Referee Herb Dean separates Khabib Nurmagomedov of Russia from Conor McGregor of Ireland after McGregor tapped out in their UFC lightweight championship bout during the UFC 229 event inside T-Mobile Arena on October 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Khabib Nurmagomedov took Conor McGregor to deep waters at UFC 229, and things would have been even worse had referee Herb Dean not intervened
Arguably, the most heated rivalry of all time was settled at UFC 229. The rivalry between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov which boiled off the court as well, played out in Khabib’s favour.
‘The Eagle’ submitted McGregor in the fourth round of the fight to successfully defend his lightweight title.
However, there was more to the fight, as Khabib held on to his neck crank (even after McGregor tapped) until referee Herb Dean intervened and had the Russian’s hand removed. Such was the heat between Khabib and McGregor.
In a recent interview with RT Sport (at Gorilla Fighting Championship Media Day), Khabib explained what would have happened if referee Herb Dean had not stopped him. The Dagestani coldly stated that “a person can die from a grip like that.”
He was quoted as saying:
“You saw what happened on October 6th. Remove Herb Dean and you will understand what would’ve happened. A person can die from a grip like that. If you want to, I can choke you behind the curtain and you’ll see what would’ve happened. When a person strangles you and has been doing this for 30 years, this is a cold weapon… Dean removed my hands, he removed my grip.” [via RT Sport YouTube]
After Herb Dean stopped the fight, a nasty post-fight brawl followed. It is considered to be the nastiest and the most unsportsmanlike moment in UFC history.
In the same interview, Khabib also talked about McGregor’s recent dip in form.
Referring to his quick finish of Donald Cerrone at UFC 246, Khabib said McGregor looks like a scared chicken in front of stronger opponents.
“When Conor fought Cowboy, he looked like a lion. When he fights stronger opponents he looks like a scared chicken.”
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