UFC News: Khabib's manager Ali Abdelaziz talks about Conor rematch
A rematch between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov has been the talk of the town ever since the former announced his return to the Octagon.
The fight against Donald Cerrone on January 18 will be Conor's first appearance since his submission loss to Khabib a year and three months ago. There are rumors of the rematch happening if McGregor manages to win this one. The fighter himself, as well as UFC President Dana White has shown interest in it.
However, when it comes to the third party involved, things are very different. Speaking to TMZ Sports, Khabib's manager Ali Abdelaziz made how they feel about the possibility of a rematch pretty clear.
Ali Abdelaziz: Conor is not on our radar
Abdelaziz said an outright no when asked about a second fight with McGregor. He said that he understood how Dana White has been mentioning Khabib's name to draw more attention to Conor, and that it was all part of the business. But as far as the Nurmagomedov camp is concerned, they are not interested in the Irishman.
"Listen, Dana’s the greatest promoter in history, (and) I respect the man very much. He has to make people care about Conor. And by mentioning Khabib’s name, he is making Conor more relevant. It’s OK. He promote, can do whatever. Khabib has a plan, Dana has a plan, Sometimes we’ll get upset, sometimes we’ll agree, but business moves on... But Conor is not on our radar."
Moreover, Abdelaziz thinks that McGregor might lose to Cerrone, which will bring down the chances of the rematch happening anyway. He is not very impressed by his pre-fight photos either, which showed Conor to be all jacked up and ready for the upcoming fight, and he spoke from previous experience.
"Listen, his coaches before the fight (with Nurmagomedov) said, ‘He’s ready, he’s going to knock Khabib out inside three rounds, he’s never been in better shape.’ And after that, they said they had a horrible camp, his food was like a balloon. They’re liars... He looks like a blew-out balloon. He’s a bodybuilder. That’s what I think. He’s getting no love from us."
Abdelaziz also said that Justin Gaethje would have been a better opponent for Conor in his opinion, but UFC chose not to go down that road since Gaethje "would have beat his a**" in the fight.
The Conor vs. Cowboy fight will take place at UFC 246 on January 18, 2020 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada