“He has only one chance. A lucky punch. He has only a left-hand. That’s it.”
Conor McGregor might be the No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world and the most feared knockout artist in the lightweight and featherweight divisions, but Khabib Nurmagomedov believes the Irishman’s only chance in their upcoming title bout at UFC 229 is to land a ‘lucky punch’.
The undefeated Dagestani dismissed McGregor’s chances of winning in a recent UFC video promo. Check it out below.
“He has only one chance. A lucky punch. He has only a left-hand. That’s it.” @TeamKhabib #UFC229 pic.twitter.com/yA1HDe1cbK
— UFC (@ufc) August 18, 2018
After promoting his lightweight title defense vs. McGregor as ‘the biggest fight in UFC history’, Khabib said it is his dream to ‘smash’ ‘The Notorious’ and make him quit.
“My dream is to smash this guy,” Nurmagomedov continued. “My dream is to make this guy chicken inside the cage.”
Nurmagomedov has broken many of his opponents inside the cage with his overwhelming grappling and ground and pound, and was even heard telling former lightweight contender Michael Johnson to quit while pummeling him against the fence.
McGregor, however, is a different kettle of fish. While the former lightweight and featherweight champion has struggled with grapplers in the past, losing to Nate Diaz via submission at UFC 196, the SBG Ireland product has a striking arsenal unlike anything Khabib has ever seen before. McGregor’s precision, timing, and footwork could pose all kinds of problems for Nurmagomedov as the current champ looks to advance and secure the takedown.
All questions will be answered at UFC 229, which takes place on October 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.