Dana White says Khabib vs. McGregor is ‘the fight to make’

Dana White is most interested in booking a lightweight title bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

It’s the fight everyone one wants to see. A lightweight championship bout between newly-minted champion Khabib Nurmagomdov and former two-division champ Conor McGregor.

The fight probably would have been booked in the aftermath of UFC 225 if not for McGregor’s wild bus rampage at the Barclays Center in New York, where the Irishman chucked a dolly through the window in retaliation to Khabib’s heated confrontation with SBG Ireland’s Artem Lobov in the days leading up to event.

Despite the complications, UFC president Dana White is still determined to get Khabib vs. McGregor booked as soon as possible, preferably after McGregor’s court hearing on June 15, where it will be decided whether ‘The Notorious’ will be prosecuted for his actions at the Barclays Center.

“That’s the fight to make,” White said on a recent episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast, per BJPenn.com’s Tom Taylor. “But there’s no fight to make until we figure out what happens with Conor.”

If all things go according to plan, and Khabib-McGregor is booked for late 2018, White says it won’t happen in ‘The Eagle’s’ home country of Russia, where Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to debut in Moscow for a Fight Night event on Sept. 15.

“Khabib won’t fight [in Russia],” he said. “The fight in Moscow is going to be a Fight Night. It’s going to be on Fight Pass. We’re just testing it out out there to see how it goes. It’s a place we’ve been trying to get into for a long time, and we’re doing it.”

While White is optimistic about getting the fight booked, Nurmagomedov seems to have had a change of heart and is focused on a different opponent. According to Khabib’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, the undefeated Dagestani has lost interest in the McGregor fight and is more entertained by the possibility of a championship showdown with Georges St-Pierre.

“We believe the fight to make is the Georges St-Pierre fight at 155 pounds,” Abdelaziz said earlier this week. “Khabib wants to fight for legacy and not for a soap opera drama show, and we think Conor doesn’t deserve this opportunity. The guy hasn’t fought in almost two years. Why does he deserve to fight for the title? He should get his ass back in the line and work his way up.”

Bloody Elbow will keep you updated on McGregor’s court hearing on June 15.