Shortly after UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor in the UFC 229 main event, he called for a fight with another undefeated fighter: boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“Hey let’s go Floyd, we have to fight now,” Khabib Nurmagomedov said. “50-0 versus 27-0. Two guys who never lose. Let’s go. Why not? Because in the jungle only one king. Only one king. Of course I am the king. Because he [Mayweather] cannot drop McGregor, but I drop him easily. Let’s fight. Let’s go.”
Not long thereafter, Floyd Mayweather responded, assuring that he’s down for the challenge, and that the relevant parties should get their check books out.
“CBS, Showtime and MGM Grand get the checkbook out,” Floyd Mayweather said in response to this callout from the UFC lightweight champ. “Go to [Leonard Ellerbe’s] page to view Khabib Nurmagomedov challenging me.”
While many fans and pundits understandably doubt that this Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Floyd Mayweather fight will never happen, the latter says it is. Moreover, he says he’ll make a bigger guaranteed payday than he did for his record-breaking boxing match with Conor McGregor.
“Oh, we’re fighting,” Mayweather recently told TMZ Sports (transcript via MMAjunkie). “I’m my own boss. I can’t say what’s going on on Khabib’s end, but on my end, we can make it happen.
“… When I face Khabib, I’m getting a nine-figure payday. It’s more than the McGregor fight – probably $100 million more, guaranteed. It could be somewhere between $110 [million] and $200 million guaranteed.”
Do you believe Floyd Mayweather can make a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov happen? Join the debate in the comments section below.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/17/2018.