Khabib Nurmagomedov stopped Conor McGregor at the fourth round when the duo fought back in 2018. A neck crank submission forced the Notorious to submit. It was a dominant showing by the Russian from start to finish in what was his first title defense.
While some might argue McGregor’s performance was cagey after a long absence from the Octagon, ‘The Eagle’ once again proved why he is one of the best fighters to grace the UFC Octagon. One thing that caught most fans’ attention was the fact that McGregor supposedly told Nurmagomedov ‘it’s only business’ after the third round of the contest.
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In a video that surfaced back in 2019, the undefeated Russian explained how the contest played out. He also confirmed the rumors that McGregor actually said him those exact words.
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Nurmagomedov landed a massive right hand right on McGregor’s chin and became the first fighter to score a knockdown against the Irishman in the process.
“I am looking for punishment first of all. I want to make him tired. It’s very good when he tapped. It’s meant a lot for me when he tapped,” said Nurmagomedov.
Khabib Nurmagomedov looks back at his fight against Conor McGregor
“Please, he asked me to finish the fight. This is much better than knockout. If you knock him out, like if I knocked him out in the second round, you go down, but people gonna talk about it. Oh, it’s luck, you know,” he added.
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“But what about you smash him all 4 rounds and he taps? It’s finished there, no more. I don’t think he ever wants to compete with me. Because he feel everything. He felt mental, he felt my control, my striking and all that, and he tapped too,” said ‘The Eagle’ further.
“He tried to talk with me about it’s only business, you know, this meant for me. Please calm down, don’t smash me, don’t smash me. It’s only business, you know. He tried to get me to relax,” he continued.
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“We already finish 3 round fight and then he beginning, tried to talk about this only business, it just showed his weakness,” the Russian concluded.
While fans wanted to see the duo run it back, the chances of that ever happening are close to impossible. Nurmagomedov is currently retired from the UFC and McGregor is not the fighter that he once used to be. Nevertheless, this will always be marked as the Russian’s biggest win inside the Octagon.