DANA WHITE tried to tempt Khabib Nurmagomedov out of retirement by claiming that Conor McGregor's bout with Dustin Poirier is set to break the PPV record.
Off the back of that claim, the UFC chief asked 'Imagine what you and Conor would do in another f***ing fight.'
The conversation was caught on camera during the latest episode of the UFC series, Lookin' For a Fight.
White told Khabib: “This fight with Poirier is trending bigger than the fight with you and Conor on pay-per-view.
“Imagine what you and Conor would do in another f***ing fight. Just saying. I’m just saying!"
The audacious claim is hard to believe given how Poirier is nowhere near as big of a star as the Russian Sambo master.
DOESN'T ADD UP
For example, the Louisiana native has 2 million followers on Instagram while Khabib boasts almost 27 million.
McGregor and his 38.6 million-strong following is of course the star attraction but it's hard to imagine even his starpower could drag UFC 257 above his 2018 grudge match with Khabib.
That event shattered the previous record for pay-per-views buys with 2.4 million.
For context, no other UFC event has ever surpassed the 2 million mark.
Number two on the all-time list is McGregor's rematch with Nate Diaz which garnered around 1.6 million buys.
STILL THE STAR
McGregor's last outing, however, did show that he remains a major star as it generated 1.35m.
This was despite him facing an opponent who was widely considered to be outmatched in Donald Cerrone, although he is a respected veteran of the sport.
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Elsewhere in the episode Khabib, who still has not been stripped of the Lightweight title, gave his prediction for tonight.
He said: "Just two rounds – Conor. Early, it's Conor. But, third round, number four, I think Dustin can beat this guy."
You can keep up to date with the night's action as it unfolds right here on our live blog.
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