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UFC president Dana White believes a rematch between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov would be \u201cthe biggest fight in the sport\u2019s history\u201d after the Dubliner\u2019s explosive return to the octagon.<\/p>\nUFC president Dana White believes a rematch between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov would be \u201cthe biggest fight in the sport\u2019s history\u201d after the Dubliner\u2019s explosive return to the octagon.<\/p>\n
McGregor ended a 15-month hiatus by overpowering American veteran Donald Cerrone en route to a ruthless 40-second stoppage in the UFC 246 headliner in Las Vegas for his first mixed martial arts win since November 2016.<\/p>\n
With McGregor so impressive in this welterweight outing, there will be a number of fighters clamoring to face him next, including 170lb champion Kamaru Usman and \u2018BMF\u2019 titlist Jorge Masvidal, both of whom were ringside to witness McGregor\u2019s eagerly-anticipated comeback.<\/p>\n
However, White pointed out a motivated McGregor would be a different prospect to the fighter Nurmagomedov beat in October 2018 to defend his lightweight title, after which the bad blood that had festered between the two camps led to a post-fight melee that saw both combatants fined and suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.<\/p>\n
The high-profile acrimony that still lingers between the pair means any return bout would rival any of boxing\u2019s biggest showdowns, according to White, who admitted he was stunned by McGregor\u2019s display.<\/p>\n
\u201cConor McGregor looked ridiculous,\u201d White told a press conference. \u201cNobody saw that coming, nobody. I was blown away, he looked unbelievable.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into the Khabib fight, Conor had a lot of personal stuff, some stuff self-inflicted, he had injuries. He has been obsessed with getting that rematch because he knows that he wasn\u2019t 100 per cent right.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith how Khabib won the first fight and how famous he\u2019s become, we\u2019re looking at Hagler-Hearns, we\u2019re looking at Ali-Foreman, Ali-Frazier.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a massive fight with global appeal, it\u2019s the fight that you make, it\u2019s the fight that makes sense. Khabib versus Conor is the biggest fight in the sport\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nurmagomedov is scheduled to face Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in April in a bout that will pique McGregor\u2019s interest although the 31-year-old insists his next opponent is irrelevant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lightweight title will be there, that will come back around, that shot,\u201d he said. \u201cThe who doesn\u2019t matter to me, I\u2019m looking at dates now.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is also the potential of another meeting with Floyd Mayweather, who beat McGregor in a crossover boxing showdown to extend his perfect professional record to 50-0 before retiring.<\/p>\n
Mayweather said in November last year he was \u201ccoming out of retirement in 2020\u201d and posted a mock fight poster featuring himself and McGregor on his Instagram to set tongues wagging.<\/p>\n
McGregor said: \u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens. Floyd is a funny man, the discussions are always ongoing, they never stop. He\u2019s far from retired and that rematch will happen at some stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion was nearly punch-perfect at the T-Mobile Arena, missing an overhand left but then connecting with several unorthodox shoulder strikes in the clinch to bloody Cerrone\u2019s nose in the opening few seconds.<\/p>\n
He then stepped back and a precision head kick over the guard landed square on the jaw of Cerrone, who was also caught by a flying knee and crumpled to the mat as the Dubliner went for an early finish.<\/p>\n
Cerrone was covered up as the rights and lefts rained down on him, prompting referee Herb Dean to call a halt to a brief one-sided contest within the first minute of the opening round.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made history here, I set another record: I\u2019m the first fighter in UFC history to secure knockout victories at featherweight, at lightweight and now at welterweight, so I\u2019m very, very proud of that,\u201d McGregor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonald holds the record for most head-kick knockouts, I\u2019m so happy to get him down with a head kick myself. I\u2019m very, very happy, very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGregor was relatively untested at 170lbs and came in against an opponent with the most wins (23) and finishes (16) in UFC history, but Cerrone proved no match.<\/p>\n
Before he was taken to hospital, Cerrone said of McGregor\u2019s shoulder blows: \u201cI\u2019d never seen anything like that, they threw me way off guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe busted my nose then stepped back and head kicked me. I was like \u2018oh man, it\u2019s happening this fast? I got my ass whipped early\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n