UFC: Khabib Believes McGregor Will Never Be The Same Fighter Again

Conor McGregor’s hopes for a second reign as the UFC lightweight champion suffered a major blow when Dustin Poirier stopped him in the second round at UFC 257. While ‘The Notorious’ is gunning for an immediate rematch and a shot at redemption, Khabib Nurmagomedov believes he will never be the same fighter again.

Since running through the UFC featherweight division and beating Jose Aldo at UFC 194 five years ago, McGregor has gone 3-3 at lightweight and welterweight. And although the Irishman still has plans to recapture the 155lbs title, Khabib believes his best days are behind him.

Speaking to ACA fighter Magomed Ismailov (as transcribed by MMA Mania), Khabib said that he doesn’t think it’s possible for an individual athlete to go through their prime twice.

“Never. There is no way that a man can be at the peak twice. I’m not [just] talking about him,” Khabib said. “What I mean is, a man can’t have two primes. A team could do it. For example, Real Madrid did this a few times in a row. Teams may have this. But we’re talking about us. And one man, on his own, cannot have this (go through his prime twice).”

The UFC is reportedly planning a trilogy fight between McGregor and Poirier in the summer. Dana White has said that both parties are willing to throw hands for a third time, and he is interested in finding out which of the two comes out on top in a rubber match.

Dana is also expected to meet Khabib again this month in Las Vegas to make a final decision on his fighting future. While the undefeated Russian maintains that he is not interested in competing anymore, the UFC president is not ready to concede just yet.

Do you agree with Khabib Nurmagomedov that Conor McGregor’s best days are behind him?

See also:

Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Leave comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.