NOTORIOUSLY BAD
McGregor’s boasts fell flat as he tapped out to Russian before the title fight turned into a shameful circus
CONOR McGREGOR had insisted his bitter rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov would “never, ever be over.”
But, as McGregor lay slumped against the cage a beaten man in the early hours of yesterday morning, his words had never seemed so hollow.
Nurmagomedov had claimed their fight had become personal following relentless verbal attacks. And as quickly as McGregor had tapped out, the feud was reignited as his Russian opponent finally snapped.
Two years of bad blood came to a head in as many minutes as the 30-year-old attacked McGregor’s team-mate Dillon Danis.
Taunts about his father, his “terrorist” manager, and his Dagestan roots had pushed him beyond the brink.
McGregor himself was then struck from behind by Nurmagomedov’s countryman Zubaira Tukhugov before the Octagon in Las Vegas was commandeered by police and security staff.
In an instant, Nurmagomedov had ensured his career-best performance would be little more than a footnote of this dark Sin City night. Until then, it was he who had delivered on his prefight promise.
“I think I’m going to make him tired and afterwards play with him,” he had predicted. “Because when he’s tired he gives up.”
An exhausted McGregor, nicknamed Notorious, raised the white flag after being wrestled to the canvas in the fourth round. Nurmagomedov locked him in a rear-naked choke and his challenger submitted – just as he did against Nate Diaz.
He had made the Dubliner’s forecast of a first-round knockout appear foolish and any talk of a rematch obsolete.
But the ensuing shameful scenes add another chapter to this torrid tale. When McGregor attacked a bus carrying fighters in New York in April, UFC president Dana White called the incident “disgusting.”
Within weeks the footage was used to hype Saturday night’s fight as the biggest in the sport’s history. And while White again talked tough in the aftermath, he refused to commit to stripping Nurmagomedov of his title.
Even the champion’s apology did little to suggest he was ready to turn the page.
“I don’t understand how people can talk about me jumping over the cage when he (McGregor) talks about my religion, he talks about my country, he talks about my father,” he said.
“And in Brooklyn he broke the bus and almost killed a couple of people.
“Why are people talking about me jumping over the cage? I don’t understand.
“You cannot talk about religion, you cannot talk about nations, you cannot talk about this stuff.”
McGregor, who left the arena immediately after being escorted backstage, tweeted simply: “Good knock. Looking forward to the rematch.”