Khabib Nurmagomedov Vs. Conor McGregor II Could Happen A Lot Sooner Than We Expected

Conor McGregor's on standby to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov or Tony Ferguson in case of an injury to either UFC 249 fighter.

This is the fifth time that Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson have been booked to fight each other after the four previous scheduled meetings were cancelled.

Image: UFC

And the promotion have a contingency plan in place if the worst comes to worst as Dana White has confirmed that McGregor is waiting in the wings to fill in and compete at UFC 249.

"Conor wants to fight three times this year," the UFC president said about McGregor, who's set to return to action at UFC 246 on January 18.

"He's hoping that if he beats Cowboy, he can turn right around and fight Khabib, but that timing and math isn't going to work out. But you know Conor. Conor thinks the way Conor thinks.

"His thing is, I'll fight Cowboy, I'll beat Cowboy, and I'll be ready to fight Khabib at 155 if anything happens, because we're going into Khabib-Tony again," he added. "So Conor would be ready for that fight."

Image: PA

Image: PA

McGregor hasn't fought since his devastating submission defeat to Nurmagomedov in October 2018. He also hasn't won an MMA fight since 2016.

But the 31-year-old could get another crack at the UFC lightweight title should injury force Nurmagomedov or Ferguson out of their bout in April.

What's your take on McGregor being on standby for the championship showdown? Let us know.

Topics: Conor Mcgregor, Khabib, UFC News, Ferguson, Fight News, UFC, MMA, Dana White

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.

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