Khabib Says He Wants to Fight Mayweather in Moscow

In case you haven’t heard, we’ve got another potential megafight on our hands—maybe. Ever since Khabib Nurmagomedov defended his UFC lightweight championship belt against Conor McGregor, he’s been talking some trash with none other than retired 50-0 boxer Floyd Mayweather.

At first, we were pretty sure Nurmagomedov wasn’t serious. After all, he was clearly laughing and joking during the first “callout” video a few weeks ago. Then, Mayweather replied with what seemed like a more legitimate callout. Since then, things have escalated, and it’s getting tough to figure out whether this is all a lighthearted joke or an actual megafight in the making. Let’s not forget that trash talk led to an actual professional boxing match between Mayweather and McGregor.

In his most recent post about the potential fight, Nurmagomedov said he’d want to fight Mayweather in Moscow.

Not fluent in Russian? Here’s how Google translates the caption:

“A meeting with the Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation @umar_kremlev was held today. We discussed the fight with Mayweather. We want the fight to take place in Moscow at the legendary Luzhniki arena. They are sure that we will gather 100 thousand spectators, and also set a world record for the sale of paid broadcasts. And, most importantly, my father will be in the corner; a visa to Moscow is not needed. And so a question for my fans: do you believe in me? Or do you also think that he will knock me out of boxing?”

Those are some fighting words, for sure. But Nurmagomedov isn’t sporting his usual trash-talk glare in the photo, so we’re still not totally convinced. Besides, boxing isn’t the only thing on his mind following his UFC 229 title defense and the chaos that ensued post-fight. He and McGregor were both suspended for 10 days due to the post-fight brawl, and Nurmagomedov’s $2 million purse was withheld.

On Wednesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously to extend the fighters’ suspensions indefinitely, according to ESPN. It also voted to shell out half of Nurmagomedov’s purse while the investigation continues. The NSAC hopes to wrap it up and determine the fighters’ fines and penalties by the end of the year.

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