Conor McGregor will fight Khabib Nurmagomedov next says Dana White

UFC president Dana White says that he would like to see Conor McGregor fight UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in a rematch next.

McGregor picked up his first win in MMA since 2016 on Saturday night when he knocked out Donald Cerrone in the first round of their fight at UFC 246. As soon as the fight was over, already there was talk about who would be McGregor’s next opponent.

Both Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman were in attendance at the event, so fans and media immediately speculated that either man could be next for McGregor. Not so, says White, who says that Nurmagomedov will be next for McGregor.

Here’s what White told the media about McGregor following UFC 246 (h/t MMAFighting.com).

“There’s always somebody fun that can match up with Conor and everybody wants to fight Conor. Everybody’s wanted to fight Conor for the last however many years. When you look at what makes sense, we’re at a place where Conor was saying going into the Khabib fight, he had a lot of personal stuff. Some stuff self-inflicted, he had injuries and he had all these things going on, and he has been obsessed with getting that rematch, because he knows that he wasn’t 100 percent right,” White said about McGregor.

“When you look at this for Khabib, Khabib is 28-0, he’s undefeated, and you start talking about this kid’s legacy. First of all, to 28-0 in this sport, I don’t care who you fought, it’s tough to do. Well, this guy’s a world champion. After tonight and with how Khabib won the fight the first time and how famous Khabib has become since that first fight, we’re looking at (Marvin) Hagler-(Tommy) Hearns. (Muhammad) Ali-(George) Foreman. Ali-(Joe) Frazier. This is a massive fight with global appeal. It’s the fight that you make. (McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov) is the fight that makes sense. It’s the fight for the 155-pound title.”

This news will obviously be disappointing for Masvidal and Usman, who were both likely salivating at the prospect of a money fight against McGregor. But White and the UFC always get what they want, and if that’s a rematch with Nurmagomedov and McGregor, that’s the fight.

Are you interested in Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov 2 next or would you rather see McGregor fight Jorge Masvidal or Kamaru Usman?