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What's the story?
Following the UFC 229 win for Khabib Nurmagomedov, his trajectory in the world of combat sports has skyrocketed. Not long after retaining his UFC lightweight belt after putting on a dominant performance against Conor McGregor, Khabib wasted no time in calling out arguably the best pound-for-pound boxing champion of all time. However, in a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Floyd Mayweather reminded Khabib and camp of who in fact, makes the rules.
In case you didn't know...
On August 26th, 2017, the world was witness to the biggest pay-per-view fight in all of combat sports history. In front of a sold-out crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, undefeated multiple division boxing champion, Floyd Mayweather, secured a win against Conor McGregor via technical knockout in the 10th round of what was widely recognized as 'The Money Fight'.
Floyd Mayweather dabbled with the thought of retirement until recently when he announced that he would, in fact, fight again in a three-round exhibition fight against Japanese kickboxer, Tenshin Nasukawa. Immediately post his fight with Conor McGregor, Khabib was seen with Mayweather Promotions CEO, Leonard Ellerbe, at a boxing event. Khabib went on to call Floyd out by indicating that it would be a shameful thing for two undefeated champions, in Floyd and himself, to not face each other before exiting their respective disciplines.
The heart of the matter
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, Floyd Mayweather put an end to the speculation regarding the rules of a possible bout between him and Khabib. Recognizing that Khabib, more than anything, is in search of a $50-million plus payday, Floyd made it clear to the Dagestani that if he wanted the fight, he would have to adhere to specific boxing rules.
“They came to me talking about the Khabib fight. Khabib called me out, I didn’t call Khabib out. They said it has to happen in the octagon and I said, ‘You just tell me where Khabib has made nine figures before in the octagon. If he hasn’t made nine figures, he’s not the A side. I’m the A side, so if you guys want the fight to happen, you must come my way. My way, my rules.”
Although the president of the UFC, Dana White, said that there would be no possibility of a boxing match between Floyd and Khabib, the offer may be a hard one to refuse. The Mayweather-McGregor showdown sold over 4.3 million pay-per-views in the United States, and those numbers could very well be broken if Floyd and Khabib decide to dance under the lights.
What's next?
Floyd Mayweather is seemingly showing no interest in retiring from the sport of boxing anytime soon. Could this all be just an act after all, or is "Money" Mayweather eyeing yet another 9-figure payday?
Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!
