Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor remains the biggest fight the UFC has seen in many aspects. ‘The Eagle’ and ‘The Notorious’ faced off at UFC 229, which took place at a sold-out T-Mobile Arena. Given the success of the fight, it only made sense for the UFC to want to book that fight again. While McGregor was more than ready for it, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father revealed their condition for a rematch that left the UFC shocked.
A throwback video shared on Reddit took excerpts from perhaps the final interview given by Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov prior to his untimely demise. In the video, he spoke about his son’s rivalry with Conor McGregor. He revealed UFC’s gigantic offer to Khabib for a rematch with McGregor. Khabib’s father then went on to reveal their response, which left the UFC in shock. He said,
“If there will be a war it will get more interesting. When they offered $15 million for the rematch, we said make it twice so we can start talking. We know our price now. It gave a shock to the UFC.”
However, for Abdulmanap, war was not the first option. Prior to revealing the UFC’s offer for a rematch, he explained how he viewed the situation with Conor McGregor. ‘The Eagle’s father said that he had forgiven McGregor for all the statements he made regarding Khabib’s religion and family during the buildup. He also went on to add that McGregor was welcome to his house and that he would be treated as a guest.
When asked if Khabib would be okay with it, he said that his son would never go against his father’s wishes and would be okay if he decided to invite McGregor. Surprisingly, even after Abdulmanap’s rejection, Dana White was hell bent on having Khabib return to the octagon.
Dana White’s relentless pursuit to get Khabib Nurmagomedov to return
‘The Eagle’ is perhaps the biggest star after Conor McGregor that the UFC has had. Therefore, it was a huge blow to the company when he decided to walk away at the height of his powers. ‘The Eagle’ retired after his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Since then Dana White has been relentless in his pursuit of ‘The Eagle’.
On more than one occasion, White has tried to meet with Nurmagomedov and convince him to return to the sport. ‘The Eagle’ also mentioned in an interview that it was not easy to turn down $30-$40 million, suggesting that White threw the kitchen sink at him in order to tempt him to return. Unfortunately, none of White’s tactics worked as Nurmagomedov stayed retired and did not return to the sport.
