The result is in for UFC 229, and Khabib Nurmagomedov has defeated Conor McGregor by submission in the fourth round.
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Right after the fight though, Khabib leaped out of the cage and attacked a member of McGregor’s camp, while someone from Khabib’s group attacked McGregor in the cage.
McGregor entered the fight with a 21-3 record and hadn’t stepped inside a UFC Octagon since November 2016 at UFC 205, where he initially won the UFC Lightweight Championship by defeating Eddie Alvarez. He then took a hiatus from mixed martial arts to promote and compete in a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, which he lost. By April the UFC had no choice but to strip McGregor of both the UFC Lightweight and Featherweight Championships due to inactivity, allowing Nurmagomedov to capture the title at UFC 223.
Even though his opponent was 26-0 entering the evening, McGregor was confident at a press conference on Thursday that he would defeat the Russian champion in quick fashion.
“It’s all good to me,” McGregor said. “Khabib was saying stuff but I don’t care. He didn’t have the balls to stay here a couple of minutes late. And he will look for an exit in the fight, too. I’m here for the fans. For the atmosphere. But you know the one thing better than money? More money. I’m only 30 so I’m a young fighter compared to the rest in the game. I’m here for a good while yet.”
The two nearly came to blows on Friday during the official weigh-ins, but were separated by their respective fight teams and UFC President Dana White.
“It’s good to be back,” McGregor said to the crowd in attendance. “UFC fans, it’s good to be f—ing back. The king is home.”
Nurmagomedov was much more intense in his comments.
“”Tomorrow night, I’m going to smash your boy, guys,” he said at the weigh-in. “I’m going to smash your boy.”
McGregor also appeared on Conan this week to promote the fight, and admitted that he was stepping into the Octagon against a skilled wrestler.
“The kid wrestled bears when he was a baby, it’s part of their culture. So I am under no illusion that he is a skilled wrestler,” McGregor said. “Fighting, in the whole picture, there is many more facets to fighting than just one single discipline. Thankfully now I am not locked in to one specific rule set, similar to my last match. I am free to fight as I please so that’s what I’ll do. I have many, many weapons to dismantle all styles of opponent, and this is just another style of opponent.”
“I believe he is slow, flat-footed, his striking is very average and I look to expose that on Saturday night,” he continued.
