A much-talked about meeting of the minds between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President, Dana White, and current Lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, is set to go down in a few weeks in Abu Dhabi.
It’s no secret White is hoping to convince “The Eagle” to fly back to the Octagon for one ore fight in order to have him attempt complete his combat career at a perfect 30-0, but Khabib hasn’t waivered in his retirement plans.
“When I fly out there (to ‘Fight Island’), Khabib is going to be there, too. I’m going to meet with Khabib while I’m there,” White said Wednesday on the “SHOUT!” Buffalo podcast via MMA Junkie. “In a perfect world, if Conor wins this fight, I’d love to see the rematch with him and Khabib. It’s the biggest fight that can be made, and it’s the fight that makes sense.”
Those closest to Nurmagomedov feel White is going to have to show up with more than a big paycheck to tempt the dominate 155-pound champion to return to action, and a rematch against “Notorious” might not be enough.
That’s because “The Eagle” has gone on record that he will never give McGregor the chance to get one back on him after choking him out at UFC 229 in October of 2018. Since the fight wasn’t competitive, Nurmagomedov sees no need to run it back.
Georges St-Pierre is always an option, but “Rush’s” latest surprise announcement fell flat, though it it still very possible that a proposition for a fight against “GSP” could be what White has up his sleeve.
For now, McGregor is in line to face Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on Jan 23. 2021, which is around the time White and Nurmagomedov are set to meet.