Conor McGregor reveals truth about being offered a UFC title rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov rematch
It's no secret UFC wants to run back Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Lightweight title fight in October 2018 was the biggest in MMA history - garnering a whopping 2.5 million estimated PPV buys and being the biggest money fight the company had ever seen.
However, in normal circumstances, Conor McGregor wouldn't even be in the conversation for a rematch. He was defeated decisively in the fourth round, with the Russian Champion submitting him to cap off a dominant performance.
Given that it's Conor McGregor and he's the biggest star in the sport's history, talks of a rematch would always be in place. However, the consensus is that Tony Ferguson, who is on a dominant 12-fight win streak, is the deserving contender - something that Khabib Nurmagomedov wholeheartedly agrees with.
When talking to BTSport, Conor McGregor revealed that before Tony Ferguson was even offered the Nurmagomedov fight, it was he who got the offer first. Stating that he accepted it right away, the indication seems to be that Nurmagomedov turned down the fight, as he has been vocal about wanting Conor McGregor to win "ten more fights" before getting a rematch with him.
McGregor, however, insists that they'll cross paths again one day (H/T BJPenn.com):
“As soon as it’s there. Maybe in Brooklyn, when is that April? It could very well happen. It was offered to me, it was offered when they couldn’t come to a deal with Tony. I took it straight away. It was scheduled, or rumored, or something, and there was obviously something going on behind closed doors and Dana hit me up and offered it to me and I accepted it of course. It’s going to happen, it’ll happen.”
This might anger many MMA fans who believe that Tony Ferguson is the deserving #1 contender. Given that all things go well, he will finally get his title shot on April 18th. However, Dana White revealed to The Mac Life that Conor McGregor isn't expecting that fight to happen and is likely to be the back-up option for either fighter.
White also expressed his interest in booking McGregor vs Nurmagomedov 2 if both men win their contests that are exactly three months apart. Justin Gaethje, however, took issue with this as he believes he's the next contender in line after Tony Ferguson.
He certainly has a strong argument as he's coming off a 3-fight winning streak - all of which have seen him accumulate first-round knockouts.