Tag: khabib Nurmagomedov vs Edson Barboza

Although he recently declared that anyone who believed UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor should be stripped of the title “is a Conor hater” during a bizarre defense of his biggest star, UFC president Dana White began to change his tune today during an exclusive interview with Yahoo’s Kevin Iole.

White stated that McGregor had until March to make his return known, at which point interim champion Tony Ferguson would face top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov in the spring and the winner would go on to meet McGregor to unify the belts. McGregor has supposedly targeted a summertime date sometime around August, but White said if that were the case, the UFC may have to move on and book Ferguson vs. Khabib for the official title.

His reasoning is now much more in line with the general consensus of much of the UFc fanbase, as even feversihMcGregor supporters have dubbed his inactivity insulting to the fighting spirit the UFC claims to embody. All of the sudden, White seems to agree that McGregor is holding up the division, and while that’s definitely costing the UFC huge potential paydays, White acknowledged it’s also costing the top fighters in the talented division a big part of their prime:

“Not only to the sport, but to the other fighters,” White said. “This is game of time. Time is your enemy in this sport, or any other sport. When you’re a professional athlete, time is your enemy, and we can’t let this thing go on forever and not give other guys the opportunity. Tony Ferguson has been around for a long time and has earned his dues, Khabib has earned his dues, and the list goes on and on.

“So, Conor has done very well, he’s made a lot of money, and if he decides that he doesn’t want to fight again for another, however long, that’s up to him. That’s his choice and his decision. But the belt has to move on, so we’ve gotta figure some stuff out about him in the next couple of months.”

Indeed they do need to figure out what to do with their biggest star, because even though they enjoyed the financial windfall of his boxing match with McGregor, it also clearly made him question if he ever wants to fight in the UFC again or not, and he might never return. He has the cash not to.

It’s also made him question his worth to UFC owners Endeavor, and with McGregor supposedly seeking an ownership stake of his own before he returns to the UFC, many are speculating that will keep him out of action for some time.

White believes an amicable deal will be met, however, noting that he’s Never been adverse to paying McGregor and is not right now.

To him, the question is if he actually wants to fight:

“I’ve never been afraid to pay Conor McGregor money. Conor McGregor brings the money in, and we’ve laid out a really nice offer for him, and he’s a smart kid. I think we’ll figure it out. I’ve always figured it out with him. I’ve always ended up getting a deal done with Conor McGregor.

“The question is, and you’re right, does he have so much money that he doesn’t care anymore and he doesn’t really want to fight? That’s up to him, but in no way, shape, or form am I asking him to come back and not make money, because he’s going to make money.”

The post Dana White Discusses Real Reason To Strip Conor McGregor’s Title appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

In most mixed martial arts (MMA) circles, it’s long been thought that when UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor returns to the Octagon – if he does return – it would be against interim champion Tony Ferguson.

But with “The Notorious” galavanting about Europe and flaunting the newfound wealth of his $100 million payday to box Floyd Mayweather last year, it’s anything but a certainty that the Irish megastar will unify his title with “El Cucuy” anytime soon. It’s made for a messy lightweight title picture, to say the least – and that landscape only grew messier when top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov put on one of the most dominant performances of his dominant career against Edson Barboza at UFC 219 (Dec. 30, 2017) last Saturday night in Las Vegas.

McGregor is currently seeking some sort of ownership or promoters stake for his next fight, making his return seem more likely for the summer (hopefully) than for the spring. So that might mean we see the oft-scheduled Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov booked yet again for sometime early in 2018 according to UFC president Dana White, who told Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole that if McGregor is ready to fight early this year, they’ll book Ferguson vs. Khabib for March with the winner fighting the Irishman.

If he’s not, well, the UFC would have to wait it out and then make Ferguson vs. Khabib for the official title, something fans have been crying for quite a lot recently:

“Khabib looks like an unbelievable force and is a star in the making. As long as Conor is willing to fight by March, we could do Khabib versus Tony and then the winner fights Conor for the title,” White said. “Of, if Conor wants to sit out until next fall, then we’d have to make Khabib versus Tony for the title, not the interim title.”

That’s a lot that has to go right for McGregor to meet Nurmagomedov, a fight that’s arguably the biggest match they could make on the heels of Nurmagomedov’s big win, which came months after McGregor vs. Ferguson was the fight to make over McGregor’s fast-fading trilogy match with Nate Diaz.

Regardless, White said McGregor is looking to fight in August, but that’s too long for him to go without defending the belt and ‘can’t happen’:

“I love that matchup (against Nurmagomedov), but Tony Ferguson is the interim champion, and Conor and I haven’t really figured out when he’s coming back and what’s going on,” White said. “So Conor has some big decisions to make here, really quick. If he waits — I don’t think Conor wants to fight until August, but if he waits until August or September, that’s around two years since the belt has been defended, and that can’t happen.”

The controversial executive sounds like he’s finally beginning to “get tough” on McGregor, who’s earned an immeasurable amount of criticism for failing to defend either of his UFC titles since first winning the featherweight gold from Jose Aldo over two years ago.

However, the UFC needs bankable stars right now, and McGregor is clearly their biggest meal ticket, so they’ll more likely to talk a big game in the media while they wait on pins and needles for him to return and defend his belt.

So the saga goes on, with no concrete news in sight. Here’s to hoping fans don’t have to wait until September to find out.

The post Dana White Unveils Timeline For Potential Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Match-Up appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.