Khabib
"The Eagle"
Nurmagomedov
"The Notorious"
Conor
McGregor
The biggest UFC fight of all time to date. Ireland versus Dagestan. Humble versus Cocky. Two arch enemies who made headlines outside the Octagon, too.
The superfight Khabib vs. McGregor, for you in the CORNER Fight History.
The beginnings - long before the rivalry
Are Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov respectable to each other? Any modern MMA fan would give us the finger at such a statement. But believe it or not, there was respect before what was arguably the fiercest rivalry between two combat athletes ever.
While the Irishman was still fighting in the featherweight division, Khabib had respect for him and the two exchanged their admiration on Twitter before meeting and even taking a picture together.
Ironically, they had a photo after McGregor's victory over Dustin Poirier at UFC 178. That was in September 2014.
At that point, Khabib was 22-0 and had just defeated future lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos. This is the man McGregor was targeting when he became UFC featherweight champion in December 2015, vying to become the UFC's first dual champion. RDA pulled the fight just weeks earlier, and Nate Diaz stepped in. We all know how that shaped 2016.
When Dos Anjos later returned from his injury, he was knocked out in one round by Eddie Alvarez and lost his title. This gave Alvarez the famous "red-panty night" with McGregor, who knocked him out in dominant fashion in two rounds, making history as the first double world champion ever.
Khabib also fought on this historic evening, but in the prelims. The UFC completely ignored the Russian's 24-0 record and gave McGregor a direct shot at the title.
The Eagle was originally scheduled to fight for the title that evening. The UFC withdrew the contract it had sent the Russian for the Alvarez fight when it became clear McGregor might contest the fight.
Khabib was coldly placed on the undercard and was furious about this demotion. Many experts believe that this historic night gave birth to the greatest rivalry in UFC history.
While McGregor was in the global spotlight, the UFC gave Khabib the cold shoulder. Khabib reacted with frustration and challenged McGregor to a fight immediately after his prelim victory.
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"I want to stay humble, but I have to talk, because your guy has talked too much. I understand how crazy PR-UFC machine (is), your guy, at the beginning of the year, he tapped like (a) chicken. End of the year, he fight(s) for the title. Crazy!
Hey, you know, guys. This is true. This is not trash talking. Irish, only six million. Russian, 150 million. I want a fight with your chicken because this is number one easy fight in the lightweight division."
While Khabib was angry, Conor McGregor celebrated the most successful UFC night of his glorious career.
The beginning of the biggest UFC rivalry
It looked as if the two were on a collision course given their records and reputations, but McGregor had other ideas and was on his way to make money from the fight against Floyd Mayweather that would change his life.
McGregor gave up his belt, but Khabib failed to win it after two planned fights with Tony Ferguson fell through.
When McGregor returned to the Octagon nearly two years after his last fight, the bad blood between the two had reached a fever pitch, largely due to McGregor's social media attacks after Khabib canceled a number of fights.
The year 2018 - The bus affair
Then things got out of hand between the two. When Khabib and his team confronted Artem Lobov, a friend and training partner of McGregor's, a gang war broke out.
McGregor's reaction to the altercation was the infamous bus attack at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, during UFC 223 media day. While Khabib was on a bus with other fighters scheduled to compete on the card, McGregor and about 25 Irish colleagues angrily searched the arena for the Russian. When he realized he was on the bus, he hurled a metal cart against the window. The shattered glass injured two fighters and caused them to withdraw from UFC 223.
McGregor was reported and temporarily suspended from the UFC.
Khabib won the lightweight title this weekend by defeating Al Iaquinta.
"October, Las Vegas - It's on Ladies and Gentlemen!"
Wenige Monate später wurde für den 6. Oktober 2018 im Rahmen der UFC 229 Card der Superfight angesetzt.
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Aufgrund einer nie zuvor da gewesenen Spannung zwischen zwei Lagern entschied sich Dana White, die erste Pressekonferenz ohne Publikum abzuhalten, ausschließlich Presseleute und Verantwortliche der UFC waren anwesend. Zwischen Khabib und McGregor herrschte kein vorgetäuschter Show-Business-Beef, es war purer tiefgründiger Hass, von den Zehen bis zu den Haarspitzen.
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Auf der Pressekonferenz vor dem Kampf wurde McGregor gegenüber Khabibs Manager Ali Abdelaziz persönlich und brachte dessen Sohn Noah ins Spiel. Der Umfang der Recherchen, die McGregor angestellt hatte, war erschreckend.
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"
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"F--- peace. There will never be peace here. I always say you should aim for peace, but if you can't aim for peace, aim between the eyes and that's it. I'm going to aim right between that man's eyes. And this is never over. Never, ever, ever over."
However, even the usually calm and collected Khabib wasn't looking to make a fuss this time. For example, when a journalist asked him if there would be a handshake after the fight, he responded with a triple "No way!"
UFC 229 - 06/10/2018
After endless verbal battles – both online and in person – the eagerly awaited battle between "The Notorious" Conor McGregor and Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov finally took place on October 6, 2018.
After two epic walk-ins and (as expected) no handshakes before the fight, the fight began.
The first three rounds were dominated by stand-up combat and Khabib's efforts to ground McGregor. The Irishman managed to defend against takedown attempts for long stretches, but was repeatedly brought to the mat. A particularly memorable exchange at the beginning of Round 2 was when Khabib brought McGregor down with a powerful right, only for him to counter with a flying knee.
In general, it can be said that Khabib dominated the fight for long stretches, although McGregor won one round according to some judges.
The decisive moment came in round 4. Khabib managed to bring the already somewhat battered McGregor down again and, after some time, was able to apply a rear-naked choke. A short time later, McGregor was under so much pressure that he had to give up. Khabib won the superfight.
But when everyone expected it to end, the fight was far from over.
Khabib jumped over the cage and attempted to attack Dillion Danis, a teammate of McGregor who had been verbally attacking Khabib all evening.
McGregor was also attacked by several of Khabib's teammates in the Octagon. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in either case. Security managed to separate the two camps after a major scuffle.
Khabib was the first fighter ever to be denied the belt in the Octagon. He was escorted out of the stadium amid boos and cup throwing.
What remains
So that was it, the biggest UFC pay-per-view event in history to date. McGregor would continue to fight in the UFC to this day. Khabib, on the other hand, defended his title twice more and retired as the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion in 2021 with a 29-0 record.
On the day of his retirement, McGregor posted the very picture that started it all, along with a caption that was typical of McGregor. At the end of the day, you have to be grateful to both of them, because never before has a UFC event been so heated, intense, and charged.
Since this duel can't even begin to fully describe in one article, we've selected a video that recaps the rivalry between the two. Click on the YouTube icon to watch the video.
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