Conor McGregor has been involved in some of MMA’s biggest ever fights.
However, the Irish superstar’s grudge match with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in 2018 remains the highest-selling bout in the company’s history.
Nurmagomedov and McGregor are bitter rivalsCredit: getty
McGregor lost the lightweight title fight via a neck crank in the fourth round and never got a chance to exact revenge – something he wishes he could.
The bad blood between the pair was palpable throughout the build up and spilled over after the fight when Khabib vaulted over the cage to ignite a riot.
The years since have done little to alleviate the ill will between the two fighters.
McGregor has continued to call for a rematch despite Khabib retiring from the sport in 2020 following his father Abdulmanap’s death.
The 35-year-old walked away with an unbeaten 29-0 record and put his efforts into coaching current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev before walking away from MMA entirely earlier this year.
However, for McGregor at least, there’s still unfinished business. During a recent Twitter AMA, he was asked which of his opponents he’d love to rematch.
Unsurprisingly, his answer was Khabib, whom he called “fighting’s biggest chicken”.
The Irish MMA legend has not fought since breaking his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.
McGregor still feels he has unfinished business with the Dagastani
McGregor was forced to tap out to Khabib during their lightweight title fightCredit: Getty Images – Getty
He has been lined up to face lightweight contender Michael Chandler on his return to the octagon but the fight remains in limbo.
McGregor and Khabib may not see eye to eye, but one person who has always spoken highly of ‘The Eagle’ is UFC president Dana White.
White recently appeared on Theo Von’s podcast ‘This Past Weekend’ where he revealed that Khabib’s retirement was the toughest of his UFC tenure.
“Khabib was a tough retirement”, he said. “Because I think Khabib had so much more to offer and so much more to accomplish. But I think when his dad passed away, it kinda sucked the fun out it for him and he was done.
“Plus he made so much f***ing money he never has to do anything ever again.”
Following his retirement, Nurmagomedov purchased Russian-based MMA promotion Gorilla Fighting Championship (GFC) for $1 million before re-branding it as Eagle Fighting Championship (EFC).
