'Khabib Nurmagomedov Is Worried About Conor McGregor Getting Better And Beating Him'

UFC legend Chuck Liddell believes Khabib Nurmagomedov is "worried" about Conor McGregor getting better and beating him.

A blockbuster rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor has been mooted following their explosive clash in 2018, but the UFC lightweight champion remains reluctant to give the Irishman another shot at the title.

Image: PA

And Nurmagomedov's stance has aroused the suspicion of Liddell who thinks the undefeated fighter may be wary of getting beat by McGregor.

"In the last fight, I think he [McGregor] did what he needed to do to have a shot at beating Khabib," the former UFC light-heavyweight champion explained via LowKickMMA.

"The problem was he was tired by the third round and he had nothing left behind his punches. He got Khabib a little tired and he had a chance to throw and he just had nothing left to knock him out.

"So, if he can make it through those first two rounds and still have that snap he's got, he can take a shot at him. It doesn't seem like Khabib wants to give him a shot... and that doesn't make sense unless Khabib is worried about getting beat. Maybe Khabib is worried about Conor getting better and beating him, I don't know."

Nurmagomedov was supposed to defend his UFC belt against Tony Ferguson last month until the coronavirus crisis prevented the bout from happening.

It's the fifth time the fight has been cancelled, but Liddell wants to see Nurmagomedov and Ferguson matched up again in the future.

"And I'd love to see Tony vs Khabib," he added. "I love Khabib, he's a great fighter, man, but I think Tony matches up perfectly with him.

"He'll probably take Tony down for the first couple of rounds, but Tony will make him work and make him work to take him down.

"And the thing is, Tony doesn't get tired. When they come out for the third round and Khabib is starting to get tired and Tony is not, he's going to have a real tough time taking him down at that point.

"He's had a little bit of trouble in the third round in the past, trying to get his breath back before he takes guys down again. We'll see. He's evolving all the time, working all the time, too."

As a result of Nurmagomedov's withdrawal, Ferguson will now face Justin Gaethje for the interim-UFC lightweight title in the main-event of this weekend's UFC 249 in Florida.

Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor Mcgregor, UFC News, Tony Ferguson, Fight News, UFC, MMA

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Darren Till, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@https://twitter.com/NasJabbar