Khabib Says Conor McGregor Needs to Win 10 Fights in a Row to Earn Rematch

Undefeated lightweight UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov said that a rematch with Conor McGregor is "possible," but only if he "wins 10 fights in a row."

"As for a rematch, to fight for a belt in the UFC, I remember I had something like nine or 10 fights. If he wins 10 fights in a row, then that's completely possible," Khabib said per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

For now, Tony Ferguson appears to be the next man up, but negotiations are still ongoing. One sticking point is the location, as Khabib refuses to work in Las Vegas unless the Nevada State Athletic Commission apologizes for suspending and fining the fighter for his role in a post-UFC 229 fight.

"They offered me to fight in Vegas in March, but I told them that if Vegas officially apologizes for wrongly fining me for that incident on Oct. 6, 2018, then I'll fight there,'' he said.

"If not, then they can assign me to another date. As far as I know, they're planning in April to hold [a fight card] somewhere in New York, so I'm saying I'm ready for April, or March if Las Vegas apologizes.''

Khabib beat McGregor via submission at UFC 229, and the war of words between the two spilled over into a post-match fight involving each fighter's camp. Both fighters were suspended.

McGregor has not fought since. Khabib beat Dustin Poirier via submission at UFC 242 on Sept. 7 to retain the lightweight title.

Per the Associated Press on Oct. 24, McGregor outlined a potential two-fight lead-up to a rematch with Khabib.

First, McGregor is slated to face a to-be-determined opponent on Jan. 18. Per ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is the leading candidate to square off with McGregor, although nothing has been finalized.

Afterward, he wants to fight Jorge Masvidal, who just beat Nate Diaz at UFC 244. Then, McGregor wants Khabib.

That plan doesn't seem to work for the champ, however, who holds a 28-0 professional record.