Conor wasn’t better fighter before brawl

LAS VEGAS — Khabib Nurmagomedov fought the perfect fight. Too bad it was overshadowed by his antics after it was over.

The fight after the fight will be talked about for weeks and months, but Nurmagomedov’s performance deserves more attention than it will get. He said he was going to use his wrestling and pressure to wear down McGregor then finish him with a submission. He did just that, winning by rear naked choke in the fourth round of their pay-per-view bout Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

McGregor had taunted Nurmagomedov throughout the promotion for having “a glass jaw” and promised to “shatter it.” Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov admitted he would have to be cautious initially before taking McGregor to the ground and mauling him.

The sellout crowd anticipated an explosive beginning, and they weren’t disappointed. Nurmagomedov, who improved to 27-0, went for a takedown 14 seconds into the fight and had McGregor backed against the cage. The action stayed on the ground the remainder of the first round as Nurmagomedov kept McGregor on the defensive.

The second round began in explosive fashion with Nurmagomedov landing a vicious right hand that staggered McGregor, who was supposed to be the bigger puncher. Nurmagomedov launched in and soon had McGregor on his back again, mauling him with is strength and power. At one point, Nurmagomedov began landing a series of unanswered blows as McGregor seemed on the brink of defeat.

McGregor survived the second round and had his best moments in the third round, when he went toe-to-toe with Nurmagomedov, who was willing to trade punches in the center of the Octagon.

By the fourth round, McGregor was all but finished. He was breathing heavily and had no answers for Nurmagomedov’s ground game and eventually gave up his back.

McGregor looked rusty. The Irishman was fighting in the octagon for the first time since November 2016 at UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden, where he stopped Eddie Alvarez to add the same lightweight title to his featherweight championship and become the first UFC fighter to hold belts simultaneously in two divisions.

He initially took a break for the birth of his first child then challenged Floyd Mayweather Jr. to a boxing match last August. That event earned him an estimated $100 million, and there was a question whether McGregor would ever return to the UFC.

But saying he was returning to the UFC “for the love of fighting and the love of war,” McGregor signed a six-fight deal with the UFC starting at the top with Nurmagomedov, unbeaten in his previous 26 fights and considered one of the best mixed martial artists of his era.

It proved to be too much too soon.