Conor McGregor’s Coach Feels Dana White is ‘Offering a Carrot’ to Khabib Nurmagomedov

Conor McGregor’s Coach John Kavanagh spoke to Oscar Willis from ‘The MacLife’ and went over several aspects of his pupil’s return to fighting. ‘The Notorious’ is primed for a return on January 23, 2021, against Dustin Poirier. The aforementioned lightweight fighters have a storied history going back all the way to 2014.

At UFC 178, McGregor made quick work of ‘The Diamond’. Since then, their respective careers have seen complete overhauls with huge evolutions being visible in their styles. Now, as championship-caliber fighters, the two will rematch to see who has made the required growth to rule the roost.

However, an additional caveat came into the mix, and it related to the divisional champion. Khabib Nurmagomedov laid down his gloves after UFC 254 and walked away. However, despite Khabib’s all-but official retirement, he is still listed as the champion. What’s more, the aforementioned match-up doesn’t even have an interim belt on the line.

Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier: Road to undisputed gold?

Coach Kavanagh let it be known that he believed McGregor vs Poirier deserved to have a title on the line. In his lens, the match-up certainly met the required criteria to have the coveted lightweight strap up for grabs. Both fighters are former champions (Poirier held the interim title), and a belt would help to raise the stakes exponentially.

“Conor is a world champion… I don’t really get why this one isn’t for the title if I’m being 100% honest. Maybe it’s Dana- ‘this is a little carrot towards Khabib?’ I don’t know. I notice those type of games going on and I don’t involve myself in it”

“This [UFC 257] to me feels like it’s for the belt, but I guess at the very least the winner of this will be offered a title fight. But who would that be against, it’s a bit of a strange scene we have in front of us, which makes it interesting.”

Chiefly, UFC President Dana White has been on record saying that putting up an interim title doesn’t make sense. White believes that he’ll be able to convince ‘The Eagle’ to make the push towards a 30-0 record his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, wanted.