Khabib Nurmagomedov Says He Will Fight Conor McGregor on One Condition

After maintaining his distance from the media, Khabib Nurmagomedov has finally spoken after his father’s demise. The undefeated Russian displayed a change in his views regarding a fight with his arch-nemesis, Conor McGregor.

Khabib Nurmagomedov suffered a tragedy in his personal life after his father passed away. Regardless, the UFC lightweight champion is gearing up for a fight with interim champ Justin Gaethje later this year. Moreover, ‘The Eagle’ is planning to ride into the sunset with a perfect record of 30-0.

As of now, he has his gaze locked in upon Gaethje. While many pundits believe ‘The Highlight’ will be the toughest test for Khabib, the latter disagrees. Just like his coach Javier Mendez, he argues that the Irishman was the toughest challenge of his professional career.

“I kind of agree that Gaethje is a very good fighter, if he was bad he would not have fought for the belt. Is he better standing than Conor? I think no. My fighting IQ tells me that Conor is better in standing than Gaethje,” Khabib said in a press conference (as translated by RT Sport).

He added that the media is building up this narrative only to hype the fight. He can say this because this isn’t the first time that a future opponent has been touted as his toughest challenge. The 31-year old remembered the media saying similar things about his previous opponents such as Edson Barboza, Conor McGregor, and Dustin Poirier.

The only one kept out of the ‘toughest fight for Khabib’ bracket was Al Iaquinta. However, that was only because he fought Khabib on just a one-day notice.

Khabib Nurmagomedov wants to see Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor

Before today, Khabib vehemently neglected a fight with Conor McGregor claiming that he wouldn’t fight him even for a hundred million. However, there was a change in his tone this time around. He opened the door on a fight with Conor McGregor, however, only under one condition.

He wants ‘The Notorious One’ to defeat the former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier.

“Let him come back (and) defeat Dustin Poirier, then we will fight with him – no problem,” Khabib added.

Poirier was Khabib’s last opponent and also his first title defense. The Lafayette, Louisiana native has faced McGregor before. However, that was at featherweight back in 2014. Since that fight, Dustin has evolved enormously as a fighter.

He most recently bounced back from the loss against Khabib with a win over Dan Hooker. A fight with McGregor would be an exciting opportunity for Poirier. Not only would he get a chance to avenge his loss, but it would also be a chance to put himself in line for a second shot at the title.