Conor hasn’t forgotten about a trilogy bout with Stockton’s Nate Diaz…
Win or lose Saturday Conor McGregor’s career will continue. Even if he were to be badly outclassed by a superior boxer this weekend, there are still fights waiting for him in the UFC.
These fights won’t earn him the same kind of payday that fighting Floyd will, but are considerable nonetheless. When asked what he has to do to take his career to the next level after Floyd, Conor hinted he still has unfinished business with an old rival.
Will Conor Face Khabib in Russia?
Dana White and Conor have both been adamant that Conor will return to the UFC despite the retirement-level money he will earn this weekend. Earlier this summer, it appeared as though Conor already had his next UFC opponent and fight location picked out.
Dana stated Conor told him his next fight was against Khabib Nurmagomedov in Russia.
“You know what Conor told me? He said, ‘I want Khabib in Russia,’” White He’s like, ‘I want Khabib, in Russia.’ He’s awesome. Conor McGregor is a (expletive) unicorn. There’s nothing like him. He’s working on boxing Floyd Mayweather and then he’s talking about fighting Khabib in Russia right after.”
Earlier this week, however, Conor’s teammate, Artem Lobov, told media that Khabib’s popularity in Russia is only because of Conor. Lobov, who is Russian but trains in Dublin, also told media that many Russians aren’t happy with how often Khabib pulls out of fights.
“I honestly feel that Khabib is as big as he is in Russia because of Conor McGregor, As I said, Conor is the guy who has made MMA a hot topic in Russia. More and more Russians started watching the UFC when Conor came along. A lot of people in Russia aren’t happy with how Khabib has been behaving with all of his pullouts. This isn’t a very manly thing to do, not showing up for a fight. When they see a fighter continuously pulling out, that’s something that they really don’t like. Then they look at a guy like Conor who always shows up and does what he says he’s going to do. That really resonates with the Russian public.”
Perhaps it is Khabib’s history of last-minute withdrawals that has led Conor to lean towards facing Nate next instead.
Conor Teases Trilogy Bout With Nate Diaz
Conor had this to say when asked recently what the future has in store for him post-August 26th:
“Things always form,” McGregor said to media “Fighters come and rise and create hype. We’ll see. There’s many options. I have a trilogy fight in waiting also, which would be a big fight.”
The biggest fight from a PPV perspective is clearly the trilogy bout with Nate since the first two fights broke multiple revenue records. A fight with Khabib in Russia is interesting and has potential to bring in a large live gate, however.
Conor has, previously in his career, mentioned of fighting in an outdoor soccer stadium in Ireland. It has been over 3 years since Conor fought in his home country. Perhaps that is where his next bout will be.
