Khabib Nurmagomedov shrugs off $100m payday for Conor McGregor rematch

Ali Abdelaziz recently claimed that his star client, UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov, has been offered $100M to rematch Conor McGregor in Saudi Arabia. The veracity of this statement from Ali Abdelaziz is not easy to determine, but either way, Nurmagomedov doesn’t seem all that interested.

He thinks that money could be better spent elsewhere, like helping the blind.

“Why do I need that kind of money?” Nurmagomedov asked reporters during a press conference in Russia (via MMA Junkie). “There are so many organizations. For example, there’s not only football for the blind, there’s sambo and other sports. Let (the UFC) give it to them if they don’t know what to do with the money. But giving me $100 million for me to beat up that idiot again? I don’t think that’s rational.”

While there’s still plenty of buzz surrounding a potential rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor, the former is currently booked for a fight with streaking lightweight contender Tony Ferguson.

He says he’s focused on that fight, and is surprised fans have any interest in a rematch with McGregor.

“I have a fight on April 18 – a very serious fight,” Nurmagomedov said. “For the past month and a half, I’ve been consistently training day and night. I’ve gotten myself in good shape to where I’m supposed to be 70 days before a fight. I feel great.

“What’ll happen after the fight, no one knows. I don’t worry about it. That’s what (the UFC) want. I’m surprised that people even question me about a rematch. It seems that people want to continue the festivities after that fight.

“Everyone saw what happened in the octagon (against McGregor),” Nurmagomedov concluded. “I controlled the fight every step of the way. I did everything I wanted to him. He even gave up. How can we even discuss a rematch? We can only talk about continuing the festivities and making money. The question is, do I want that? I am focused on Tony Ferguson.”

Does a rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor interest you?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/4/2020.