- Khabib Nurmagomedov is already planning a fight against Floyd Mayweather.
- Mayweather recently said "we can make the fight happen."
- Nurmagomedov met with the Russian Boxing Federation to talk plans for the fight - albeit in Russia, rather than Las Vegas.
- Nurmagomedov said on Instagram that he is confident a Mayweather fight in Moscow would attract 100,000 fans to the Luzhniki Stadium.
- He thinks it would also "set a world record for the sale of paid broadcasts."
Khabib Nurmagomedov has discussed a potential fight against Floyd Mayweather with the Russian Boxing Federation, and he says they want to stage the showdown at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
Nurmagomedov has frequently described himself as "the Floyd Mayweather of MMA." They both had unconventional upbringings, were raised in combat sports households, and, of course, have perfect and unblemished fighting records.
Nurmagomedov extended his unbeaten streak when he dispatched of the Irish striker Conor McGregor with a fourth round submission at UFC 229 on October 6, and it was not long before a crossover bout against Mayweather dominated headlines.
Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz said his fighter can do something no opponent has properly done before - knock Mayweather off of his feet and onto the canvas, and Mayweather himself has welcomed discussions. "Oh, we fighting," Mayweather said recently. "We can make it happen."
Now, Nurmagomedov is taking meetings in a bid to make it happen.
"A meeting with the Secretary General of the Russian Boxing Federation Umar Kremlev was held today," Nurmagomedov said in an Instagram post on Tuesday. "We discussed the fight with Mayweather."
Nurmagomedov's stock around the world of combat sports has never been higher. Since submitting McGregor, Nurmagomedov received a hero's welcome upon his return to Dagestan and is now being talked about as a legitimate opponent to one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Mayweather has been involved in 10 of the top 54 best-selling pay-per-view fights in the history of combat sports, and has fought exclusively in Las Vegas since 2006.
Photo by John Gichigi/Getty Images
Mayweather has been a staple of big Las Vegas events for well over a decade.
But Nurmagomedov and Kremlev want to bring a Mayweather fight to Russia - specifically, to the 80,000-capacity Luzhniki Stadium, which has hosted over 100,000 fans before when the former Soviet Union played an international soccer match against Italy in 1963.
"We want the fight to take place in Moscow at the legendary Luzhniki arena," Nurmagomedov said. "They are sure that we will gather 100,000 spectators, and also set a world record for the sale of paid broadcasts."
Most important for Nurmagomedov is that his father will be able to coach him from the corner, something he was prevented from doing at UFC 229 as he was not granted a US visa to travel to Las Vegas.
See Nurmagomedov's post in full right here:
The fight is far from confirmed, however.
Nurmagomedov has no intention of returning to Las Vegas, as the Nevada Athletic Commission has withheld the $2 million he was due to receive for fighting McGregor while it investigates the role he played in the post-fight brawls that erupted in and out of the UFC octagon after his victory.
In an Instagram post last week, Nurmagomedov told Mayweather he would not fight in Vegas as "they won't pay me money."
If Mayweather does not want to leave Las Vegas, negotiations - if discussions have even progressed that far - would be deadlocked.