Mixed martial arts legend Chuck Liddell thinks Khabib Nurmagomedov is worried he may face a better version of Conor McGregor in a potential rematch.
The undefeated Russian submitted McGregor in the fourth round of their main event title fight at UFC 229 back in October 2018 to defend his lightweight belt and remain unscathed in 27 fights.
McGregor has been campaigning for a blockbuster rematch, following his sensational 40-second knockout of Donald Cerrone, while claiming he ‘did not train properly’ in the lead up to their first fight.
However, Khabib said the Irishman does not deserve another shot at the 155-pound championship unless he beats a top-5 lightweight like Justin Gaethje.
But for ‘The Iceman,’ there may be other reason why the undisputed lightweight champion remains uninterested with the rematch.
Nothing Left
In a recent interview with Talk Sport, the UFC Hall of Famer discussed what went wrong for McGregor in his first encounter with Khabib.
“In the last fight, I think he [McGregor] did what he needed to do to have a shot at beating Khabib,” he said.
“The problem was he was tired by the third round and he had nothing left behind his punches. He got Khabib a little tired and he had a chance to throw and he just had nothing left to knock him out.”
If the rematch happens, Liddell thinks the former two-division champion could come out stronger and better.
“So if he can make it through those first two rounds and still have that snap he’s got, he can take a shot at him.”
“It doesn’t seem like Khabib wants to give him a shot… and that doesn’t make sense unless Khabib is worried about getting beat. Maybe Khabib is worried about Conor getting better and beating him, I don’t know.”
Doesn’t Get Tired
And just like most MMA fans, Liddell wants to see Nurmagomedov fights Tony Ferguson as he believes ‘El Cucuy’ could give the defending champion the toughest test of his career.
“And I’d love to see Tony vs Khabib. I love Khabib, he’s a great fighter, man, but I think Tony matches up perfectly with him,” he added.
“He’ll probably take Tony down for the first couple of rounds, but Tony will make him work and make him work to take him down.”
“And the thing is, Tony doesn’t get tired. When they come out for the third round and Khabib is starting to get tired and Tony is not, he’s going to have a real tough time taking him down at that point.”
“He’s had a little bit of trouble in the third round in the past, trying to get his breath back before he takes guys down again. We’ll see. He’s evolving all the time, working all the time, too.”
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Chuck Liddell and YouTube/ UFC)