Ali Abdelaziz: Conor McGregor Not On Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Radar
Despite UFC president Dana White’s recent proclamation, Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team have no interest in facing Conor McGregor a second time.
McGregor returns to action in two weeks when he faces Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 on January 18. White has claimed that should McGregor win that bout, he will be next in line for a lightweight title shot.
Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, is set to defend his title against Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18. But as per his manager Ali Abdelaziz, McGregor simply isn’t on their radar. In fact, Abdelaziz isn’t even sure the Irishman defeats Cerrone.
“Listen, Dana’s the greatest promoter in history. I respect the man very, very much,” Abdelaziz told TMZ. “He has to make people care about Conor. And by mentioning Khabib’s name, he is making Conor more relevant.
“And it’s okay. He promote, he can do whatever. Khabib has a plan, Dana has a plan, sometimes we’ll get upset, sometimes we’ll agree. But business moves on. But Conor’s not on our radar. He might lose to “Cowboy” as far as I understand. I think he might lose.”
McGregor has repeatedly stated that his camp for the Nurmagomedov fight was a bad one. However, things appear to be different ahead of UFC 246. Abdelaziz, though, is not taking anything they say at face value:
“Listen, his coaches before the fight (with Nurmagomedov) said, ‘he’s ready, he’s gonna knock Khabib out inside three rounds, he’s never been in better shape.’ And after that, they said they had a horrible camp, his foot was like a balloon. They’re liars,” he added.
As for McGregor’s bulked up physique ahead of his return to welterweight? Abdelaziz is not impressed.
“He looks like a blew-out balloon,” Abdelaziz added. “He’s a bodybuilder. That’s what I think he looks [like]. He’s getting no love from us.”
What do you make of Abdelaziz’s comments?
