'The world needs this rivalry to be settled' - Conor McGregor talks about the legacy of his rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov
Conor McGregor wants his nearly three-year-old rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov to be settled with a rematch of their UFC 229 fight. However, he believes Khabib Nurmagomedov would not be open to come back from retirement for it.
During the live streaming of UFC Fight Island 7 main card, Dana White broke the silence on his meeting with Khabib Nurmagomedov and announced where they stand as far as his retirement was concerned. Dana White said that Khabib Nurmagomedov will consider coming back if he was impressed by the two major lightweight clashes set to take place at UFC 257. One of them is the main event between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier and the other is the co-main event between Michael Chandler vs. Dan Hooker.
The UFC president's comments were certainly 'anti-climatic', as UFC Arabia's Farah Hannoun put it in her interview with 'The Notorious'. She asked Conor McGregor what his opinions were on the decision Khabib took regarding his retirement. McGregor shared that he was not surprised by the call 'The Eagle' made.
"It was certainly a non-decision and to me it sounded like it was what I assumed, that it was a 'No', and that he doesn't want any part of it. It was kind of stretched out all day. It's a maybe type of thing. It is what it is," Conor McGregor said.
However, Conor McGregor is all for the rematch that, according to The Irishman, Khabib Nurmagomedov has been avoiding for long.
"We should go again. The world needs this rivalry to be settled. And if he doesn't have it in him, if he doesn't have the courage, that's no problem. I'm not going to... we've been on a mad old ride, myself and that man and it should be settled. If it's not, it is what it is."
Conor McGregor: He's afraid to fight me
This is not the first time Conor McGregor has claimed that Khabib Nurmagomedov is trying to avoid facing him a second time. He has said it previously in several interviews, including most recently to ESPN's Ariel Helwani.
"I think he's afraid to fight me. That's for damn sure and I don't blame him. I fought the best of him on that night, he fought the worst of me on that night. He knows it, I know it, his team knows it. I have the answer to destroy that man, so he can pull the wool over people's eyes for only so long. It is what it is. I know there are surrounding things regarding the family and if he's retired I wish him well. But I am who I am and I'm at the top so time will show."
Ariel Helwani went on to ask if Conor McGregor thinks Khabib Nurmagomedov retired because he does not want to fight him in a rematch, to which the former lightweight and featherweight champion agreed.