Khabib's Manager: Conor McGregor Must Fight Justin Gaethje Before Rematch

In order to get a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor will first have to beat Justin Gaethje.

That's the stance of Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz.

"If Khabib wins on April 18, Conor McGregor is not getting a title shot—simple," Abdelaziz told ESPN's Brett Okamoto. "Dana White is the best promoter of all time because he understands fighting and matchmaking. The only way Conor McGregor can fight for a title is if he beats someone like Justin Gaethje. If he were to do that, it would be hard to deny him."

Abdelaziz went on to add Gaethje would be a "nightmare matchup" for McGregor.

Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor in the fourth round at UFC 229 in October 2018 to retain the UFC lightweight title. They then took part in a brawl that spilled out into the crowd and resulted in lengthy suspensions for both fighters.

Khabib returned to the Octagon in September, defeating Dustin Poirier at UFC 242, while McGregor won via TKO over Donald Cerrone in his comeback fight in January at UFC 246.

Nurmagomedov is putting the lightweight championship on the line against the No. 1-ranked contender, Tony Ferguson, at UFC 249 on April 18.

Assuming the unbeaten champion is victorious, UFC President Dana White told TMZ Sports he prefers a return bout with McGregor while expressing a level of doubt about the prospect.

For his part, Gaethje argued McGregor still needs to do more in order to challenge Khabib.

"I think I put myself in a great position to fight for a world title, to try to be the best in the world," he said, per MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn. "If Conor wants to go past me, he has to go through me. I think that's the only way to legitimize the process and make it right. I think that's the fight."

Should negotiations between Nurmagomedov and McGregor reach an impasse down the line, pivoting to Gaethje would be the obvious alternative for the former lightweight and featherweight champion.