Miesha Tate predicts the outcome of a potential rematch between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov
Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate believes a rematch between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov would be similar to their first encounter at UFC 229.
Nurmagomedov pulverized McGregor with his suffocating grappling and vicious ground and pound before submitting the Irishman in the fourth round. Khabib even landed a knockdown on Conor, who is considered one of the best strikers in the UFC, in the second round.
Sharing her thoughts at the Schmo podcast, Miesha Tate also believes that Conor’s performance against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 will not be a tell-all sign for how he will do in a rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Watch the full interview below:
However, like many experts and analysts, Tate is apprehensive about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s return to the UFC in the first place.
The Dagestani had announced his retirement at UFC 254 after submitting Justin Gaethje in the second round. He had lost his father and lifelong coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, due to complications from COVID-19 in July 2020. He had then promised his mother that he will not fight again without his father by his side and therefore retired after the Gaethje fight.
The UFC 229 encounter between the two fighters is known for the ugly brawl which followed the fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov jumped outside the Octagon after the fight on to Conor’s teammate Dillon Danis. Following this, teammates of both fighters jumped inside the octagon and started throwing shots at each other.
There were numerous suspensions handed out after the instance which included Khabib Nurmagomedov, McGregor, Dillon Danis, Zubaira Tukhugov among others.
The beef between the two started when Conor targeted Khabib’s father calling him a ‘Rat’ and made statements that hurt the Dagestani’s religious sentiments.
Will we see a Khabib Nurmagomedov – Conor McGregor rematch?
Those close to ‘The Eagle’ including Daniel Cormier have mentioned that it is unlikely that Khabib will break the promise he made to his mother. Therefore a UFC return for Khabib looks unlikely.
Additionally, Khabib has mentioned that he has no competitive desire left.
He has also launched his mobile network service and has procured local Russian promotion Gorilla fighting championship, renaming it as Eagle Fighting Championship.
However, UFC President Dana White has mentioned that he will try ad convince Khabib for one more fight in the octagon.