Manager Ali Abdelaziz says Khabib Nurmagomedov took Conor McGregor’s soul

Manager Ali Abdelaziz recently held a media day for his clients in the Dominance MMA stable, and naturally he was asked about Conor McGregor, the target of attention of his star clients Justin Gaethje, Frankie Edgar, and of course UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

According to Abdelaziz, his top fighters would all give McGregor problems because, as he put it, Nurmagomedov “took his soul” when he submitted McGregor last year at UFC 229.

Here’s what Abdelaziz said to MMAFighting.com’s Jose Youngs about McGregor.

“I think Conor McGregor is the best at getting people’s attention. (But) you might see this man may never fight again. I hope he does, because I have a lot of guys who would whoop his ass. Justin would whoop his ass, Frankie would whoop his ass, Islam Makhachev would beat his ass. I know a lot of guys in the top-15 would beat his ass,” Abdelaziz said.

“We understand this man has no soul. Khabib took his soul. It’s done. He doesn’t have balls because we know he quit. So fight, or go away like Justin Gaethje said. Just go away.”

McGregor has not fought since last October, when he was submitted by Nurmagomedov in the fourth round of their fight at UFC 229. McGregor was expected to fight again this year, but now that the 2019 UFC calendar has been filled, that won’t happen. It seems likely that McGregor will next fight in early 2020, but at this point it’s anyone’s guess.

If McGregor does fight again, though, don’t expect it to be against Nurmagomedov for the title. Abdelaziz doesn’t want that matchup for his client, and the champ doesn’t want it either. Although McGregor may feel he should get a title shot, it’s very unlikely to happen.

Do you agree with Ali Abdelaziz that Khabib Nurmagomedov took Conor McGregor’s soul?