Khabib Nurmagomedov was one of many coldest, most calculating fighters at any time when he was competing within the UFC, however the buildup to his showdown towards Conor McGregor had him prepared for blood.
The extraordinary rivalry between the lightweights culminated at UFC 229 in 2018 when Nurmagomedov dominated the vast majority of the combat earlier than submitting McGregor with a rear-naked choke/neck crank within the fourth spherical. Even main as much as the combat, Nurmagomedov was seething with anger and simply ready for the prospect to get his arms on McGregor after months of ugly trash discuss that included insults aimed toward him and his household.
It seems, Nurmagomedov even had a message for UFC CEO Dana White simply earlier than the motion began.
“It was like we simply signed the contract, and it was like I prayed to God, simply shut the cage and me and him be alone,” Nurmagomedov revealed on the Encourage Me podcast. “That is what I actually, actually needed at the moment. Since you by no means know, somebody can get injured, one thing can occur. You by no means know. I used to be making ready for this combat and I used to be ready for this second. I used to be very comfortable.
“I keep in mind once I come contained in the cage, when the cage closed, I keep in mind I checked out Dana [White] and I mentioned ‘right this moment, you can’t defend him.’ Dana requested me what? I mentioned right this moment, you can’t defend him. He didn’t hear me, it’s OK after the combat [we’ll] discuss.”
Nurmagomedov in the end made his dream come true after he practically scored a knockout towards McGregor on the ft earlier than finally locking within the combat ending submission within the fourth spherical. McGregor famously informed him afterwards that it was simply enterprise however Nurmagomedov clearly felt it was way more private.
In reality, Nurmagomedov barely had time to have fun earlier than he leapt out of the cage to go after McGregor’s coaches and teammates, who additionally obtained concerned within the trash discuss main as much as the combat. The brawl erupted within the T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas with safety and police swarming the scene to interrupt up the melee earlier than issues ended up spilling into the group.
That is the angle everybody must see #UFC229
31s Khabib jumps over cage37s Conor tries to leap over cage, however 2 safety seize him38s Khabib nook man runs round cage39s Khabib nook man jumps cage (w/ wig)41s Conor punches him on prime of cage42s Khabib man punches again pic.twitter.com/mWRfZhcjcg
— Tim (@TimDdnb) October 7, 2018
Trying again now, Nurmagomedov says he simply had some unfinished enterprise he needed to settle when choking out McGregor simply didn’t appear to be it was sufficient.
“It was a really emotional time, however on the similar time, it was my feeling — I actually needed to chew somebody’s coronary heart,” Nurmagomedov mentioned. “Do you’ve got that feeling in your life? I simply tried to chew his coronary heart.
“Perhaps you’ll be able to really feel this. I’m ‘The Eagle,’ and when the eagle is hungry, it’s not good. He has to hunt. That’s why.”
The post-fight brawl clearly didn’t make White very comfortable however Nurmagomedov felt just like the UFC needed to know that risky state of affairs was only a powder keg ready to blow up.
The UFC used each incident between Nurmagomedov and McGregor to construct up the combat so the undefeated Russian was simply following by way of on the guarantees he made when it got here to his disdain in the direction of the previous two-division champion.
“When the promotion promotes this combat, they should count on one thing,” Nurmagomedov mentioned. “After they know me, once they know all my crew, once they know we don’t play. We compete, we don’t play. You can’t play MMA. You’ll be able to play soccer. You’ll be able to play American soccer, you’ll be able to play hockey. However you can’t play MMA. It’s a must to combat. It is a combating recreation.
“Lots of people mentioned it was a really unusual or bizarre or one thing like this but it surely was my resolution.”
Following that combat towards McGregor in 2018, Nurmagomedov in the end solely fought twice extra earlier than calling it a profession in 2020 after promising his mom that he would dangle up his gloves for good.
After all that hasn’t stopped McGregor from continually jabbing at Nurmagomedov by way of interviews or social media as he repeatedly tries to goad his former opponent right into a comeback.
The unlucky information for McGregor is that his trash discuss is seemingly falling on deaf ears now as a result of Nurmagomedov doesn’t take note of any of it.
“I really feel like what occurred in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” Nurmagomedov joked when addressing his rivalry with McGregor. “I simply don’t take into consideration this.
“It was so many moments in my life occurred for a motive. It was not my plan. This occurred, it occurred. I simply don’t take into consideration this. Lots of people remind me about this example, however my thoughts is totally different in different methods.”
