Dana White says that Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor 2 could've beaten McGregor-Mayweather
UFC President Dana White has asserted that a rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor could’ve broken the records created by the ‘money fight’ between The Notorious One and Floyd Mayweather Jr. In fact, White believes it could've been No. 1 on the list of the highest-selling combat sports PPVs of all time.
The first fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor took place at UFC 229 in October 2018. The PPV, which was headlined by this high stakes grudge match, did 2.4 million buys. It’s the highest-selling PPV event in MMA and the third highest in combat sports history.
Addressing a myriad of questions at the UFC 257 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White explained that Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor 2 could’ve been a record-breaking PPV.
“He (Khabib Nurmagomedov) hates Conor (McGregor). So, I know he wanted Conor to lose. But, you know, there has to be a little piece of him inside that (wanted the McGregor rematch); the fight with him and Conor would’ve been one of the biggest fights ever, if not the biggest fight.” said Dana White.
“So, the last few days, the way that this thing (UFC 257 PPV buys) has been trending; you guys have to feel it with your numbers too. I mean our numbers are up; off the charts this week. And I was saying that I felt that Khabib-Conor (the rematch) could be the No. 3 fight all-time, period, in all combat sports. Today, I felt like it could be No. 1. I felt like it could beat McGregor-Mayweather. So, a piece of him (Khabib Nurmagomedov) had to wanna be a part of a fight that big.” said Dana White. (*H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Intriguingly, Dana White opined that Khabib Nurmagomedov might’ve partly wanted to rematch Conor McGregor.
Nevertheless, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from MMA in October 2020. The consensus in the combat sports community is that The Eagle is unlikely to return to the sport of MMA.
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor is the third-highest selling combat sports PPV of all time
The UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor event, which garnered more than 2.4 million PPV buys, is the third highest-selling combat sports PPV of all time. It’s tied at No. 3 with the professional boxing PPV event between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather that took place in 2007.
Additionally, the No. 2 position is held by the ‘money fight’ that saw Conor McGregor cross over to the sport of boxing to face Floyd Mayweather in 2017. This event did around 4.3 million PPV buys.
Furthermore, the No. 1 position is held by the boxing PPV event between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao that transpired in 2015. This event did around 4.6 million PPV buys.