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Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father and coach Abdulmanap has laid out what it’ll take to get Khabib vs. McGregor 2, and it’s a whole lotta cheese.
According to Khabib’s father and head coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, his son is willing to budge slightly on his refusal to rematch Conor McGregor. Unfortunately, it’ll cost the UFC quite a bit.
”We also need revenge against Conor,” Abdulmanap told RIA Novosti. “But give us $100 million. The day after the fight against Ferguson, give us that amount and then why not get revenge? I don’t know, maybe Dana White wants to arrange it (for that amount), he needs that fight.”
Dana White does indeed seem like he wants it quite badly. With McGregor’s choice of opponents never deeper than it was on Saturday night after UFC 246, White made it clear that he felt McGregor should wait however long for the Khabib rematch. It was, in his opinion, a historic type of fight that would have worldwide appeal and sell more pay-per-views than Mayweather vs. McGregor.
Which is lucky for him, because $100 million is reportedly what Floyd Mayweather pocketed for his part in that particular superfight. It should be no problem for the UFC to pay Khabib the same amount, right? Of course, we’re just kidding. While White also claimed that Khabib Nurmagomedov earned in the neighborhood of $50 million dollars after the McGregor fight, that’s factoring in the endless financial opportunities he engaged in after the fight. The same is assumed when McGregor says he’ll make $80 million off UFC 246.
The increasingly obsolete and useless disclosed purse numbers for UFC 229 had Khabib making $2 million, and industry insiders estimated he probably walked away with around $10 million after all was said and done. That’s a whole lot of ground that will have to be covered between that and $100 million, unless Abdulmanap is talking in similar overpuffed ancillary numbers as White and McGregor these days.
As for what Khabib’s dad thought of McGregor’s 40 second performance against Donald Cerrone?
“Nothing surprising, I saw nothing new,” Abdulmanap said. “This is the 170 pound weight division, where the strongest fighters are gathered, regardless of weight category. Therefore, I think that absolutely nothing has changed in this weight, the current champion has remained on the throne.”
“The top contender for the lightweight title is Tony Ferguson,” Nurmagomedov added. “If Conor wants to prove something at welterweight, then there are Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Jorge Masvidal – these are the greatest fighters. McGregor and Cerrone in this weight aren’t even top ten. “