Are we any closer to Conor McGregor making his return to the Octagon and facing Khabib Nurmagomedov? Is a Khabib Nurmagomedov Conor McGregor fight right around the corner?
Well, before MMA fans can think ahead to that, McGregor is slated to return to a New York City court July 26, with TMZ Sports reporting last month that the UFC superstar is negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors stemming from his April 5th Barclays Center (Brooklyn) bus attack, which injured fellow fighters Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa.
A video from the wild rampage clearly shows McGregor picking up a dolly and hurling it at the bus, shattering its window and causing the injuries.
During his court appearance last month, McGregor did say, “I understand the seriousness of this matter and I’m hopeful that it gets resolved soon,” as reported by TMZ. If McGregor is able to broker a plea deal next week, his highly-anticipated bout with Nurmagomedov could take one more step closer to becoming a reality.
According to Express, their impending clash has been rumored for UFC 229, which is scheduled for October 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Although UFC president Dana White has maintained that he’ll only deal with McGregor once his legal issues are resolved in court.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Conor McGregor fight now good to go? When?
That being said, it’s personal between McGregor and Nurmagomedov. Remember, Nurmagomedov confronting Conor’s friend and fellow fighter, Artem Lobov, ahead of UFC 223 was reportedly the trigger for McGregor to unleash the wild rampage on the bus, which was carrying Nurmagomedov.
That, and the Nurmagomedov took the same lightweight title that the UFC stripped McGregor of in April. The rugged Russian grabbed the vacant belt with a unanimous decision over Al Iaquinta that same month.
Although McGregor, 30, lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing bout in 2017, the MMA sensation hasn’t fought a UFC match since his TKO victory over Eddie Alvarez in November 2016. That win not only gave McGregor the lightweight title, but made him a two-division champ.
Defeating Nurmagomedov to take the lightweight title back would definitely add another chapter to McGregor’s career.
If McGregor gets the plea deal he’s seeking and the matchup with Nurmagomedov is cemented, do you think he could pull off the win?
