At UFC 229 Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor main evented the highest-grossing pay-per-view in the promotion’s history.
That night, the T-Mobile Arena hosted the highly anticipated lightweight championship fight between the undefeated and reigning king of the division and the outspoken Irishman.
Unfortunately, the fight was shrouded by its dark and deeply personal build-up that left a stain on a potentially classic rivalry. As a result, ‘The Eagle’ has often avoided discussing the bout. While speaking with Daniel Cormier on his ESPN show ‘DC and RC’ ahead of his UFC Hall of Fame induction at the promotion’s International Fight Week event, Nurmagomedov discussed that night and why he avoids talking about it despite recognizing it as one of his career’s best moments.
“People wanted to talk about something like when they want to promote this. Like this fight become like bigger than, bigger than our sport, bigger than… Like all the time talking about this, I don’t like to be honest. But this is like one of the best moment ever happened in my professional career. 2018 October 6… I remember every day, almost everything, almost and it’s like people, people never talk about one thing. People never talk about when I jump, with me jumped all the sport.”
Madness Ensues Following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Submission Victory
Following his fourth-round submission of McGregor, ‘The Eagle’ had words with McGregor’s corner, prompting him to jump out of the cage and initiate a brawl with his opponent’s corner. Inside the cage, hell continued to break loose as McGregor began brawling with Nurmagomedov’s team. As a result, Nurmagomedov was suspended for nine months while ‘The Notorious’ was dealt a six-month suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Nurmagomedov would successfully defend his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje before calling it a career, retiring with a record of 29-0. McGregor is still active but has not competed since July 2021 when he suffered a broken leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. Since facing Nurmagomedov, McGregor is 1-3 in his last four outings inside the Octagon.