Conor McGregor is not afraid to challenge himself both inside the Octagon and out of it.
As the reigning UFC lightweight champion prepares to meet Floyd Mayweather this August in a boxing match, UFC president Dana White recently disclosed that “Notorious” is looking towards his first title defense.
And he wants to step on foreign soil to do it.
“You know what Conor told me? He said, ‘I want Khabib (Nurmagomedov) in Russia,’” White said in an interview with MMAjunkie. “Isn’t he (expletive) awesome? 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.”
McGregor won the UFC lightweight title when he finished Eddie Alvarez last year while also holding the featherweight belt. He forfeited the 145-pound title but has focused in on Mayweather since and has yet to defend the title.
Nurmagomedov was scheduled to face Tony Ferguson earlier this year at UFC 209, but the fight was called after “The Eagle” fell ill weighing in. It is still believed that the two will meet for the interim champion, paving the way for the unbeaten Nurmagomedov to face McGregor.
“Those guys (have) got to fight,” White said. “It would have seemed a lot worse if those two guys fought (at UFC 209), and they were all sitting around waiting. It didn’t happen. That fight still needs to happen. So this thing could time out perfectly.”
