Khabib Nurmagomedov admits he made one ‘mistake’ during his fight against Conor McGregor in 2018.
Seeing how it all went down, you can say that Khabib Nurmagomedov had a near-flawless performance against Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in 2018. Save for that third stanza when he slowed down and arguably dropped the round, “The Eagle” led the dance for the most part until the fourth round finish.
But according to the undefeated champion, he made one uncharacteristic mistake during that fight. He spoke to UFC veteran Din Thomas about it during the most recent episode of Dana White’s Lookin’ For a Fight YouTube series.
Good guy @TeamKhabib reveals the one mistake he made during his fight against @TheNotoriousMMA #UFC257 pic.twitter.com/NhsiR3xrp6
— Caveman DNA (@ShoyoJack) January 23, 2021
“I don’t like to give people damage. Just finish them, make them sleep.
“I tried to hurt this guy,” Khabib said, referring to McGregor. “And it was my mistake. When you become angry, you’re tired. When I try to give him, like, punish… it was very emotional.
“Then, I think, ‘OK, no, no, no. I’m gonna become calm now.’”
The heat behind a Khabib-McGregor matchup remains to be at an all-time high. UFC president Dana White, for one, isn’t willing to let it go, just yet.
For now, McGregor will need to take care of his upcoming task for Saturday, when he headlines UFC 257 against Dustin Poirier. The event takes place at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.