Report: Khabib Nurmagomedov father wants boxing rematch with Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor’s desired rematch with reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov could occur in the boxing ring. At least, that’s what Nurmagomedov’s father Abdulmanap says.

Speaking to the Russian newspaper Izvestia this week, the Nurmagomedov patriarch shared his belief that his son is more than capable of hanging with Conor McGregor under the boxing ruleset, and that he’d like their potential rematch to occur between the ropes.

“As for the fight against Conor according to the rules of boxing, we are interested in such a fight,” Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov said (translation via Irish Mirror).

“Khabib showed that he is able to win the best drummers of mixed martial arts,” he added. “He talked about this before, but few believed it.

“However, after bright victories over Michael Johnson, Edson Barbosa and Conor, [people] begin to believe. Nurmagomedov is able to do it in the boxing ring. Khabib has all the skills to win by the rules of boxing. One of the key skills can be called endurance.”

Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov first met in the main event of UFC 229 on October 6. On that night, Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor via fourth-round submission. The Russian champion also impressed onlookers by dropping McGregor, who was considered the far better striker, with a punch.

Since then, McGregor has expressed interest in an MMA rematch, while Nurmagomedov has campaigned for a boxing match with undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr.

McGregor, to remind, boxed Mayweather in August fo 2017. Although he had some success early on, he was ultimately stopped by a volley of 10th-round punches.

A potential boxing match between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, of course, seems very unlikely, given that both are still under contract with the UFC. While a UFC rematch is certainly possible in the future, both will first need to face the music with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, having been involved in an ugly post-fight brawl after their UFC 229 bout.

Do you think it’s possible that Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov could rematch in the boxing ring?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/19/2018.