Khabib Nurmagomedov says he might end up in jail if he sees Conor McGregor again

If you thought the beef between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor would diminish with time, think again.

According to the reigning UFC lightweight champion Nurmagomedov, he and the former champ McGregor will always be at odds. So much so that if they ever cross paths out in he world, violence will ensue — even it means jail time.

“Even this fight finish, not everything is finished,” Nurmagomedov told ESPN (via MMA Fighting). “Just smash people it’s not enough. I talk about just smash only him? It’s not enough. We have to smash all his team. This is what I think before the fight. This is what I say to my team. ‘Hey, tonight, we’re going to war. This is not about fight.’

“It will never be finished. Ever. Even if we see [each other] somewhere, we’re going to fight, 100 percent. It doesn’t matter if someone go to jail or something like this. I’m not scared about this. If someone has to go to jail, they go to jail. . . They go to hospital and we’ll go to police. That’s it.”

When it comes to a legitimate, sanctioned MMA fight, however, Khabib Nurmagomedov is not nearly as willing to trade blows with Conor McGregor again.

“I don’t think this fight can happen,” Nurmagomedov said. “This guy have to come back and make nine- or 10-fight win streak. Then we gonna fight. Maybe people who watch this interview, they think, ‘Oh, he think about this, but when UFC ask this guy to fight Conor for millions of dollars, this guy is gonna take it.’ No. Come back and show who are you. Fight with Justin, fight with Iaquinta, fight with Tony. Fight. Just show up. When he win last time? Three years ago and this guy wants to fight for the title?

”Dana [White], no need to call me. Why he have to call me about this fight? We talk with Dana sometimes, he’s a good guy, but don’t talk with me about this crazy fight. I want to fight real guys – Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson, maybe if one of the greatest athletes ever, Georges St-Pierre, wants to fight. I want to fight those guys. I don’t want to fight with a guy who never wins.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov is set to defend his title against interim champion Dustin Poirier at UFC 242. For a time, there was talk of McGregor potentially attending this card. From the sounds of it, it’s probably better he and Nurmagomedov keep their distance.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/29/2019.