MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. The team of Russia’s UFC Reigning Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov told TASS on Tuesday it had not been in talks about a possible return bout with Ireland’s Connor McGregor.
The famous 30-year-old Irish professional mixed martial arts fighter and boxer, Conor McGregor, announced his retirement earlier in the day.
McGregor announced on his Twitter account: "Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as ‘Mixed Martial Art’ today."
A source in Nurmagomedov’s team said in an interview with TASS following McGregor’s announcement that "There were no talks on the return fight [with McGregor]."
"We have informed the UFC administration that we are ready for the fight against any possible opponent," the source added.
UFC Champion Nurmagomedov defeated Ireland’s Conor McGregor during the UFC 229 tournament in Las Vegas on the night of October 6, 2018, defending his lightweight title with a choke in the 4th round of the fight.
However, after the fight in Las Vegas last October, a mass brawl broke out between the teams of both fighters, including Nurmagomedov, who jumped out of the cage and attempted to beat up one of the Irish opponent’s team members for insulting him.
The victory over McGregor was the 11th in Nurmagomedov’s career in the UFC. The Russian defeated his opponents in all of his 27 fights.
McGregor’s MMA record of 25 fights boasts 21 wins (18 by KOs, 1 by submission and 2 by decision) and 4 defeats. His professional boxing career record lists one bout, which he lost by the knockout.
The 30-year-old Nurmagomedov, hailing from Russia’s North Caucasus Region of Dagestan, was the first Russian to win the UFC champion title during the fight against his US opponent Al Iaquinta in spring of 2018.
On April 8, 2018, Nurmagomedov defeated Al Iaquinta in a five-round fight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight belt in New York and defeated the title in the bout against McGregor in October 2018.
Nurmagomedov currently holds an unblemished record of 27 wins in all of his mixed martial arts fights (8 by KOs, 9 by submission and 10 by decision).
A retired mixed martial arts fighter and Hollywood actor from Russia, Oleg Taktarov, said in an interview with TASS that McGregor seemed unlikely to be planning a return bout with Nurmagomedov since the Irish fighter had already earned plenty of money and needed no more fighting.
"McGregor runs a business with billions in revenues and he can forget about fighting," Taktarov, who is the UFC 6 Champion and a participant of numerous Pride Fighting Championships, said. "I do not think that he was interested in the return bout with Khabib [Nurmagomedov] as he has nothing to prove anymore."
"I have been talking recently with people from Connor’s close circle and I know that he packed some $52 million for his previous fight with Khabib," Taktarov said. "I believe that he tried to start practicing again, but realized that his body did not want it anymore."