- Khabib Nurmagomedov personally hated Conor McGregor during their infamous brawl at UFC 229
- “The Eagle” said he is no longer thinking about “Notorious” and their past feud
Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed what he truly felt during the infamous brawl with Conor McGregor in 2018.
Khabib wanted to hurt Conor physically and emotionally
Speaking to inspire Me podcast, “The Eagle” reflected on the time he and “Notorious” got involved in an ugly post-fight brawl after he defended his lightweight title at UFC 229. According to Nurmagomedov, everything about that rivalry was real and he was filled with rage at the time.
“It was a very emotional time, but at the same time, it was my feeling, I really wanted to bite someone’s heart,” Nurmagomedov said. “Do you have that feeling in your life? It’s like I just tried to bite his heart. I don’t know, maybe you can feel this.”
“I am ‘The Eagle,’ and when the eagle is hungry, it’s not good,” he continued. “He has to hunt. That’s why. When the promotion promotes this fight, they have to expect something. When they know me, when they know all my team, when they know we don’t play. We compete, we don’t play. You cannot play MMA. You can play soccer. You can play American football, you can play hockey. But you cannot play MMA. You have to fight. This is a fighting game. A lot of people say it was a very strange or weird or something like this, but it was my decision.”
Khabib has moved on
Indeed, the feud between Nurmagomedov and McGregor went down as one of the most iconic rivalries in UFC history. But while some people are still buzzing about it, the former lightweight champion said he has completely moved on from it.
“I feel like what happened in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” Nurmagomedov quipped. “I just don’t think about this. “It was so many moments in my life that happened for a reason. It was not my plan… I just don’t think about this. A lot of people remind me about this situation, but my mind is [on] different [things].”
As for McGregor, it’s quite evident that he is far from done with Nurmagomedov. The former UFC two-division champ would troll “The Eagle” whenever he has the chance and in fact, McGregor even stopped supporting Donald Trump after the former POTUS named Nurmagomedov as his favorite fighter.
Watch Nurmagomedov’s full interview below:
