Khabib sees McGregor-Poirier winner on title track

pix: ufc instagram

Khabib Nurmagomedov believes the winner of the UFC 257 main event between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier on Jan. 23 will fight for the UFC lightweight belt. He did not, however, name an opponent for that potential title fight. 

Nurmagomedov remains the lightweight champ despite retiring after beating Justin Gaethje on Oct. 24. He was asked during a Monday interview with the Russian outlet Match TV if there's a chance he'll fight again in the UFC, and according to the transcript Match provided, he said: "I would not want that."

Some originally thought Nurmagomedov was indicating McGregor vs. Poirier would be for the title, assuming it was vacant. But Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, clarified that what the champ meant was he believes the winner of the Jan. 23 bout will fight for the title. 

pix: espn

Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon for the first time in a year in the UFC 257 main event. The former two-division UFC champ will take on Dustin Poirier in a fight that could possibly decide the next lightweight title challenger. 

The bout also is a rematch from their meeting at UFC 178 in September 2014, a first-round TKO victory for McGregor. McGregor went on to become the biggest star in UFC history, establishing himself as the first UFC fighter ever to hold two belts simultaneously.

Poirier has won 10 fights since then, beating some of the best in the UFC, including Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway and Dan Hooker.