Khabib Nurmagomedov Will Pocket A Whopping $6m From UFC 242 Clash With Dustin Poirier

Khabib Nurmagomedov will receive a mega payday at UFC 242 by pocketing a lucrative $6m for his clash with Dustin Poirier.

The Russian UFC star, 30, secured a cool $2m for his epic clash with Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in October last year.

And Khabib's father, Abdulmanap, has claimed that his son will walk away with at least $6m from UFC 242.

"We will make 3 to 3.5 [times] more [than the McGregor fight]," he told Russian outlet TASS.

"We aren't fighting for a small change -- we know what we [are] worth.

"It is not enough for us, because we are the best now. We have beaten the best, and we are ready to fight the best.

"We are popular -- we know that. When we enter the arena, you will see the reaction to us, and reaction to Poirier."

The Dagestan superstar has raised doubts that he will make weight for the fight against Poirier after reports emerged that he missed UFC 242's main media day.

But former UFC star Dan Hardy believes that Khabib snubbed the press to avoid talking about his rivalry with McGregor.

"This weekend, even though Khabib is the champion and Poirier is the interim champion, Conor McGregor draws the eyes of the casual fans that don't really follow the sport," he said.

"He is asked about this stuff all the time, even yesterday and those are the things you don't want to be thinking about during fight week.

"His first opponent is the scales and then he has to get past Poirier.

"I think of all the people around Khabib, Khabib is the one who is most realistic about what he's up against.

"The rose-tinted glasses that his fans wear set the standard so high that he has to raise himself to meet their expectations. This is a very, very tough fight for him."

The undefeated Khabib admitted during the open workouts on Wednesday that Poirier, who is the interim lightweight champ, is a "very tough opponent."

The UFC star continued: "I don't want to underestimate him. He has a lot of experience. But when I go to the cage, my plan is make him tired, make him tap.

"This is my plan."

Poirier, 30, believes that he will defy the odds and strip Khabib of the lightweight championship.

The 'Eagle' will take on Poirier this Saturday at the du Arena in Abu Dhabi.

Will Khabib successfully retain his title?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier, UFC 242, UFC News, MMA News, Abu Dhabi, UFC, MMA

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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