Conor McGregor's Next Fight Won't Be Against Khabib Nurmagomedov for One Big Reason

Conor McGregor announced emphatically that he was back in the saddle at UFC 246, pulverizing Donald Cerrone before the man could even land a proper strike in a dominant win.

Naturally, fans of both the polarizing Irishman and Russian superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov are clamoring for a rematch between the two for the UFC lightweight title. Dana White himself wasted no time pumping up this fight as the one to make. But it must be said that some very real religious restrictions stand in the way of this bout being the next one on tap for Conor's 2020 "season."

Khabib is a practicing Muslim, and the month of Ramadan on the Islamic calendar lasts from April 23 to May 23 this year. During Ramadam, Muslims must fast between sunrise to sunset. This period of fasting should force Khabib to take longer to get back into fighting shape after his fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on April 18.

If Khabib wins and McGregor then has to wait for him to get back to his peak physical form, which is likely to take until the fall, he needs to book himself another fight -- ideally one that headlines a huge summertime card. With that in mind, a welterweight mega-showdown against Jorge Masvidal which would be nothing short of PPV gold, and would almost certainly be the biggest fight spectacle the UFC could organize this year.

Khabib's adherence to his faith will prevent a McGregor rematch from happening in the immediate future, but the opportunity it presents in terms of Conor taking one or two more big fights before these two get back in the Octagon is a tantalizing one.