Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor face off before UFC 229 bout. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
Conor McGregor fought Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in one of the most heated matches in UFC history
Conor McGregor has had numerous rivals during the course of his career. And once he began coming up as the next big thing, the quality of the rivals improved.
The first big test was Dustin Poirier. However, McGregor made light work of him at UFC 178, defeating him via. knockout in the first round.
Then came featherweight champion (2015) Jose Aldo. All McGregor needed was 13 seconds to stop the Brazilian.
Then it was Nate Diaz. ‘The Stockton Slugger’ would go on to become one of McGregor’s greatest ever rivals.
However, all the on-court trash talk, antics never overflowed outside the Octagon in any of these rivalries.
And, that is exactly why McGregor’s rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov is considered to be one of the nastiest rivalries in the sport. There was real off-court violence in this rivalry. And despite, Khabib winning the fight fair and square, McGregor is still never all that impressed with the Russian.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport, McGregor was asked about his thoughts on Khabib. ‘The Notorious’ replied that Khabib ‘has done nothing in the sport’, basically calling him a stat-padder.
McGregor was quoted as saying:
“I don’t really give a f*ck about that guy, to be honest with you. I mean, he ran, he’s gone…He didn’t do f*ck all in the sport, in my opinion. Three wins on the trot, before that he was poor…He had a little run and then showed his true character. It’s not like I wasn’t surprised, he scooted away like the little rat that he is…I’m not even concerned.”
McGregor then spoke about his ambitions of becoming the lightweight champion, once he is done with Poirier.
When asked for his thoughts about the newly-crowned lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, McGregor said:
“It’s Oliveira next. We’ll dance with the Brazilians again… He’s timid.”
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