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[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 6, 2020, 5:26 PM]
Headline: Khabib Compares Conor McGregor vs. Cowboy Cerrone To ‘Well-Organized Circus’
Author: Fernando Quiles Jr.
Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t believe Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone was fixed but he does feel the UFC did its best to ensure McGregor was made to look unstoppable.
McGregor shared the Octagon with Cerrone on Jan. 18. The welterweight bout served as UFC 246’s headliner. McGregor vs. Cerrone was held inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The “Notorious” one stopped “Cowboy” in 40 seconds via TKO.
Khabib Not Impressed By McGregor’s Win Over Cerrone
Speaking to reporters, Nurmagomedov explained why he compares McGregor vs. Cerrone to a “well-organized circus” (via RT News).
“A big organization with a lot of history won’t take such risks,” he explained. “If someone finds out that the fight was fixed, it would be a huge blow to the UFC’s reputation. They picked a good opponent though – an opponent that never won anything serious. He could have kept winning and winning and when it came time for a big fight, and just gave up because he’s mentally weak. It’s just a well-organized circus.”
Nurmagomedov has his next title defense scheduled. He’ll put his UFC lightweight championship on the line against Tony Ferguson on April 18. The title clash will be the main event for UFC 249 inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
As for McGregor, UFC president Dana White has made it clear that he wants “Mystic Mac” to challenge the winner of Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson. McGregor doesn’t appear to want to wait that long and has been mulling a quick return to action.
The bad blood between Nurmagomedov and McGregor still lingers. The two were engaged in a heated feud that involved a confrontation between Team Khabib and Artem Lobov in a hotel lobby and a bus attack involving McGregor and his entourage. Ultimately, Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor back in Oct. 2018 and it led to a brawl in the crowd between both camps.
