Dana White reveals that Khabib Nurmagomedov had agreed to coach TUF opposite Conor McGregor before DM leak
We are just a day away from the most anticipated UFC championship of the year as undisputed champion Khabib Nurmagomedov takes on the interim champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.
However, as the whole world waits for Sunday in anticipation, an interesting bit of news has broken out concerning champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and his arch rival, the notorious Conor McGregor.
On the latest edition of the Real Quick with Mike Swick podcast, UFC President Dana White has revealed that contrary to popular belief, Khabib Nurmagomedov had agreed to be a coach on The Ultimate Fighter opposite Conor Mcgregor.
While it has been established by Khabib himself that he was never interested in coaching The Ultimate Fighter opposite the Irishman, Dana White informed audiences that “he had them there,” alluding to the fact that both fighters were on-board with the idea.
However, that was around the time when Conor McGregor leaked DMs between him and Dana White, which ended up scrapping plans for the show.
“Listen, I had him there and then Conor came out and did all that sh*t where he posted the DM talking about fighting Diego Sanchez and all that sh*t and Khabib Nurmagomedov was like "f**k him! Nobody needs this guy. I don’t need him, he doesn’t matter…”.
The UFC president was of course referring to an incident earlier in the year where, when confronted about not taking fights, Conor revealed public conversations between them about fighting UFC veteran Diego Sanchez. It was a move that drew the ire of Dana White in particular.
Dana White further elaborated on the potential rematch between McGregor and Nurmagomedov.
“At one point the Khabib Nurmagomedov rematch was really important for Conor but I do not if that’s the case now, I don’t know where his (Conor’s) head at”.
He further stated that if Khabib Nurmagomedov wins his fight against Justin Gaethje on Sunday, he will be the number one ranked pound for pound fighter in the world.
Khabib Nurmagomedov takes on Justin Gaethje at UFC 254
In perhaps the year’s most anticipated bout, Khabib Nurmagomedov will defend his undisputed UFC lightweight championship against Justin Gaethje on Sunday at UFC 254.
Gaethje gets the title shot after a prolific performance leading to a 5th round stoppage against Tony Ferguson earlier this year.
While Khabib will be chasing his 29th career win and pound-for-pound glory, Gaethje is believed by many to be his toughest challenge to date.