Champ has no time for challenger’s tardiness
LAS VEGAS — Khabib Nurmagomedov arrived promptly at 3 p.m. Thursday for a scheduled press conference for UFC 229 at the Park MGM Theater. But when Conor McGregor arrived 26 minutes later, Nurmagomedov was gone, saying he wasn’t going to wait around for the tardy Irishman.
“I’m not going to wait,” Nurmagomedov said as soon as he took his seat on the dais. “Everybody is here. If you have questions, let’s go.”
Nurmagomedov answered a few questions, mostly about whether it was annoying McGregor wasn’t on time for the final press conference to promote Saturday’s showdown for the UFC Lightweight Championship at T-Mobile Arena. Nurmagomedov said he was on a schedule and had to begin the final part of his weight cut in preparation for Friday’s weigh-in.
“I have a schedule,” Nurmagomedov said. “If somebody is late that’s his problem. Thursday is my weight-cut day. I have to focus on my weight cut.”
Nurmagomedov (26-0) stayed for about 15 minutes, but didn’t leave before saying the fight means more to him than just defending the title he won in April at Barclays Center.
“It’s more than fighting for the titles,” he said. “For me, it’s personal.”
McGregor, known to be notoriously late for such gatherings, blamed his late arrival on traffic.
“These things happen,” he said. “I did not plan on this. I’m only a couple of minutes late.”
The public was admitted free to the event, and most of the crowd of about 2,000 was for McGregor, who suggested Nurmagomedov might have been intimidated by the surroundings.
“He doesn’t want to be around me. He doesn’t want to be around these people,” McGregor said. “Get him in the sauna and cook him like the little rat he is.”
If both make the lightweight limit of 155 pounds on Friday, the two will come together face-to-face one last time before Saturday’s much anticipated pay-per-view bout.
“I plan on knocking that man’s nose into the nosebleed seats,” said McGregor, who enters the Octagon for the first time in two years. “I’m filled with energy to see my people come here and support me. It’s good to be back.”