Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib
Nurmagomedov has a pretty simple assessment when it comes to
the third meeting between Dustin
Poirier and Conor
McGregor.
Poirier and McGregor will square off for a third time in the UFC
264 headliner at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 10.
McGregor defeated Poirier via first-round TKO in their first bout
at UFC 178 in 2014, while “The Diamond” got his revenge with a
second-round stoppage at UFC 257 on Jan. 23. “The Eagle” secured
submission victories over both men when he was UFC champion.
“It’s the same thing [as the previous fights],” Khabib told
RT Sport. “If it’s the first round [for a finish], I’d back
Conor. From the second and further, then Dustin [wins].”
Nurmagomedov retired from MMA following a victory over Justin
Gaethje at UFC 254 last October, and despite the UFC’s best
efforts to convince him to return, the Dagestani grappler has
remained on the sidelines. Nurmagomedov is enjoying watching the
lightweight division play out from afar.
“It’s a nice composition of the division. The Brazilians, if you
look at [Charles] Oliveira and [Rafael] dos Anjos. The Americans
are well represented. Poirier, [Justin] Gaethje, [Michael]
Chandler,” he said.
“You could say it’s like a world war, the Brazilians, the
Americans, the Russians. This division has always been the
most interesting and the strongest… it will be fun by the end of
the year.”