Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz said the rematch with Conor McGregor will only happen in one place and it’s not inside the Octagon.
Prior to his return, McGregor has been vocal on his interest to fight the Russian champion for the second time as he looks to even their rivalry after a fourth-round submission defeat at UFC 229.
‘The Notorious’ essayed a 40-second knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 last month and Dana White said the Khabib rematch is the next fight that makes sense for the Irish star.
Team Khabib has previously stated the rematch will be expensive as they want a $100 million paycheck for the re-run of the October 2018 lightweight bout.
Now, Abdelaziz gives another condition for the rematch, saying it will only happen if the lightweight rivals fight on the street.
Not About Money
Speaking to ESPN in a recent interview,the MMA manager said: “The only chance this fight could happen is in the street. [McGregor would] have to do something spectacular.”
“He’s s—, you understand? Conor McGregor is one of the biggest stars because he’s one of the biggest scumbags.”
Abdelaziz also shared the undisputed lightweight champion is focused on his next title-retention bid against Tony Ferguson, which will go down in the main event of UFC 249 this April.
“Conor needs to earn things. He was a champion. He needs to earn things.”
“Khabib really, really wants to make him earn it. It doesn’t matter, because what he says. We have a really, really tough fight.”
“Everybody forgets about Tony, dismissing him. Khabib has been training for three months straight, and he has two more months.”
“Listen, there’s a lot of money for Khabib if Khabib fights Conor. But everything is not about money. Especially with Khabib.”
Titanic Clash
Khabib has been undefeated in 12 UFC bouts, tying his upcoming challenger for the longest active undefeated winning streak at 155 pounds.
The lightweight champion is coming off a third-round technical knockout of Dustin Poirier in their unification bout at UFC 242 last September.
It was the Russian’s 28th straight win in as many outings on his MMA career and the second time he successfully defended the UFC lightweight strap.
Ferguson, meanwhile, most recently defeated Cerrone by way of doctor stoppage in a Fight of the Night clash at UFC 238 .
The lightweight pair has been booked for five times and on April 8, in what many consider as the biggest MMA fight of the year, only one fighter will get to keep his winning streak alive while securing the 155-pound belt.
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov)