Dana White: Potential Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor superfight is too big for Russia
If and when Conor McGregor returns to the UFC, the next logical fight would be against current lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Considering the history between the two fighters and the fact that Nurmagomedov holds the title that McGregor once held, but didn’t lose in a fight, it could also be one of the biggest UFC fights in history.
McGregor’s future, however, is up in the air after the fiasco ahead of UFC 223 that saw the Irishman attacking a bus that held several fighters and led to injuries that forced the cancellation of two fights.
McGregor is currently facing multiple charges of assault and has a court date set for June 14. Depending on how the legal system handles McGregor, White will then decide on how to deal with the former two-division champion.
“He’s gotta be punished by the law first,” White told TMZ Sports. “Let’s see what happens in New York.”
If Nurmagomedov is still champion by the time the dust settles on the McGregor situation, one would expect that the UFC would immediately book a fight between the undefeated champion and McGregor. There was an initial thought that the fight could take place in Nurmagomedov’s home country of Russia. White made it clear, however, that a fight of that magnitude could only take place in one city.
“If you do a fight that big, you’ve got to do it in Vegas,” White said. “Khabib will fight in Russia at some point, but it won’t be that fight.”
McGregor once said that he’d be willing to travel to Russia for a fight with Nurmagomedov. The UFC would prefer to have that fight in its backyard.
But, of course, this is all contingent on what happens to McGregor outside of the cage and how the UFC chooses to handle him moving forward.
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