Khabib Nurmagomedov is just a little bit happy inside with Conor McGregor’s plea deal and the lack of additional sanctions from the UFC — because it means the Irish star can’t escape him much longer.
Calgary, AB — UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was in Calgary on Saturday, supporting teammate Islam Makhachev, who picked up an impressive submission win at UFC on FOX 30. Yet there was no way ‘The Eagle’ was going to escape the Canadian city without answering a barrage of questions about Conor McGregor.
Especially now that a fight with ‘Mystic Mac’ appears closer than ever before. McGregor entered into a plea deal earlier this week regarding charges stemming from his bus attack incident in Brooklyn just a few months ago. The deal means that felony charges were dropped. Clearing the way for McGregor to continue his career.
And now, Khabib Nurmagomedov has a plan for his rival. “Make him humble.”
He’d expand on that. It’s not a matter of just winning, or just smashing McGregor. “Not only smash, change his face. I want to change his face. Of course with face, I can change his mind too. This is what I want.”
It’s become personal for Nurmagomedov, who historically has shown little emotion with opponents. “Of course. Long time ago. Three months for me is a long time,” he joked backstage.
Asked by Cageside Press about his thoughts on the plea deal McGregor accepted, and the UFC not punishing the star further, Nurmagomedov was actually positive about it. “To be honest, inside my heart, I’m a little bit happy about this,” he told us. “Because if he goes to jail, what happens? How I can catch him? How?” The champ realizes that vengeance will come “only inside the cage.”
The cage gives Nurmagomedov an opportunity to get his hands on McGregor, in other words. And the champ feels that it’s a win-win, really. He understands it’s an interesting fight for fans due to the personalities involved. Plus, “in my opinion, it’s the biggest fight in UFC history,” he added. Not stylistically, he allowed, but in terms of money and PPV buys — “it’s the biggest fight.”
With that in mind, Nurmagomedov is staying ready. “If they say October, I’m here. If they say November, I’m here. If they say December, doesn’t matter.”
Catch the full press scrum with Khabib Nurmagomedov from UFC Calgary above!
