UFC: Khabib Nurmagomedov wouldn’t fight ‘idiot’ Conor McGregor again for $100m

Khabib waved away the possibility of a rematch no matter what fee he received

Wednesday 05 February 2020 18:31 GMT
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UFC: Post-match press conference with Conor McGregor

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Khabib Nurmagomedov has rejected the prospect of a rematch with Conor McGregor after the Russian claimed he would not even take $100m to put the fight on.

In October 2018 Khabib beat McGregor by a fourth-round submission, which sparked violent scenes both inside and outside the Octagon involving both fighters.

Khabib waved away the possibility of a rematch no matter what fee he received, despite UFC President Dana White’s desire to organise the bout.

Khabib said: “Giving me $100m to beat up that idiot again? I don’t think it’s rational. Everyone saw what happened in the octagon (against McGregor). I controlled the fight every step of the way.

“I did everything I wanted to him, he even gave up. How can we even discuss a rematch? We are only talking about continuing the festivities and making money.”

Last month, McGregor beat Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone inside the first minute in Las Vegas, but suffered his first defeat at the hands of Khabib since his loss against Nate Diaz in 2016.

Khabib, who is unbeaten in 28 fights including 10 submission wins, looked ahead to his next fight against Tony Ferguson on the 18th April and claimed money is not his motivation anymore.

He said: “Why do I need that kind of money? There are so many organisations for example. There’s not only football for the blind, there’s sambo, other sports. Let the UFC give it to them if they don’t know what to do with the money.

“I have a fight on April 18th. A very serious fight. For the past month and a half I’ve been consistently training day and night. I’ve gotten myself in good shape, to where I’m supposed to be 70 days before a fight. I feel great.”

Much like McGregor, Ferguson’s last victory came against Cerrone in June 2019, he has won 26 of his 29 career fights.

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