UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov explained why he turned down the opportunity to coach TUF against Conor McGregor.
UFC president Dana White recently revealed that the promotion was hoping to book Nurmagomedov and McGregor to coach against one another on its reincarnation of The Ultimate Fighter. The UFC hasn’t filmed a season of TUF for two years now but the promotion has made it known that it is bringing the reality show back, and White and the UFC matchmakers have been looking for the coaches. Nurmagomedov and McGregor would make for great TV, making it a natural fit for them to be the coaches on the show.
However, White said that Nurmagomedov is the one who turned down the idea of facing McGregor on TUF. In a new interview with ESPN, “The Eagle” explained why he said no.
“This Ultimate Fighter with him. This is good attention for him. I don’t want to give him this. I never give him this, even if they gave me $5 billion dollars. Even if they give me UFC (ownership), I’ll never do this. This is good attention for him,” Nurmagomedov said his rationale for turning down the TUF gig (via MMAjunkie.com).
Nurmagomedov said that since he already beat McGregor back at UFC 229, he isn’t interested in him any longer. The UFC lightweight champion has made it clear in the past that he hopes for a superfight with Georges St-Pierre before he retires from the sport.
“Done. Everything is done. October 6 (at UFC 229), I finished him and I finished everything about him. I had new challenges – Dustin Poirier, now, Justin Gaethje. We’ll see who’s going to be next but I don’t think it’s going to be Conor McGregor,” Nurmagomedov said.
