UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov sat down with boxing legend ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson and co-host Henry Cejudo on Tyson’s podcast, ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson‘ to discuss some of the events throughout his storied mixed martial arts career.
Of course, you can’t talk about Khabib Nurmagomedov’s career without bringing up his biggest rival in the sport, Conor McGregor. Going back to 2018, McGregor and ‘The Eagle’ had a budding rivalry that reached a boiling point on April 5th following a media day ahead of UFC 223.
“When you go to the real party, I talk about party like fighting party, why bring a camera with you? You’re going to war,” said Nurmagomedov. “You don’t need a camera. This is a show. Like, there was security there, but they try to just show. When I go to do something, I slept all his team. When you go to the war, you have goal. You have to do something. You have to take your goal. When you take your goal, you become winner. They just come here to show up, like promote the fight. It was like, we’re going to weigh in and [there was] a lot of media there. I don’t understand how there’s like 20 cameras there. A lot of security. Of course nobody’s gonna let you fight there. This is 100 percent.”
As fighters exited the media event and boarded the bus, including Nurmagomedov who was scheduled for the card’s main event, Conor McGregor and an entourage of roughly 20 other individuals attacked the bus. McGregor was spotted throwing a dolly into the vehicle, breaking windows, and injuring multiple fighters in the process.
Khabib Nurmagomedov Talks About Jumping Into Camp Immediately After UFC 223 Win
Following his win over Al Iaquinta in the UFC 223 main event, Khabib Nurmagomedov immediately jumped into camp, knowing that his next appearance inside the Octagon would be against his Irish rival in what would become the most watched UFC pay-per-view in the history of the organization.
“The next day, after this fight [at UFC 223] I jumped into training camp. I knew [McGregor and I] were going to fight and I was just waiting for the contract, date. Just the next day I began training. I don’t stop because I know, when it’s like, when fight time comes, someone has to show spirit. Heart, you know? I was preparing so hard when time comes and inside the cage, he said this to me… I was stuck with him like crazy and he gave back to me, ‘Hey, it’s only business.’
“It sounds like when my father [would] go crazy with me and I’d tried to make him stop, you know? I tried to find some excuse. It sounded like the same thing. I was preparing for war and when I come here, I don’t fight opponent. This makes me empty and why I did this after the fight, why I jumped, I don’t think people are going to understand this because it was so emotional.”
Following the contest, Khabib Nurmagomedov famously jumped over the cage wall and engaged in a fight with Conor McGregor’s team that erupted into an all-out brawl that spilled back into the cage as Nurmagomedov’s team went after McGregor who was still in the cage and reeling from the defeat.
“I was expecting more, you know? When I talked with him, he gave me this excuse like, ‘This is just only business.’ When I catch his neck and choke him, he tapped. I thought, ‘You brought like thousands of people from Ireland here and you tap in front of them.’ How can you tap? Go to sleep. He tapped and I was like, ‘Okay, it’s not enough.’ I needed something and I see some of his corner that talked to me and I think, ‘Oh, I have to bite his heart.'”
Due to instigating the brawl following their UFC 229 main event, Khabib Nurmagomedov was suspended for nine months and fined $500,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
