Dana White explains why he wants to make Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor 2
In his recent interview with Brett Okamoto, UFC president Dana White said that he is keen to make Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor 2. White said that he would meet with Khabib Nurmagomedov on his visit to Fight Island in Abu Dhabi in the upcoming days to discuss a possible second bout against Conor McGregor.
Dana White told Brett Okamoto that he believes that Nurmagomedov should fight again as he referred to his UFC achievements. He said that he would try to convince Khabib Nurmagomedov to return to the octagon for one more fight - the rematch against Conor McGregor.
Khabib Nurmagomedov faced Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 229 and came out victorious by choking the Irishman out in the fourth round. A post-fight brawl then ensued between the camps of the two fighters. The bad blood between them, which lingers to this day, elevates the anticipation for a rematch between the pair. It would be interesting to see if McGregor has made changes in his game to defeat Nurmagomedov.
Is the 'real' Conor McGregor ready to face Khabib Nurmagomedov?
Dana White noted that the 'real' Conor McGregor is back before lauding McGregor's willingness to take any fight on short notice. White believes that if anything happened to Poirier leading up to UFC 257 and the UFC offered McGregor a different opponent, he would take the fight without any hesitation.
White told fans to expect a 'motivated McGregor' for his upcoming fight against former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier. According to White, a rematch between a focused Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov should occur.
Dana White believes that if McGregor comes out unscathed from his bout against Poirier in UFC 257, he should spend the calendar year fighting in the UFC. He said that the Irishman with his present state of mind could be considered one of the best to step into an octagon.
Nurmagomedov announced his retirement in the octagon following his submission of Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. He said that he had promised his mother that this would be the last fight of his professional career. Khabib's father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, passed away in July 2020 due to Covid-19 complications.