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“The who doesn’t matter for me now. I’m looking at dates now and I know March was there. I’m gonna have a look at the calendar and see where we’re at.”
UFC president Dana White is trying to push Conor McGregor into a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov, but ‘The Notorious’ is having none of it.
After his sensational first-round TKO of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, McGregor wants to get back in the cage asap and the Irishman isn’t going to ‘sit out and wait’ on the sidelines for a fight that may never materalize.
“I don’t think the who matters,” McGregor said at the UFC 246 post-fight press conference, per MMA Fighting. “Okay, the lightweight title will be there. That will be there. You see the difference in the physique, the preparation and that. That will come back around, that shot. I’m certainly not gonna – if [Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson] does go ahead – sit out and wait and then wait through holidays and injuries and all this type of thing that goes with it. The who doesn’t matter for me now. I’m looking at dates now and I know March was there. I’m gonna have a look at the calendar and see where we’re at.”
McGregor, who lost to Khabib via submission back in 2018, admits things got personal with Nurmagomedov in the lead-up to UFC 229 but says his focus in the rematch will be on the ‘The Eagle’s’ unique and imposing skill set.
“You know, it’s got very personal with that man and his team,” McGregor said of Nurmagomedov. “Look, it is what it is. I make no promises. I am who I am and it is what it is. I’ll certainly be focused on the skillsets. We have a particular skillset, myself and that man. He holds onto the legs and I come for it. I’ll be excited to get that one back. So we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens in the Tony fight. Tony’s another interesting foe for me. We’ll see what happens. If something happens, I’ll be here.”
Khabib is set to defend his lightweight title against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18, while McGregor would like to return to the Octagon a month earlier in March. Possible match-ups for McGregor include a BMF title bout with Jorge Masvidal and trilogy fight against Nate Diaz, with bookmakers listing Masvidal as the most likely opponent.