Watch Khabib Punt Question About Fighting Conor McGregor Again

Although Khabib Nurmagomedov is set to face Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, in what many believe will be his toughest test to date, seemingly every interview he gets asked about fighting Conor McGregor again. 

Well, just days out from his latest bout, the undefeated, lightweight champ shut down that line of questioning while appearing on ESPN.

Khabib tells Stephen A. Smith to move the questions along…

Ever since Khabib submitted McGregor in 2018, he has been repeatedly asked about fighting his rival again. A big reason being that their fight was one of the biggest in combat sports history, and McGregor has repeatedly called for a rematch.

Well, for the most part, Khabib has said that McGregor needs to record some pivotal wins, before securing another title shot. Since it looks like McGregor could face fellow, top contender Dustin Poirier in January, talk about Khabib – McGregor 2 has also spiked.

Well, during an episode of ESPN’s ‘First Take’, Khabib told Stephen A. Smith that he’s looking for new challenges, since he’s already defeated both Conor and Dustin. Smith proceeded to respond with this (quote via MMA Junkie).

“A lot of times, particularly in the fight game, you talk about giving the people what they want to see,” Smith said.

“One of the things I said last week talking about you, sir, was that you really, really don’t want to fight somebody like Conor McGregor again – primarily because you don’t like him and you think fighting him again gives him attention that you don’t believe he deserves.

How accurate is that?”

To which the vaunted wrestler said this.

“Right now, even I don’t want to talk about this (expletive).”

Understandable?

Now, on one hand, you can understand why Khabib is still asked by the media about fighting Conor again. Although Khabib won the first bout in clear-cut fashion, there’s still no shortage of buzz about a rematch.

But, you can also understand why the champ’s getting tired of these questions, particularly ahead of a fight with someone as dangerous as Gaethje. At the end of the day, Khabib doesn’t have much to gain by facing Conor again, other than another, huge check.

Khabib – Gaethje will headline Saturday’s event, which is taking place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.