The rivalry between top lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor is on hold for now. One former champ doesn’t think that would matter.
Undefeated champ Khabib is currently on the side awaiting the expiration of his teammates’ suspension for the UFC 229 post-fight brawl. As for McGregor, well, he’s been rumored to return against fellow fan favorite Donald Cerrone later this year. He was called out by former interim champion Tony
So with both combatants’ fighting future unknown, the UFC lightweight division is once again in a state of uncertainty as a result. It always seems to be like that in some sense, mainly due to fighters picking their shots. An immediate rematch between Khabib and McGregor has often been discussed. Yet it’s not really going to provide the division with much clarity. It would give the UFC yet another record pay-per-view, however, because of the pre-installed rivalry and hype.
One man with knowledge of the situation recently spoke up on the confusion. Former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez, who will make his ONE Championship debut in Tokyo on March 31, told TMZ Sports not to count McGregor out just yet when asked if the star was done winning titles:
“Um, no. I mean, he’s young. He can do what he wants. I think he’s still passionate about the sport. If he is still passionate about the sport, he’ll win titles. Guy’s a talent, he’s been all over.”
Khabib Retiring?
The topic of the Khabib vs. Conor rematch inevitably rose. Alvarez then voiced his stance that Khabib didn’t really want to fight anymore due to his recent actions:
“Yeah, but I don’t think Khabib’s gonna fight anymore. I don’t know, who knows?”
The MMA veteran dove into why he believes Khabib is almost done competing. He pointed to the fact that Khabib could have gotten a reduced suspension from the NSAC for the UFC 229 brawl, but just chose to sit out an entire year. Based on that, Alvarez said the already inactive champ could just take the belt and walk off:
“If you truly wanna fight, and he got a penalty. He got a penalty from the courts. The courts said, ‘If you do this, we’ll give you six months” – very simple. He opted not to fight and just said, ‘I’m not gonna do what you tell me to do and I’m gonna sit out a whole year.’ I just don’t think he wants to fight. He never fought a lot, too often anyway, when he was fighting – about once a year. So I just don’t think he wants to fight. Maybe he just takes the title and just rolls. Who knows?”
Conor Will Never Beat Khabib
If Khabib did decide to return and face McGregor again, Alvaez believes the Irish star has no shot at beating ‘The Eagle.’ There was one reason for that:
“No. Style match-up. He can’t overcome the style match-up in that short amount of time. Khabib just has a style that beats him, that’s it.”
It’s tough to argue with that assessment. McGregor has had trouble with elite wrestlers throughout his career, and Khabib is arguably the best in MMA right now. It was pointed out that McGregor recently resumed grappling training with Dillon Danis, to which Alvarez replied it just didn’t matter:
“Doesn’t matter. He can grapple all he wants. Styles make match-ups, he’s not gonna beat that style match-up. It’s just not gonna happen.
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