Khabib Nurmagomedov More Interested in Floyd Mayweather Fight Than Tony Ferguson
Khabib Nurmagomedov isn't giving up hope on a mega-payday to fight Floyd Mayweather despite the fact that the matchup will likely never happen.
On Monday in Russia, Nurmagomedov announced a lucrative new deal with an energy drink called 'Gorilla' and also answered questions from the media about his future following a fourth round submission against Conor McGregor in October.
It didn't take long for the subject of Nurmagomedov's next fight to come up as the undefeated Russian has a long list of options available to him when he returns in 2019.
Nurmagomedov could easily cash another huge paycheck to face McGregor in a rematch or he could attempt to take on Tony Ferguson for the fifth time after their previous four encounters have been scrapped.
For his part, Nurmagomedov says that a showdown against Mayweather would still mean the most to him just because it would do so much for his legacy to take on another undefeated fighter of that caliber.
"For legacy, money-wise and competition-wise, the bout against Mayweather would be more interesting [than a fight with Tony Ferguson]," Nurmagomedov said at the press conference.
“Why do people keep buying pay-per-views with Mayweather in? Because he keeps winning. He’s never lost. 50 bouts and 50 wins. Some people root for him and some people root against him. That would be very interesting. Two undefeated fighters. It would be very interesting to see who wins."
As much as Nurmagomedov might want the fight with Mayweather, it seems highly unlikely that it would ever happen.
Mayweather has made it clear that he would only face the reigning UFC lightweight champion in a boxing match. Meanwhile, UFC president Dana White says they are no longer sending their best fighters to the sport of boxing and if Mayweather wants the fight, he can meet Nurmagomedov inside the Octagon.
That all adds up to a fight between Nurmagomedov and Mayweather probably never happening but until his next bout is scheduled, the Russian champion isn't giving up hope that he could face the undefeated boxer in the near future.
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As for Ferguson, he's been champing at the bit for a shot at either Nurmagomedov or McGregor after returning from knee surgery earlier this year and then defeating former champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 229.
As of now, no decisions have been made for any of those fights as Nurmagomedov and McGregor are still awaiting potential punishments being handed down from the Nevada Athletic Commission for their roles in the post fight brawl that broke out after their bout ended in early October.
