UFC president Dana White, when announcing the UFC 223 headliner between interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, stated that the fight would be for the undisputed UFC lightweight title. At the same time, he fell well short of saying current undisputed champion Conor McGregor would be stripped of his belt. So what gives?
Nobody seems to know. Not even Nurmagomedov’s agent, Ali Abdelaziz – who says that his client is likely on a path to retirement if he gets the fights he wants – seems to know what McGregor’s status is… and he doesn’t seem to care.
“I can give a s–t what everybody asks, what everybody is saying. I don’t care if Conor is stripped or not stripped, but I know that April 7, Khabib will fight for the lightweight belt and Conor’s belt will go in the trash,” Abdelaziz said in an interview with TMZ Sports.
“We’re going to stop Tony in three rounds. Khabib probably, he’s probably gonna retire undefeated because he’s gonna beat Conor and gonna beat Tony and probably gonna say bye, bye.”
He went on to say that Nurmagomedov, if he beats Ferguson, wasn’t locked into facing McGregor next. Wanting to “right” the lightweight division, Abdelaziz said that Nurmagomedov would consider making McGregor wait to fight him.
There’s probably not a whole lot of weight behind that statement, though, as everyone that knows anything about the world of mixed martial arts knows that McGregor is currently the biggest draw in the sport. Nurmagomedov is doing a good job building himself up, but should he beat Ferguson, McGregor is still the biggest fight out there for him.
Still, Abdelaziz had choice words for the brash Irishman.
“Conor’s a bitch. Conor only fought guys that he can beat. This guy is such an attention whore. He posted, ‘Oh, I’m gangster, I’m this.’ He’s the farthest thing from a gangster. He’s just a lucky motherf—er,” he stated.
“He promoted himself very well, and good for him. Every money he made, he earned. I respect him in this aspect, but as a fighter, I don’t respect him because the best fighters in the world should fight the best, but he never fought the best.”
(Video courtesy of TMZSports | Viewing may be limited by broadcast rights restrictions)
