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What's the story?
For the longest time, Conor McGregor has been vocal about his intention to face an opponent in a stadium fight. But this time around, Mystic Mac only got a part of the prediction correct.
Both the Irishman and his arch-rival Khabib Nurmagomedov were both spotted at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, in attendance for the FIFA World Cup Finals between France and Croatia.
In case you didn't know...
McGregor last fought in the Octagon of the UFC at UFC 205, in November of 2016, when he knocked Eddie Alvarez out in the second round to win the UFC 155-pound Title to go with the 145-pound Title he already had.
Since then, however, McGregor has only fought against Floyd Mayweather in a money-spinning boxing match in July of 2017 and had both his UFC belts stripped for inactivity.
In his absence, Khabib Nurmagomedov, an undefeated Dagestani phenom, captured the lineal Lightweight Championship by battering Al Iaquinta in a lopsided unanimous decision victory at UFC 223.
The heart of the matter
It is widely expected that Khabib and Conor will fight next, given the bad blood between the two camps.
Khabib and his teammates were involved in an altercation with McGregor's sparring partner and good friend Artem Lobov at UFC 223, following which the Irishman flew down with his posse to New York, where the event took place and attempted to confront Khabib Nurmagomedov.
However, things soon got out of hand and McGregor ended up injuring a number of UFC fighters and staff when he threw a dolly at a bus which had Khabib Nurmagomedov in it.
Ever since then, the MMA world has eagerly awaited the official fight announcement between the two men.
What's next?
It is expected that the fight will be signed sooner rather than later, despite negotiations between the Irishman and UFC going at snail's pace.
And the MMA fraternity would collectively hope that the two men can share the same space again in the near future.
Will we see a battle between McGregor and Khabib soon in the octagon? Sound off your opinions in the comments section below!
