Mayweather vs. Khabib: Nurmagomedov's Betting Odds In Boxing Match

Even if a boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Khabib Nurmagomedov will never happen, the UFC lightweight champion can take solace from the fact that he has opened with better odds than Conor McGregor.

Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor via submission in the fourth round at UFC 229 earlier this month to retain his lightweight title. With all the attention that was on a card that drew a reported record 2.4 million pay-per-view buys as well as the post-fight brawl, the Dagestan native has become somewhat of an overnight star.

Being popular in the mainstream is a requirement if one wants a money fight with Mayweather and Nurmagomedov seems to acknowledge that, as he recently challenged the former five-weight champion to a boxing match, albeit jokingly.

“Hey, let’s go, Floyd. We have to fight now,” Nurmagomedov said. “50-0 vs. 27-0. Two guys never lose. Let’s go. Why not? Because in the jungle only one king. Only one king. Of course, I am the king because he cannot drop McGregor, but I drop him easily.”

Mayweather responded Monday telling the likes of CBS, Showtime and the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas to get the checkbook ready.

Mayweather is not one to shy away from getting his name on the headlines and that is exactly what he may be doing by responding.

However, many felt him vs. McGregor would never happen either until it did in August last year, when he defeated the Irishman via knockout in the 10th round.

Many argued it was a sham of a fight, especially as McGregor had no professional boxing experience whatsoever, but some also felt given his striking credentials in the UFC, if anybody could cause the biggest upset of all time, it would be McGregor.

The storyline leading up to the McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov fight meanwhile, was that the latter had poor striking and would lose if the fight wasn't kept on the ground. However, Nurmagomedov actually became the first fighter to drop McGregor during the fight.

And after his performance against the former champion, Nurmagomedov is now a +900 underdog against Mayweather in a boxing match, with the latter understandably being a -2000 favorite, according to sportsbook Bovada.

That means Nurmagomedov actually opened with better odds than McGregor to defeat Mayweather, according to Odds Shark, who states that "Money" opened as the -2250 favorite against the +950 Crumlin native back in November 2016.

Of course, these are the opening odds only and can change as a fight approaches with Mayweather dropping to -400 on the day of the fight against McGregor who was +300.

However, it's still interesting to see "The Eagle" opening with better odds than McGregor in a boxing match.

Regardless, Nurmagomedov's teammate UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier thinks he's crazy if he's serious about it.

“Khabib better not try to box him. Khabib better not try to box Floyd Mayweather. What is he doing, man?’ Cormier said on "Ariel Helwani's MMA Show" on ESPN recently. “Unless he’s just going to go do it for money, because he is going to get beat."

"I love Khabib man but he is going to get beat up by Floyd Mayweather. He’s crazy. He is going to start wrestling. Khabib is going to start wrestling in the boxing ring. He’s going to get beat so bad he is going to start wrestling," he added.