Islam Makhachev was there in the midst when the massive brawl broke out at UFC 229. Since then, both parties, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, including the reigning 155-pound prize holder, have been on bad terms. Interestingly, Makhachev recently gave his two cents on fighting ‘The Notorious’ in the future. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé has a rather different idea of the clash against McGregor.

As Islam Makhachev returns to fight this weekend at UFC 302, Conor McGregor is also making his return at the end of June. As such, when the reigning champion sat down for an interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Makhachev shared an unusual response when asked about what a fight against the Irishman would look like.

Islam Makhachev proposes a “Team vs Team” brawl with Conor McGregor

The reigning lightweight champion mentioned the memories he’s made with his mentor over the years. Those memories, as per the 155-pound king, also included getting into brawls on the street, and it also involved their whole team. Islam Makhachev said, “With Khabib? … Good memories. But I want good memories … I want when we meet his team, and we all team, in the street somewhere, and we have good fights. You know?”

The 32-year-old was involved with Khabib Nurmagomedov, in not one but multiple street fights. It was only because they didn’t like talking much and always looked to settle the issue with brute physicality. “Because we all have many, many big experience in the street. We just want to meet them and finish all talks.”

Then, the attention of the champion shifted to Conor McGregor. When Islam Makhachev opined on a possible showdown with the Irishman, he claimed that McGregor, now, is not the same level of fighter he used to be back in the id 2010s. But who can say no to a big paycheck? So yes, he’d be happy to fight him. But what’s more interesting is that Makhachev proposed the idea of McGregor’s team taking on his team, which could include Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“Team vs. team. It’s going to be more interesting. Because already Khabib beat him in the cage, beat his corner. But team vs. team, maybe we can make ‘Ultimate Fighter,'” Islam Makhachev added. While he suggests a TUF-style fight with McGregor and his team, the former double champion, in a surprising move, changed his prediction for the main event this weekend suddenly and touted Makhachev to win.

‘The Notorious’ changes his prediction for UFC 302 headliner

During a recent Kick live stream, Conor McGregor answered fans’ queries when one of them asked about the Dustin Poirier vs Islam Makhachev fight. Initially, he sided with his former rival to knock out the ringing champion. McGregor ripped into Makhachev’s fighting style and gave the heads up to ‘The Diamond’ to emerge as the new champion. But guess what? ‘The Notorious’ took a U-Turn.

Islam Makhachev recently came under fire from Conor McGregor after the latter witnessed an X post with an image that indicated the champion could be suffering from a staph infection. The former double champion blasted Makhachev and his camp for getting infected and also gave them tips to maintain proper hygiene.

There, he also added that the Dagestani star will be the victor this weekend. “Staph again. This in***d however lives with Staph. This team is infected, make no mistake. Scruff ba**s. Whatever ya’s are into, I suppose. He still subs Dustin in the 1st,” McGregor wrote in a now-deleted tweet.

To think about Conor McGregor as an option to fight, Islam Makhachev needs to tend to his business this weekend first. But would you like to see a team vs team fight between these two or a one-on-one matchup? Let us know in the comments.