Dana White says two things need to happen before he books McGregor vs. Khabib rematch

UFC president, Dana White has laid out the plan for Conor McGregor to get his rematch against Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Ever since McGregor lost to Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in the fourth-round by submission he has been clamoring for a rematch against the Russian. Yet, he won’t get an immediate rematch, but the groundwork is there for it to happen.

White was on the Rich Eisen show and laid out what needs to happen for him to book McGregor-Khabib 2.

Dana discussing Conor/Khabib2 on Rich Eisen Show: He's gotta beat Cowboy Cerrone, which is a very tough fight, especially at 170, w/o Cowboy having to cut weight. Then, Khabib has to beat Tony Ferguson. If both of those things happen, then yeah, I think we can make the rematch.

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 5, 2019

“He’s gotta beat Cowboy Cerrone, which is a very tough fight, especially at 170, without Cowboy having to cut any weight. Then, Khabib has to beat Tony Ferguson. If both those things happen, then yeah, I think we can make the rematch,” White said, according to Jed I. Goodman on Twitter.

As Dana White mentioned, Conor McGregor is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 246 on Jan. 18 against Donald Cerrone. It is his first fight since he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov back at UFC 229. Before that, he had the legendary boxing match against Floyd Mayweather which took place after he had knocked out Eddie Alvarez to become the first-ever simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history.

Khabib Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, is scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson in April in Brooklyn, New York. This will be the fifth time the two have been booked to scrap, and hopefully, it happens this time. Nurmagomedov is looking to defend his lightweight title for the third time, after scoring wins against McGregor and Dustin Poirier.

Although White says a rematch is possible, Nurmagomedov has been open about not wanting it. He says the Irishman needs 10 wins before he gets another shot, and has talked about wanting to fight Georges St-Pierre after Ferguson.

So, whether or not the rematch between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov will ever happen is to be seen. But, Dana White has at least laid out the groundwork on how it can happen.

Do you think we will see Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov 2? Sound off in the comment section, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/5/2019.