Khabib Nurmagomedov Targeting Potential Fights with Ferguson, St. Pierre, Mayweather
Khabib Nurmagomedov has several opponents in mind for his next fight, but Conor McGregor isn’t one of them.
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Nurmagomedov soundly defeated McGregor at UFC 229, defending his lightweight crown via fourth-round submission at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 6. After the bout, the Dagestani jumped out of the Octagon to attack McGregor training partner Dillon Danis, sparking a post-fight melee that included McGregor and members of both camps. Nurmagomedov is still facing discipline from the Nevada Athletic Commission for his actions. His immediate future depends on what type of punishment he receives.
“Honestly, I don’t know nothing about my comeback. We have to
wait,” Nurmagomedov said. “End of January, they gonna make decision
about my future. Maybe they gonna give me nine months or one year.
I don’t know.”
“The Eagle” has several big name opponents that interest him once he is cleared to compete again, and if he was able to face all of them, he could call it a career with his legacy set in stone.
“I don’t know right now, but why not maybe [Georges] St. Pierre, [Tony] Ferguson and [Floyd] Mayweather?” Nurmagomedov said. “It will be these three guys, and we can retire and become the greatest athlete of all time.”
When the time comes, Nurmagomedov will sit down with his team and discuss his options. He admits that everyone in his camp have different opinions when it comes to his next bout.
“I have a big team – you know, my father, Javier Mendez, my management. And everybody thinks a little bit different,” Nurmagomedov said. “If you talk about it, my father thinks different, Javier thinks different, my management thinks different.”
Ferguson and Nurmagomedov have been scheduled to fight on four different occasions, and each time the bout has fallen through for various reasons. Currently on an 11-fight winning streak, “El Cucuy” remains the most deserving No. 1 contender in the UFC’s lightweight division.
However, Nurmagomedov previously expressed a desire to face St. Pierre after initially capturing the lightweight belt, and it appears that interest has not waned. The American Kickboxing Academy member would prefer that the hypothetical matchup take place at 155 pounds.
“Georges St. Pierre is a very big name. I like an opponent who is a very tough opponent, and he’s a little bit bigger than me,” Nurmagomedov said. “And if we’re gonna fight, we have to fight at 155, because 170 is his weight, and he’s gonna be a little bit bigger than me. And for me, it’s like a smart decision taking him to 155. And, yes, he’s a very big challenge for me. Like, for my legacy, he’s a very good matchup for my legacy, for fans, for money, for everywhere now. And I don’t know about his future, about his plans, but I respect him.
“In my opinion he’s the greatest athlete who ever competed in the UFC, because he’s a champion inside the cage and outside the cage, too. And we’ll see. But if you ask me about Georges St. Pierre, of course I’m interested in this match.”
Nurmagomedov has also called for a matchup with Mayweather, the undefeated boxing great who defeated McGregor via 10th round TKO in August 2017. “Money” has stated that he would only face the UFC champ under boxing rules, and that stipulation is just fine with Nurmagomedov.
“Mayweather now is old -- 41, 42 years old. You know, but he’s a very big name. If we can take very big fish, why not?” Nurmagomedov said. “A lot of people don’t understand about age, about when you did in competition. Like, they think, ‘Oh, Mayweather,’ and that’s it or ‘Conor,’ and that’s it. They don’t know what’s inside. We can take everything what they have. You know, all his 50-0, we can take this because he’s too old, too small, and it’s gonna be smart decision for my future, for legacy, for money, for fans, for everywhere.”
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