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MMA

26th Jul 2018

Khabib’s camp offer McGregor ideal date and venue for showdown

Conan Doherty

UFC 230 could just break another PPV record.

Whatever you want to label the antics – the showdown between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Artem Lobov, the parking lot retribution of McGregor and his crew, the back and forths, the court case – they’re going to amount, yet again, to Conor McGregor putting on a spectacle that the entire world wants to watch.

Some won’t like that. They’ll shake their heads, they’ll roll their eyes and they’ll scoff like they did when he got a shot at one of the greatest boxers of all time but, like they did back then, they’ll still have to tune in to this one too.

So whether it’s by fate, by luck, or by clever, cunning design, McGregor is sitting on another goldmine and he’s sitting on a fight and a build-up that just couldn’t be underwhelming – even compared to a one-off fight with Floyd fucking Mayweather.

Suddenly, McGregor v Khabib is as appetising as any of his fights and, after the details of his court hearing emerged on Thursday afternoon, it’s become a genuine possibility.

The Nurmagomedov camp have been angling for the lightweight champ to defend the belt against the biggest draw in UFC history and they even gave McGregor a deadline of Monday to decide – as if they’d walk away from the deal at any time.

“We’re gonna beat Conor first, and afterwards, we’re gonna beat his whole team in the parking lot,” Ali Abdelaziz said.

The Dubliner didn’t react but, after he pled guilty to disorderly conduct, Khabib ramped up the pressure to get McGregor inside the Octagon again.

And it seems that they have a very clear date in mind.

UFC 230
Madison Square Garden, New York
November 3

John Morgan of MMAjunkie was issued with a statement from Khabib’s team.

“Glad that he stayed out of jail, because I wouldn’t be able to punish him in that case.

“Now he needs to bring his Irish team to MSG in November and finish our business.”

Wait for it.

Return of the Mac.