Javier Mendez recently weighed in his thoughts on Conor McGregor’s loss to Dustin Poirier in UFC 257. In an interview with Submission Radio, Denis Shkuratov him what he thought a Khabib rematch would look like. To this, he simply replied that the Irishman would have gotten beat up very badly.
Check out the conversation between Shkuratov and Mendez on a rematch between The Eagle and McGregor:
“We’ve spoken about it [Khabib Conor rematch] to a number of people what a second fight with Khabib would look like with this Conor McGregor in 2021. And I’m just wondering after what you saw from Conor this past weekend, how would have that second fight with Khabib gone if the UFC’s able to put it together instead of this Dustin fight?” asked Denis.
Javier Mendez predicts Conor vs Khabib 2
To this Javier Mendez replied:
“He would’ve gotten smashed. Khabib’s gotten better. He would’ve got smashed, straight up. Khabib’s better. He is better than he was when they fought 2 years ago. Conor didn’t appear to be better. He appears to be a weak wrestler a little bit. Khabib’s gotten way better. He would’ve gotten smashed.”
With a comeback of an athlete as big as McGregor and his infamous loss at the hands of The Eagle, the rematch talks were bound to catch the pace. But with the Irishman suffering defeat in UFC 257, a rematch between them seems to be very unlikely. Even though McGregor has lost to Poirier, it doesn’t seem to be all over for The Notorious. With Khabib most likely to vacate the title and Poirier fighting for the belt next, the McGregor and Poirier trilogy might very well be a championship bout.
Currently, McGregor has slipped down 2 ranks in the 155lb division to #6. UFC debutant Michael Chandler has claimed his previous #4 spot. In order to again be a member of the top 5 clubs, Conor needs to defeat a couple of high profile fighters like Michael Chandler. Only then, he will be able to come on the radar for a championship fight. Till then, he needs to wait for his turn. Since Notorious wants to fight 7 times in the next 18 months, he might get a championship opportunity in 2021.
Talking about Khabib, his chances for a comeback seem to be slim as he is seen to enjoy his post-retirement life and an unblemished record of 29-0. Though it has become evident that they will never meet again inside the octagon, but they will surely go down as 2 of the biggest names in MMA.
Let us know in the comments what would have been the result of McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov 2.
Also read: Dustin Poirier Reveals How Jorge Masvidal Helped Him Immensely in His UFC Lightweight Journey