Ali Abdelaziz urges Conor McGregor to fight another top Lightweight before Khabib Nurmagomedov
Ali Abdelaziz, manager of Khabib Nurmagomedov, isn't happy with all the talk of Conor McGregor getting a title shot immediately after beating Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.
When asked by TMZ Sports (H/T MMAJunkie) about what's brewing with Conor McGregor, Nurmagomedov's manager had some harsh words for the Irishman - telling him to go face Gaethje and beat him before earning a title shot.
"All this talking – it doesn’t make sense. We have to beat Tony, Conor can say whatever he wants, but my advice to Conor: ‘Hey (expletive), go fight Justin Gaethje. Get a win, and after that come back for a title shot.’ That’s it.
Abdelaziz went by normal logic, stating that his other client Justin Gaethje should ideally be next in line for a title shot after April 18th at UFC 249.
“After Tony, the ranking says Justin Gaethje. But in the meantime, if Conor thinks he’s next for the shot, he should fight Justin Gaethje.”
He indicated that it makes no sense for McGregor to earn a title shot after beating Cerrone - who was last knocked out by Justin Gaethje a few months before. He believes that McGregor needs to go aim for the young guns of the division to get back to the top:
“You can’t get a title fight beating a guy who’s 36 years old, coming off a loss. If he wants to fight a title shot like Khabib said, he needs to start fighting guys like Gaethje, like Islam Makhachev – these kind of young guys, up-and-coming, who are coming off wins. He knocked out the guy (Gaethje) just knocked out.
Abdelaziz certainly has a lot of logic in what he's saying. He said that while McGregor is a big fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov is more about "principle". He said that he'll do what's best for him and right now that's Tony Ferguson.
We hope that the fight between Nurmagomedov and Ferguson happens. It's safe to assume that after that fight, Khabib Nurmagomedov will be out until September at least due to the Ramadan season.