'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor have had arguably the biggest rivalry in the history of MMA. The two entered the octagon in what was the biggest fight in UFC's history back in 2018 and 'The Eagle' walked out of the fight victorious.
However, that didn't settle their rivalry and Nurmagomedov was regularly asked about potentially facing McGregor again before his retirement. One such incident happened in 2020 ahead of his fight against Justin Gaethje. 'The Eagle' sat down for an interview with Yahoo Sports where he was asked about potentially fighting 'The Notorious' again.
To which Khabib Nurmagomedov replied by saying that Conor McGregor does not deserve his attention. He said:
“I don’t think he’s ever going to deserve this title shot because he’s not focused, drinks too much, smashes old people, you know he don’t deserve my attention.”
Catch Khabib Nurmagomedov's comments in the video below (16:15):
Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier is the reason why Khabib Nurmagomedov never returned claims Javier Mendez
Fans could've seen Khabib Nurmagomedov return to the octagon if it wasn't for Conor McGregor's 2021 matchup against Dustin Poirier. Having retired just a few months ago at the time, 'The Eagle' was open to making his return to the UFC if either McGregor or Poirier had shown him something spectacular.
However, Nurmagomedov wasn't impressed with what he saw in Poirier's TKO win over McGregor and decided to stay retired. Speaking about it during a recent interview with Grosvenor Sport, Javier Mendez, the coach of the former UFC lightweight champion had this to say:
"He was roughly tested for about eight months before he had enough. The UFC were trying to get him to come back and he came close. You saw it when we were in Abu Dhabi. He said, 'If someone shows me something spectacular then maybe I'll come back.'"
While further claiming that Khabib Nurmagomedov wasn't impressed, Javier Mendez said:
"It was Conor vs. Poirier that night, but it did not get Khabib excited. He said if something excited him on that card then maybe he'd consider it. But it never happened. The UFC was pushing him, but nothing excited him, so it was [a] no go."
