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Khabib Nurmagomedov Won't Be Shaking Conor McGregor's Hand

Khabib Nurmagomedov Won't Be Shaking Conor McGregor's Hand

The UFC champion and the former champion are unlikely to ever be friends, and the Russian won't even shake his rivals hand.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Khabib Nurmagomedov isn't ready to shake Conor McGregor's hand but he'd accept an apology from the Irishman.

Nurmagomedov pulled no punches when speaking about McGregor last October.

When asked about his UFC rival, the Dagestan phenom said: "I'm not ready to shake [McGregor's] hand right now.

"I'm not, you know everyone makes mistakes. There are no perfect people, everyone has flaws. I have flaws and so does he, everyone has flaws.

"When a person continues to behave this way, it means that it's his nature. We saw that he recently hit a 70-year-old man. It shows a lack of morality and manners... His overall level. So, I'm not ready to shake his hand, unless he realises something."

Image: PA
Image: PA

However, Nurmagomedov would accept an apology - saying that apologies always have to be accepted no matter the situation.

"Apologies always have to be accepted no matter what he said. If a person apologises and accepts his mistakes, we have to excuse him," he added.

"From a fighter's point of view, it is a thing of the past, I have nothing to prove."

At the time, Nurmagomedov had stopped Dustin Poirier to defend his UFC lightweight title and spoke about his future challenges.

"There's a lot of businessmen here and I think most of them will tell me to fight him, because it'll bring money," he said about a potential rematch with McGregor.

"I'd fight all the main contenders first and I could fight him to benefit my agriculture projects.

"I have to say that Tony Ferguson deserves it more, you have to give him credit. He is on a 12-fight win streak and he deserves it more than Conor.

"Conor has to come back, stop hitting old people. He is a professional fighter, he should come back, win and earn his place and get in line."

McGregor and Khabib are unlikely to meet each other anytime in the near future. The Russian has a fight against Justin Gaethje in October but his fiercest rival is currently retired from MMA.

UFC president Dana White revealed this week that the Irishman wouldn't be returning until next year and by then Khabib might be retired.

There is talk the lightweight champion will have just one more fight after Gaethje and, whilst White suggested it could be McGregor, Georges St-Pierre has been discussed as a potential opponent.

Featured Image Credit: RT/PA

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor Mcgregor, Georges St Pierre, Justin Gaethje, UFC News, MMA News, UFC, MMA, Dana White, GSP