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Conor McGregor has shared his thoughts on Khabib’s “stipulation” for a return.
Following the meeting between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Dana White last week, Dana White revealed the outcome: Khabib would return if someone from the lightweight division motivates him to return through their performances. White targeted the stipulation mostly at the lightweights who will be competing at UFC 257: Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Dan Hooker.
For a man who is used to calling all the shots and having fighters bend over backward to get his attention, how is McGregor reacting to Khabib essentially telling him and his fellow lightweights, “Impress me?” As it turns out, McGregor isn’t taking the “announcement” seriously at all.
“It wasn’t an announcement. It was a refusal,” McGregor said in an interview with Megan Olivi. “It was a no. It’s fear. He’s not interested in coming back. He’s gone. So I feel it was almost long-playing it. And it is what it is.”
Conor McGregor also believes that when all is said and done, he is still in control of the entire fight game, lightweight division included, and everyone knows it.
“If you think the two lads in the co-main event are fighting for a spot at (Khabib)…everyone in the company knows what the real fight is, what the money fight is, what the main fight in the business on the entire planet is. So it is what it is. Let it be what it will be. I’m going to go in, do my thing, and carry on.
“You can only pull the wool over people’s eyes for so long. What will be said after the fight? There will be some other noise said after the fight. So the world will eventually come around and see what it is, and that’s it.”
“What it is” according to McGregor is a case of fear on the part of Khabib Nurmagomedov of a rematch between the two. Whether or not that is the case, McGregor is certainly right about one thing. After UFC 257, it’s only a matter of time before Dana White and Khabib have to make a decision about the future of the lightweight title, even if it’s one that McGregor and/or fans are not expecting.
What are your thoughts on Conor McGregor’s reaction to Khabib’s reported stipulation for the UFC 257 combatants?