[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] may have lost the first battle against [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag], but the former UFC champion thinks the war is far from over.
In his first interview since his UFC 246 comeback was made official, McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) told TheMacLife.com he thinks Nurmagomedov is scared of a potential rematch.
“(Nurmagomedov) is trembling,” McGregor said. “That man is trembling. He doesn’t want it. He doesn’t want it. You get it. He’s trying not to lose it again … I just smell (expletive). That’s all it is. He’s afraid, and that’s it. Everyone wants it. The boss wants it – Dana (White) wants it. We all want it. He can run, but he cannot hide. I look forward to it.”
The two fighters squared off in October 2018 at UFC 229, where Nurmagomedov (28-0 MMA, 12-0 UFC) submitted McGregor in the fourth round. The finish was quickly put on the back burner when Nurmagomedov jumped into the crowd and initiated a post-fight melee with McGregor’s corner.
Up until the finish, McGregor thinks he was winning the majority of the fight. The Irishman pointed to a statistical advantage in the striking department and said Nurmagomedov hadn’t done much with his takedowns prior to the finishing sequence.
“In my mind, I won Round 1,” McGregor said. “I outstruck him 3-1. OK, he had position on that mat – but I outstruck him 3-1. What did he do in the first round? Second round, look at the lackadaisical approach I had to him. He was just running around the outside of the cage. He got that lucky shot and had a great second round. What happened after that? I was winning the third round, (and) even in the opening exchanges in the fourth round. I was winning the fourth round up until that trip.”
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Another factor that led to his defeat, McGregor said, was a poor training camp. McGregor pointed at himself and blamed his disrespect toward those around him for his UFC 229 demise.
“That (loss) was after a horrendous camp where I was so disrespectful to the people that believe in me,” McGregor said. “I was disrespectful to my team with my lack of commitment, and I still went out and done that.
“Then, I also landed a blow on his blood brother and his cousin, so we’re happy with it. It’ll come back to him. Like I said, he can run but he can’t hide … No, no, no: It’s far from (over).”
McGregor returns to action at UFC 246 against Donald Cerrone in a welterweight main event. UFC 246 takes place Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
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