MMA
Dana White feels Khabib-McGregor rematch 'might rival' Mayweather-McGregor
After Conor McGregor walked through Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds at Saturday's UFC 246, UFC president Dana White made it clear that if he had his druthers, McGregor would face Khabib Nurmagomedov if the lightweight champion gets by Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18.Â
"Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov is the fight to make,"Â White said at his postfight press conference.Â
How well would a rematch between the dominant Nurmagomedov (28-0) and the biggest star in the sport do financially? White believes it would be an all-time blockbuster, considering the animosity the fighters still have toward one another.
"Conor vs. Khabib 2 does more than 3 million," White said, referring to potential pay-per-view buys. "I think it might rival Floyd (Mayweather Jr.) vs. Conor."
McGregor was involved in the biggest pay-per-view in UFC history when he lost via fourth-round submission to Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018. That fight drew a reported 2.4 million buys. Mayhem ensued after the bout when Nurmagomedov hopped over the Octagon to a McGregor teammate and a near-riot between the camps broke out. The brawl resulted in fines and suspensions on both sides.Â
McGregor was also involved in the second-biggest PPV in boxing history, 4.3 million buys for his 10th-round TKO loss to Mayweather in August 2017. Mayweather took to social media immediately after UFC 246 and hinted at taking on McGregor one more time in 2020.
Before all of that can happen, there's the matter of McGregor possibly returning for UFC 248 on March 7. He hinted last week that he'd want to do that if his fight against Cerrone ended early and he came out unscathed. Both of those things happened, so is a quick turnaround in the cards?
"I've got to see what he wants to do," White said. "I know he wants this fight and I think he's willing to wait (for Nurmagomedov)."
