Ali Abdelaziz believes UFC is using Khabib Nurmagomedov to keep Conor McGregor ‘relevant’
Ali Abdelaziz isn’t a fan of the UFC looking to make the rematch between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.
At UFC 229 the two rivals finally shared the Octagon where it is was the Russian who dominated the fight and earned a fourth-round submission win. Yet, since then, the Irishman in McGregor has been clamoring for a rematch and it appears he is close to getting one.
If Conor McGregor wins at UFC 246 against Donald Cerrone and Khabib Nurmagomedov beats Tony Ferguson, Dana White has said they will look to book the rematch. For Abdelaziz, he believes the UFC is only doing that to keep the Irishman relevant.
“Listen, Dana’s the greatest promoter in history. I respect the man very much. He has to make people care about Conor. And by mentioning Khabib’s name, he is making Conor more relevant. It’s OK. He promotes, can do whatever. Khabib has a plan, Dana has a plan, sometimes we’ll get upset, sometimes we’ll agree. But business moves on,” Abdelaziz said to TMZ Sports (via SportsBible.com).
For Ali Abdelaziz, he doesn’t believe the fact McGregor is motivated once again and in good shape as the same things were said before the Khabib Nurmagomedov fight.
“Listen, his coaches before the fight (with Khabib) said: ‘He’s ready, he’s gonna knock Khabib out inside three rounds, he’s never been in better shape.’ And after that, they said: they had a horrible camp, his food was like a balloon. They’re liars. He looks like a blew-out balloon. He’s a bodybuilder. That’s what I think. He’s getting no love from us.”
So, for Abdelaziz and Nurmagomedov they aren’t interested in the rematch and frankly, the manager thinks the Irishman will lose to Donald Cerrone anyways.
“Conor’s not on our radar. He might lose to “Cowboy” as far as I understand. I think he might lose.”
