Conor McGregor says that the “war is not over” with Khabib Nurmagomedov, despite Khabib seemingly not wanting anything to do with another McGregor fight following their chaotic clash from a few years ago that led to brawling between the two sides following the fight.
In more chaotic fallout, McGregor was arrested for throwing a dolly through a bus window in search of Nurmagomedov, who slapped McGregor teammate Artem Lobov a few days earlier.
While McGregor knows that Nurmagomedov announced his retirement following his successful defense of the UFC lightweight championship over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 last October, he still wants to have one last shot, admitting that if Nurmagomedov does stick to his decision he will have no choice but to move forward.
“It’s a tough business,” McGregor said, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. “Things have gone on in his personal life. I don’t wish him any harm. Like I said, it was in 2018. A lot of time has passed. The world knows this fight is not over. This war is not over. The sport needs it to happen; the people need it to happen. I’m not gonna chase it if he doesn’t want it. And that’s it. I’ll keep my calm and move on. And that’s what I’m doing. I’m back here in the 155-pound division. I’ll show the world what’s what over time.”
“What I will say is, as long as we fight again, there’ll be no issue,” McGregor said. “That’s it. If he continues to run, I’m not sure. We’ll see what happens.”
Nurmagomedov remains the UFC lightweight champion, but McGregor believes that it won’t last much longer.
“I would make the case, if that man is continuing to dodge this and dodge the commitment of competing again, the title should be stripped and [Poirier and I] should be engaging in a title fight,” McGregor said. “But I’m sure it will happen after this bout. I’m interested to hear the excuses or what will be said after the fight. But I predict a title strip.”
McGregor and Nurmagomedov could cross paths this week, as the two are staying in the same hotel in Abu Dhabi. McGregor is there for UFC 257, while Nurmagomedov is in town to work the corner for his cousin Unar, who is slated to fight on the UFC Fight Night card.
UFC is aware of a potential threat, but the two have not yet crossed paths.
