UFC President Dana White is hopeful that Irish superstar Conor McGregor and undefeated Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov will square off again in 2019. During a discussion with TMZ Sports, White said the much anticipated rematch will happen so long as everything goes according to plan.
“I think a lot of people want to see that fight,” White told TMZ Sports.
“We gotta see how this thing [plays out]. Obviously, again, we haven’t gone in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. That’s gotta happen and when it does we can figure out how this whole thing plays out.
“Is Max [Holloway] moving to 155…Tony Ferguson’s obviously in the mix…we gotta see how this thing plays out.”
When asked whether the fight could happen in 2019, White replied, “Yeah, I do." He added, “Obviously, guys are going to have to win and it depends how long the suspensions are, but yeah, as long as everything goes right this fight should happen.”
Last month, the Nevada State Athletic Commission officials unanimously granted Nurmagomedov a continuance in the UFC 229 case at the monthly meeting in Las Vegas. McGregor's camp was previously granted a continuance in his case, and now both fighters are scheduled to appear before the court at the next NSAC meeting on January 29.
Both will remain temporarily suspended until the situation is resolved.
As White noted in his most recent conversation with TMZ, Tony Ferguson will surely be looking for a big-money title shot as well. White has previously flirted with the idea of Khabib defending his title against Ferguson, and Conor McGregor facing off against Dustin Poirier as his next opponent, with the winners of both fights squaring off for the Lightweight championship.
