Khabib’s Father: “Nobody Can Make Conor McGregor Ready For My Son”
The showdown between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor is closing in. We are only eight weeks away. Their war on social media reaches boiling point. Yet, Khabib’s father and coach, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, believes the fight is a big mismatch. He also adds Conor hasn’t deserved the title shot and sees Dustin Poirier as a real contender. (via MMAFighting.com)
“I think Conor understands that he wasn’t the real champion at 155 [pounds],” Abdulmanap said. “He only fought against two lightweights and one of them choked him out. When he took the belt, there were about six lightweights who were stronger than him.
“There are a lot of fighters who deserve a title shot more than Conor. For example, Poirier. He can keep a high pace, he tries to finish opponents. Poirier is the real contender.”
Conor McGregor has already earned a lot of money for the boxing match versus Floyd Mayweather Jr last year. But he didn’t step inside the octagon for two years.
Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov also believes his son is physically and tactically better than Conor. He also believes Khabib has better wrestling, cardio, and grappling. Yet, he knows Mystic Mac has dangerous left hand and right uppercut.
“[Conor] will not earn the same money in any other fight,” Abdulmanap said. “Of course he understands that the five-round fight against Khabib will be a nightmare for him. He just has the puncher’s chance, but Khabib has never been knocked down. He’s never even been wobbled. I think Khabib’s chin is strong enough for the lightweight and welterweight divisions.
“Physically and tactically, Khabib is stronger than Conor. Khabib has better cardio than Conor and 100 percent Khabib has better wrestling and grappling. we will choke him out when we decide to do it. Of course, Conor’s left hand is very dangerous and he can throw the right uppercut. That’s all. Nothing else.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best grapplers in the division. When it comes to Conor McGregor, he was trying to keep his fights standing as long as possible. His reflexes and movement are outstanding. Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov says even the best wrestling coach can’t prepare Conor for this type of fight. He also says the Irishman is dangerous only during the first 8-9 minutes of the match.
“Let’s put together the best wrestling coaches from Dagestan, Japan, USA, Turkey . . . even they will not be able to prepare McGregor for this fight in three months,” Abdulmanap said. “No one can help him. You can’t do that in such a short time. He needs to start studying it from the beginning. To improve his wrestling in several months, it’s impossible.
“[Conor is dangerous] for 8 to 9 minutes, no more. After the first clinch, Khabib will take him down. We will finish this fight when we want. We respect our fans. If they want to watch all five rounds, we will fight all five rounds. But after two rounds, he has nothing to do on his feet. After two rounds, he will not be able to do anything. We don’t want to lose even one round. Khabib has never lost a single round.
“Only a referee can protect Conor, that’s why he will be in the cage.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will fight at the main event of UFC 229 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 6th. Do you agree with Khabib’s father? Will the fight be over if The Eagle takes him down?
