Khabib Nurmagomedov doesn’t like to give his biggest career fight too much thought in 2024.
The Nurmagomedov-Conor McGregor rivalry was — and from McGregor’s side still is — the most volatile in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. Unfortunately for “The Notorious,” it was a rough night in and out of the office.
Nurmagomedov successfully made his first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight title defense at UFC 229 against McGregor in October 2018. However, the fourth round neck crank was only the beginning of the real madness as a chaotic brawl broke out between the teams afterward when Nurmagomedov attacked the Irishman’s corner.
“It was a very emotional time, but at the same time, it was my feeling — I really wanted to bite someone’s heart,” Nurmagomedov said on the Inspire Me podcast (h/t MMA Fighting). “Do you have that feeling in your life? I just tried to bite his heart.
“Maybe you can feel this,” he concluded. “I am ‘The Eagle,’ and when the eagle is hungry, it’s not good. He has to hunt. That’s why.”
The end of UFC 229 was where things left off in Nurmagomedov’s book. McGregor has thrown several verbal jabs back at the Russian since to no response. While the commission and promotion didn’t enjoy the chaos that ensued, Nurmagomedov knew it was a possibility from the start.
“When the promotion promotes this fight, they have to expect something,” Nurmagomedov said. “When they know me, when they know all my team, when they know we don’t play. We compete, we don’t play. You cannot play MMA. You can play soccer. You can play American football, you can play hockey. But you cannot play MMA. You have to fight. This is a fighting game.
“A lot of people said it was a very strange or weird or something like this, but it was my decision,” he concluded.