Daniel Cormier predicts outcome of possible Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor fight

Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov

Over the weekend, in the co-main event of the stacked UFC 219, Dagestani lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov picked up yet another dominant win, violating the dangerous Edson Barboza for three, lopsided rounds, and ultimately capturing a clear unanimous decision.

With this win, Nurmagomedov stands out as the clear-cut number one contender in the UFC lightweight division. The big question is whether his long-awaited title shot will come against undisputed champion Conor McGregor or interim champion Tony Ferguson. 

Should Nurmagomedov’s title shot occur against McGregor, he would enter the fight as a significant favorite, per the early betting line. In the opinion of Daniel Cormier, who is a long-time training partner of Nurmagomedov, these odds are fair. Though Cormier gives McGregor a chance at defeating Nurmagomedov, he believes Nurmagomedov would more than likely emerge the winner of this fight.

Daniel Cormier made his prediction for a Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Conor McGregor fight on Twitter.

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“70-80%,” Cormier said when asked what chance he would give Nurmagomedov of unseating McGregor. “Conor would have to knock him out or he would be in trouble. And I don’t know if anyone can knock him out unless he gets kicked in head or knee. No punch will do it.”

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With his defeat of Barboza, Nurmagomedov improved to an insane 25-0 overall. Other highlights of his ridiculous record include lopsided defeats of Abel Trujillo, Rafael dos Anjos and Michael Johnson.

McGregor, meanwhile, is 21-3. Though his last contest occurred in the boxing ring, where he lost to undefeated legend Floyd Mayweather, he is on a two-fight streak as a mixed martial artist, having recently bested Nate Diaz and Eddie Alvarez.

Who do you think wins a fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/2/2018.

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