You get the feeling that these two men will meet again, but there will be a slew of trash-talk beforehand.
If you thought UFC 229 settled the beef between Khabin Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, you were wrong.
In fairness, the fact that their title fight – won by the Dagestani – ended with a mass brawl, inside and outside The Octagon, would have given you an idea of the bad blood broiling away between both camps.
Neither man has fought since that October 2018 event but Nurmagomedov is slated to come back at UFC 242, in Abu Dhabi, this September.
The FIRST face off!
We'll see you #InAbuDhabi Sept. 7 for @TeamKhabib vs @DustinPoirier! #UFC242 pic.twitter.com/hVeBLIp8ZS
— UFC (@ufc) June 12, 2019
‘The Eagle’ was in London, on Wednesday, with Dustin Poirier as they faced off and spoke with the media about their upcoming fight for the undisputed 155lbs title.
Poirier won the interim lightweight belt by defeating 145lbs champ Max Holloway, earlier this year, and he spoke about needing to take Nurmagomedov to dark places to win their bout.
Dustin Poirier celebrates after receiving the title belt from UFC President Dana White during the UFC 236. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images)Nurmagomedov outlined three fights he must win if he is to be rightly considered the pound-for-pound number one. Interestingly, McGregor was not one of the names mentioned.
Dismissing ‘The Notorious’, Nurmagomedov declared:
“In the last three years he has one win in amateur boxing.
“He tapped… he begged me to let him live. How does he deserve a rematch?”
Such a brutal dismissal but even Nurmagomedov himself, last week, said his UFC 229 encounter with the Dubliner had not fully settled their dispute. Moving on to Poirier, he said, “If Dustin wants to become champion, he’s going to have to finish me.
“For my legacy, I have to beat Dustin, Tony Ferguson, and GSP. This is how I become pound-for-pound number one.
“Life has changed, I became a little more famous. But in my mind, nothing has changed. I kept going, I knew it was not my last fight.”
