After Khabib Nurmagomedov parted ways with the UFC, Conor McGregor pledged to play in the lightweight of this arena.
Conor McGregor is committed to returning to the UFC light fixture
In a Twitter question and answer, Conor McGregor confirmed he will return to play in the UFC lightweight in 2021. McGregor announced his retirement in June but appeared to have changed his mind. He will rematch Dustin Poirier in January 2021.
This is not the first time McGregor returns after announcing his retirement. In April 2016, the 30-year-old puncher decided to retire from the ring after losing to Nate Diaz but decided to return 4 months later. Many people believe that McGregor’s retirement is only intended to polish his name and put pressure on the UFC president to demand a share in the company.
Previously, Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his shocking retirement
Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated rival Justin Gaethje to successfully defend the light championship belt before giving up on UFC career.
The light championship title match between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Justin Gaethje was the focus of the UFC 254 event, which took place on October 25. At that time, many bookmakers like W88 (link W88.com) considered this as one of the biggest UFC betting events this year. With a series of impressive achievements in the past, such as defeating Tony Ferguson, Justin Gaethje is expected to make Khabib go through the toughest game of his career.
Entering the first half, the American boxer showed that he prepared for the match very carefully. Justin Gaethje deliberately used many low-range kicks to prevent the Russian boxer from approaching. However, this intention was quickly extinguished. Khabib repeatedly launched blows, causing Gaethje to run around the iron cage to avoid the attack.
Entering the second half, taking advantage of the moment when Gaethje was distracted, Khabib pressed close to the triangle, making Gaethje incapable of the opponent. The referee decided to stop the match and declared Khabib the winner.
Thus, Khabib officially successfully defended the UFC lightweight championship belt and extended the unbeaten series in the MMA career to 29 (13 matches at UFC). However, what shocked the fans, even more, was the moment when the 32-year-old boxer choked up saying goodbye to his martial arts career.
The UFC kept Khabib in the light championship title
Khabib Nurmagomedov is the best fighter in the UFC with a record of 29 victories. Even the greatest legends of this tournament such as Conor McGregor or Dustin Poirier have been defeated by the Russian Eagle.
Although Khabib Nurmagomedov announced his abandonment of the UFC light championship title, UFC president Dana White said he would let the Russian boxer continue to hold the title, adding that he hopes Khabib’s decision to break up with UFC is only temporary.
The rematch of McGregor – Khabib is unlikely to happen
In a recent statement, Khabib Nurmagomedov confirmed that he was ready to refuse $5 billion for the purpose of rematching Conor McGregor. In an interview on ESPN recently, Khabib confirmed that he was willing to turn down any offer, even the craziest from UFC, to meet McGregor.
Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz once revealed to TMZ that he and his client had received two important offers to meet McGregor or Floy Mayweather. Accordingly, Khabib will receive up to $100 million. However, Khabib is said not to be interested in a rematch with McGregor.
According to AS, UFC President Dana White was very excited to organize the rematch between Khabib and McGregor. However, the negotiation process for the encounter between these two famous boxers to take place is still rough. The important thing is that Khabib no longer wants to fight Crazy Guy.
The match between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor in 2018 brought many new records for the UFC. The records were not only in terms of the number of viewers, ticket sales, PPV collection, but also the number of people watching the match. As the former champion and now commentator at the UFC, Daniel Cormier said he would not be surprised if the UFC wanted Khabib Nurmagomedov to rematch with Conor McGregor.
UFC President Dana White said the plan for Khabib – Conor to become a coach of The Ultimate Fighter had collapsed, leading to the rematch of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor also fell into an indeterminate state.