Conor McGregor says he will be ready to step in as late replacement in case a fallout happens at UFC 249.
Khabib Nurmagomedov will put his lightweight championship on the line when he headlines UFC 249 opposite Tony Ferguson in what could be the biggest mixed martial arts bout this year.
The lightweight pair has been booked for four times prior to this fight, but it never materialized as each fighter had to deal with injuries or health problems, leading to a series of pullouts.
In 2015, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson were scheduled to meet at Th Ultimate Fighter 22 finale but the Russian was replaced by Edson Barboza after sustaining an injury.
The promotion booked the pair for UFC on Fox 19 but it was Ferguson who pulled out this time due to lung issue.
Then before UFC 209, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the main event bout due to health issues brought by weight cutting.
And just last April 2018, the pair was slated to lock horns at UFC 223 but Ferguson tore his fibular collateral ligament ahead of the fight.
Stand By
In case the lightweight title fight suffers a setback, UFC president Dana White said the promotion will tap ‘The Notorious’ as replacement to either Nurmagomedov or Ferguson in the April card.
“Because Conor wants to fight three times this year,” the outspoken UFC chief told ESPN in a recent interview.
“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.”
“So Conor would be ready for that fight.”
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Ready To Slide
The former two-division champion has confirmed this plan in a recent interview with The Mac Life.
McGregor said he will be ‘ready to slide’ and fight for the lightweight title if one of the main event stars withdraw from UFC 249.
But the Irishman has to first take care of a tough assignment as he tussles with Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 later this month.
“Likely something will happen there, so I’ll be ready to slide in for that belt,” McGregor claimed.
“So I’ll just have a good solid camp at 170 with no weight cut, a good fight. I know Donald’s a good fighter. [He has] great records.”
“Most knockdowns, most head kicks, most fights, most rounds. He’s got a lot of UFC records under his belt.”
“So I’ll get a great camp, a great fight, and then it’ll take me into the year. I’m looking at this as a season. This was the beginning of the season.”
“Donald was the first one that I agreed to have a bout with, and here we are.”
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor and YouTube/ MMA Junkie)