Video: Jon Jones Would Bet on Khabib to Beat Conor McGregor in UFC Rematch

UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has said he'd put his money on Khabib Nurmagomedov if the Eagle were to have a rematch opposite former dual-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor.

Nurmagomedov, 31, beat The Notorious via fourth-round submission when the pair first met at UFC 229 in October 2018, with talk of a second clash intensifying after McGregor's recent return to the Octagon.

Jones spoke to TMZ Sports ahead of his UFC light heavyweight title defence against Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 on Saturday, suggesting he'd back Khabib to get the better of McGregor a second time:

Former lightweight and featherweight champion McGregor made a statement upon his return from a 15-month fighting absence at UFC 246 in January, when he finished Donald Cerrone within 40 seconds.

Jones was asked whether the Dubliner could clinch revenge in a rematch but backed his nemesis, Nurmagomedov:

"I typically don't go against wrestlers if you were asking me as a betting man. Wrestlers have the power to dictate where the fight goes, whether it's gonna be a standing match or whether he's gonna take him to the ground and make it a jiu-jitsu match.

"But if I would put my money on it, I'm definitely going with Khabib. For sure. I think the cards are always kind of in Khabib's hands. But Conor definitely has a chance."

Nurmagomedov has since improved his professional mixed martial arts record to 28-0 after he submitted Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 in September.

The Dagestan native questioned in early February why he needed "$100 million (£77.6 million) to beat up that idiot [McGregor] again," per TMZ Sports.

The report cited speculation circulated by Khabib's agent, Ali Abdelaziz, that moguls in Saudi Arabia were willing to stump up a nine-figure sum to host the rematch.

Two-time UFC champion Jones boasts a similar record to Nurmagomedov, though his 2009 disqualification loss to Matt Hamill and no-contest in the second meeting with Daniel Cormier are blemishes on his record.

When told about Nurmagomedov rebuffing the notion of a $100 million payday for fighting McGregor, Bones replied: "Give me the money! I'll whoop his [McGregor's] a-s for the homeboys."

Jones is seeking his third consecutive title defence in his second reign as light heavyweight champion and hopes to hand 12-0 Reyes the first loss of his MMA career at the Toyota Center in Houston.