Quote: Conor McGregor Would Finish Khabib In Two Rounds

Despite over 14 months on the sidelines from the UFC’s biggest name, Conor McGregor’s head coach Jon Kavanagh has been doing his best to keep MMA fans interested in the lightweight champion, who hasn’t fought in MMA since winning the 155-pound belt in November 2016.

Kavanagh recently addressed the idea of a title fight between McGregor and perennial contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, and kept it fairly predictable when it came to analyzing the matchup:

“They’re on a path to meet each other, so I’m of course watching everything he does.

“In his last fight, I just think when you’re facing somebody with the type of stopping power Conor has in his hands, if you just stand very upright and look to walk towards somebody and get a body lock, that’s a risky strategy.

“Now, Barboza is a great kicker, but trying spinning kicks on someone who can close distance quickly like Khabib and has a body lock heavy grappling game, it’s maybe not the best idea.”

Nurmagomedov has remained active (at least, for him) in McGregor’s absence, beating Michael Johnson and Edson Barboza in two dominant performances.

Meanwhile, McGregor’s status as lightweight champion hangs in the balance as Tony Ferguson’s interim belt is beginning to look more and more like the real thing. “”El Cucuy” will take on Khabib in the main event of April 7’s UFC 223 in a fight where UFC president Dana White said the winner ‘will be the champion’ (whatever that means).

McGregor hasn’t given any indication as to what his next move is, and seeing how much money he made to box Floyd Mayweather last August, he may not be in a rush to get back to the grueling lifestyle of a professional fighter.

Whether McGregor will still be champion if and when he fights Nurmagomedov is the real question.

How do you see a hypothetical fight between the two going down? Does McGregor knock Nurmagomedov out within two round like Kavanagh predicts?