Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed Conor McGregor was begging for mercy before he got the submission win in their lightweight title fight at UFC 229.
In October 2018, the lightweight rivals headlined the UFC 229 fight card at the T-mobile Arena in Las Vegas as ‘The Notorious’ came back from a long hiatus.
It was McGregor’s first MMA bout since November 2016, when he defeated Eddie Alvarez via TKO to become one of the four two-weight champions in UFC history.
But the Irish star’s much-awaited return did not go as planned as he would suffer a fourth-round submission loss to the Dagestani – his second straight defeat in two years following a tenth-round stoppage in a boxing clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Khabib submits Conor McGregor to retain lightweight title. #UFC229 https://t.co/tCZtZtJjDw pic.twitter.com/IiwG1iRwrj
— theScore (@theScore) October 7, 2018
Things Changed
17 months later, ‘The Notorious’ claimed he was not in full fighting shape when he fought Khabib as he did not train properly ahead of UFC 229.
“I will admit that the fight before UFC 246, I did not train properly and was not in perfect condition,” McGregor told Bleacher Report.
“Call it what you want. I am hungry today. Hungry like a man who has not eaten for weeks. … When I set my mind to something, there is nothing I can not accomplish. It is that power of belief that makes up the winners.”
“I will simply say I was not fully prepared. It proves that anything can happen in the fight game. You can trust that I will not make the same mistakes next time.”
“I came out well, and in an instant, things changed. It’s as simple as that.”
Conor McGregor: His Thoughts On His Loss To Khabib: https://t.co/K2zKxnmmTO pic.twitter.com/EWRaOL7Q75
— FightPost (@UFC21) October 23, 2018
New Detail
McGregor has bounced back from the disappointing loss as he eked out a stunning 40-second knockout of Donald Cerrone last January.
For his next fight, McGregor is likely to earn another shot at the lightweight gold as the UFC wants to book him against Khabib for their rematch.
“I am very passionate and eager to please the fans and win for them and my family. I am willing to fight anyone and have proved that time and time again. I look for a good scrap, and if it isn’t going to be that, I have no interest,” Conor said.
However, the Russian fighter believes McGregor doesn’t want to share the cage with him for a second time after the former two-weight champion begged for his life at UFC 229.
Khabib revealed McGregor told him “Let me go, please” while he was locked in a neck crank.
“Honestly, I don’t think he wants that fight. How is that so? I beat him up for four rounds,” Khabib said.
“I beat him and choked him and he tapped. It was a sign he didn’t want to be there, ‘Let me go, please,’ and all that. And now he wants the rematch.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov on a rematch with Conor McGregor:
"We'll see. He didn't deserve this. Rematch for what?
"Before the last fight, he talked too, but when we got inside the cage, he didn't do nothing." pic.twitter.com/HqdxdP1SVu
— bet365 (@bet365) January 17, 2019
(Featured Image Source: YouTube/ UFC and Instagram/ Khabib Nurmagomedov)