Manager shuts down McGregor fight: Khabib wants legacy fight, not ‘soap opera drama show’

It goes without saying that the lightweight division is one of the most (if not the most) stacked weight class in the UFC today. So much so that the company actually planned to hold a mini-tournament involving four of its top fighters and big names.

The supposed tournament never took off, but the plan was to have Khabib Nurmagomedov faceConor McGregor, while Georges St-Pierre fights Nate Diaz. The two winners of each fight will then meet at the end of the year.

Both Diaz and St-Pierre already expressed disinterest in facing each other, which is one of the likely reasons why the tournament plans never pushed through. But apparently, Team Khabib isn’t as interested in facing McGregor as well.

“We believe the fight to make is the Georges St-Pierre fight at 155 pounds,” Ali Abdelaziz said (via MMA Fighting). “Khabib wants to fight for legacy and not for a soap opera drama show, and we think Conor doesn’t deserve this opportunity. The guy hasn’t fought in almost two years. Why does he deserve to fight for the title? He should get his ass back in the line and work his way up.”

Abdelaziz clarified that while it’s not their top priority, they are still open to a McGregor fight, for more personal reasons.

“There’s only one reason Khabib wants to fight him: to make him pay for what he did [in Brooklyn]. For Khabib, it’s not only about money. It’s about disciplining him.

“That being said, UFC should be talking to Georges, not Conor.”

Over a week ago, Khabib did issue a warning to “The Notorious”, stating the Irishman will have to“play like a grown up man” the next time they meet.