Reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov isn’t looking to return to the cage until March or April after his massive victory over Dustin Poirier in September 2019.
Speaking at Synergy Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, “The Eagle predicted a fight against top contender Tony Ferguson on home soil.
“It will be in March or April,” Nurmagomedov said. “I said it clearly – I want to fight in a large arena and the only large indoor arena in Russia is Gazprom Arena (in St. Petersburg), so I want to fight there.”
“From a fighter’s point of view, [the McGregor rivalry] is a thing of the past,” he said. “I have nothing to prove. But he has something to prove. We know he does. There’s a lot of businessmen here and I think most of them will tell me to fight him because it’ll bring money. I’d fight all the main contenders first, and I could fight him to benefit my agricultural projects.
“I have to say that Tony Ferguson deserves it more. You have to give him credit. He is on a 12-fight win streak and he deserves it more than Conor. Conor has to come back [and] stop hitting old people. He is a professional fighter. He should come back, win, earn his place and get in line.”
Nurmagomedov is referencing to the recent incident where McGregor punched an elderly man at a Dublin bar in April 2019. The Irish fighter has been charged with assault and faces a prison sentence of up to six months.
There is no denying the two best fighters in the 155-pound division right now are Khabib and Ferguson. The 35-year-old, Mexican-American, is riding a 12-fight win streak. He is unbeaten since 2013, and over that same period, he’s defeated former champions Rafael dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis, and top contenders including Cerrone and Edson Barboza.
