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According to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager, Saudi Arabia is willing to put up big money to host one of his fights.
If you’re in the business of believing MMA managers, it would appear that Khabib Nurmagomedov is in high demand around the world.
TMZ spoke to Khabib’s manager recently, and he claims that the rulers of Saudi Arabia want a Khabib fight in their territory so bad that they’re willing to pay up to $100 million dollars for it. As long as it’s a fight against Conor McGregor or Floyd Mayweather:
”I know some people in Saudi Arabia, right now, they met with me. They want to pay $100 million to Khabib to fight Conor in Saudi Arabia. They want to pay Khabib $100 million to fight Floyd in Saudi Arabia.”
That would appear to be hogwash on the surface – especially going against Mayweather – but the Saudis have put up a ton of cash to host other sporting events recently. Anthony Joshua rematched Andy Ruiz in the country and the promoter, Eddie Hearn, allegedly received 40 million dollars for that. They also have a long-term agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment to host multiple events a year in the Kingdom, which they’re also paying big money for.
So while it’s highly unlikely to happen (especially considering the source), who knows? Khabib definitely has an audience there, so stranger things have happened. Don’t count on it though.