winners would then late meet late in the year. Those plans reportedly fell through after GSP vs. Diaz failed to come to fruition for a variety of reasons, one being GSP feels he’s not ready to return to the Octagon.
GSP, after giving up the UFC Welterweight Title and taking a four-year hiatus, won the UFC Middleweight Title back at UFC 217 in November. He surrendered the title without defending it once after being diagnosed with colitis.
“I need to wait until all the symptoms of my ulcer stop,” St-Pierre said. “It’s much better than it was but it’s not 100 percent yet. If I try to return for a training camp for a fight it will amplify and go back to what it was in the beginning. I need to get over this first for my own health and safety.”
The UFC will also not make any plans with McGregor until after his New York court hearing later this month. Diaz is still interested in a return, following two years away from the Octagon, this summer, but he’s not actively pursuing any opponent for the moment. There are also no plans for a switch-up of the would’ve-been-brackets to make Nurmagomedov vs. GSP and a McGregor-Diaz trilogy bout.
Regardless, Abdelaziz says there’s only one reason Nurmagomedov would take a fight with McGregor rather than GSP.
“There’s only one reason Khabib wants to fight him: to make him pay for what he did [in Brooklyn],” he said. “For Khbaib, it’s not only about money. It’s about disciplining him.
That being said, UFC should be talking to Georges, not Conor.
Original Story: MMA Fighting