Khabib Nurmagomedov's father has claimed that the Dagestan fighter inadvertently cost Conor McGregor roughly $3.5m during negotiations for UFC 205.
The UFC sent Khabib two contracts to fight McGregor's upcoming opponent, Eddie Alvarez - one for UFC 205 in New York, the other for UFC 206 in Toronto. While it then appeared the undefeated lightweight was locked in on a title shot in the coming months, his father and long-time coach explained to Russian website Match that the contracts were merely used to drive McGregor's price down while the Crumlin man was thrashing out a deal with the organisation. As translated by Bloody Elbow, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov said:
By sending a contract to Khabib, the UFC has reduced the overall cost of UFC 205 by $4 million. According to rumours, McGregor wanted to fight for six or seven million, and Alvarez for one million.
At this point, Habib was sent two contracts and he signed them. Alvarez with McGregor then calmed down because nobody wanted to fight Khabib. As a result, Alvarez will earn $500,000 and McGregor around $3.5 million. There are some bonuses, but the fact is that they have halved the fees. That's for sure.
Abdulmanap also claimed that his son was offered $100,000 by the UFC for being used in such a manner but turned down the offer:
Habib was offered $100,000 compensation for the cancelled fight. He refused, and said: "Give me the opportunity to fight the best." On the same evening, he was offered a fight with Michael Johnson for the same fee.
Last month, when Alvarez-McGregor was confirmed for New York, Khabib took to social media and unleashed a scathing rant about the UFC, and just weeks ago the 23-0 contender declared that he would ensure the UFC never comes to his native Russia unless he fights for the title in his next fight.
