'He can turn right around and fight Khabib': Dana White confirms Conor McGregor on standby to fight Nurmagomedov at UFC 249

UFC president Dana White says that Conor McGregor is waiting in the wings to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov should calamity once again strike ahead of the Russian champion's April matchup with top ranked lightweight Tony Ferguson.

Nurmagomedov and Ferguson are scheduled to compete in April in what is the fifth time that UFC brass have attempted to pair the two fighters, but with each previous fight falling apart before they could make the walk to the cage it seems as though the UFC have arranged a very significant insurance policy in Conor McGregor.

The Irishman, who is set to face Donald Cerrone in his UFC comeback in a matter of weeks, has refused to cede ground in his rivalry with Khabib and has repeatedly stated his desire for a rematch following the fourth-round submission defeat he sustained in October 2018 - and if the Khabib-Ferguson curse strikes once again, White says McGregor is ready to pick up up the pieces.

"Conor wants to fight three times this year," White said as part of a sprawling interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto.

"He's hoping that if he beats Cowboy, he can turn right around and fight Khabib, but that timing and math isn't going to work out. But you know Conor. Conor thinks the way Conor thinks."

The timing White is referring to is the festival of Ramadan, which is observed by Nurmagomedov, and will mean that he will not be ready to compete until sometime after it ends on May 23. 

However, White admits that McGregor may not have to wait that long should one half of the main event drop out of the seemingly cursed Khabib-Ferguson fight once again.

"His thing is, I'll fight Cowboy, I'll beat Cowboy, and I'll be ready to fight Khabib at 155 if anything happens, because we're going into Khabib-Tony again," White said.

"So Conor would be ready for that fight."