All eyes will be on Abu Dhabi in September when lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov returns to unify his title against interim champ Dustin Poirier in the UFC 242 main event. UFC president Dana White isn’t ruling out the possibility of one set of eyes, in particular, being in attendance for the event.
According to White, an appearance by Conor McGregor isn’t unrealistic.
Following last year’s UFC 229 showdown and the subsequent brawl between the Nurmagomedov and McGregor camps, the rivalry between the two didn’t simmer. Earlier this year, McGregor and Nurmagomedov engaged in one of the most personal social media exchanges in the history of the sport.
While both men got in their fair share of vicious insults, one tweet in particular from McGregor sparked an added amount controversy. In the crossfire, McGregor tweeted a picture on Nurmagomedov’s wife at their wedding. The caption read: “Your wife is a towel mate,” referencing the traditional veil Nurmagomedov’s wife was wearing. The post was deleted shortly thereafter.
Despite Abu Dhabi’s large Muslim population, White doesn’t believe any issues would ensue if McGregor showed up to watch the bout.
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” White told ESPN. “I honestly believe in that region they like Conor McGregor, too. I know they take things a little serious when stuff is said. But Khabib won the fight, and I think it’s all just trash talk.
“Obviously (with) Khabib and Conor there’s no love loss. Those guys do not like each other, but it’s part of the business. Culturally, I don’t think so. I would have no problem with Conor showing up to it.”
White didn’t specifically reveal if McGregor would be in attendance for UFC 242 but said “he could probably show up.”
“He could (attend),” White said. “He could possibly. He hasn’t said, (but) I’m saying he could probably show up to that fight. I don’t know if he will. He hasn’t said anything to me.”
White also reiterated McGregor has his mind set on a rematch with Nurmagomedov after the fight with Poirier. Will it happen? White is non-committal at this time.
“Nothing has changed with Conor McGregor since the last time I talked to you,” White said. “He wants to rematch and, again, we’ll see how this thing plays out in September.”
UFC 242 will take place Sept. 7 at the du Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card streams live on pay-per-view with the prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
For more on UFC 242, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
