Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor are two of the most popular mixed martial artists of all time. While ‘The Eagle’ is regarded by many as the greatest lightweight in history after retiring undefeated, ‘Notorious’ is the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history. There was plenty of tension leading up to their UFC 229 meeting, which took place four years ago today. Nurmagomedov defeated McGregor via a fourth-round submission.
During their matchup, Khabib Nurmagomedov called out Conor McGregor for his trash-talk leading up to the fight, stating:
“We’re talking now. We’re talking. Let’s talk now. Let’s talk. Let’s talk now. Let’s talk.”
After the round, McGregor claimed the trash-talk was ‘only business’. Nurmagomedov responded by saying:
“You tired? Hey! Let’s talk!”
Leading up to the fight, McGregor engaged in plenty of trash-talk, disrespecting Nurmagomedov’s family, country, and religion while also attacking a bus carrying Khabib at UFC 223. Nurmagomedov didn’t engage in much trash-talk prior to the fight; instead, he questioned McGregor’s lack of dialogue inside the octagon.
McGregor labeled the trash-talk as ‘business’, which may have worked, as UFC 229 remains the best-selling pay-per-view event in UFC history. Nurmagomedov clearly viewed things differently, and chaos ensued inside and outside the octagon following the fight.
‘The Eagle’ would infamously jump the fence and attack the Irishman’s teammate Dillon Danis while a brawl broke out inside the octagon. Both Nurmagomedov and McGregor would be suspended and fined for the incident.
Revisit Khabib Nurmagomedov’s octagon trash-talk to Conor McGregor below:
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor were not always on bad terms
While it may seem impossible to believe, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor were not always bitter rivals. Back in 2014, the two legendary fighters showed mutual respect before and after UFC 178.
Leading up to the fight, Nurmagomedov took to Twitter to reply that he wanted a McGregor t-shirt. Conor took note of Khabib’s tweet and responded by appreciating the support.
Nurmagomedov informed McGregor that he was in Las Vegas, asking the former double champ to tell him when he would arrive so he could receive a t-shirt. McGregor replied by offering not just to give him a t-shirt but also to train together.
While it remains unclear if the pair ever ended up training together, they did meet. Following McGregor’s UFC 178 victory, the two UFC legends posed for a picture with McGregor still in his fight gear.