Outside Source
All
hell broke loose after the UFC 229 main event. | Josh Hedges/Zuffa
LLC via Getty
Khabib
Nurmagomedov needed some mental toughness to deal with Conor
McGregor’s mind games going into their
UFC 229 title fight.
Nurmagomedov and McGregor have one of the greatest rivalries in the
history of the sport, one that transcends the Octagon and the UFC.
Known for his mental warfare, McGregor came at Nurmagomedov with
everything as the rivalry was brewing. The tension peaked when
McGregor flew down with his crew to Brooklyn in a private jet and
threw a dolly at a bus carrying Nurmagomedov to his title fight
against Al Iaquinta
at UFC 223.
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The two were finally matched up at UFC 229, the highest-selling UFC
pay-per-view of all time, in October 2018 at the T-Mobile Arena in
Las Vegas. Nurmagomedov dominated “Notorious” before submitting him
in the fourth round. “The Eagle” subsequently
jumped the cage and attacked McGregor’s team as the entire arena
erupted in chaos. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov’s teammates jumped
inside the Octagon and attacked McGregor before security
intervened. Nurmagomedov recently revealed that he was mentally in
the perfect state heading into the fight. During the final
staredown before the bell, Nurmagomedov could sense that McGregor
knew his mind games hadn’t worked.
Khabib: McGregor Knew Mind Games Hadn’t Worked
“Mentally, I was in the best state possible leading up to the
fight,” Nurmagomedov said on the “Hustle Show” (translation via Red Corner MMA). “I
don’t think it could have been done any better. I knew I did
everything right… The staredown in the Octagon, when the referee
brings the fighters together, he wasn’t looking at me. He realized
everything he had done wouldn’t work. And he would have to fight
me. It would be about skill versus skills, not mental games.”
While most fighters bury the hatchet after sharing the Octagon,
McGregor and Nurmagomedov have a mutual dislike for each other.
McGregor continues to take unprovoked digs at Nurmagomedov and
others from his team to this day.
Khabib explains how all of Conor
McGregor’s usual mind games fell flat once they faced off in
the Octagon. 🦅(via @AdamZubayraev
) pic.twitter.com/zKoKEZPWrK— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
July 22, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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