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Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed what occurred at two notorious press conferences with Conor McGregor earlier than their combat at UFC 229 and given his view on his former opponent’s “life-style”.

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The Dagestani MMA legend and McGregor shared a fiery assembly in New York on Nurmagomedov’s thirtieth birthday in September 2018, when the fighter referred to as ‘The Notorious’ was on characteristically provocative type.

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Days earlier than the bout, which occurred that October, Nurmagomedov then made headlines by exiting earlier than McGregor arrived at one other pre-fight press convention – and the revered retiree says he left after making his ideas on timekeeping clear to promotion president Dana White.

“It was on my birthday,” Nurmagomedov informed The Hustle Show of his mindset over McGregor’s antics on the earlier press convention.

Khabib vs McGregor: ‘If I soar him, there are guards’

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“I mentioned, ‘there are two weeks left – what’s the purpose of speaking to him now?’ We couldn’t even reply within the language he was talking in. ‘If you reply to him now, they gained’t allow us to combat.’

“I imply, if I soar him, there are 1,000,000 safety guards there. That’s precisely what he needed – he needed me to lose management.

“In my head, I used to be centered on making weight and never getting injured, as a result of I nonetheless had 10 onerous coaching days forward.

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“Ten extra days to push onerous – that was my plan. I had to try this, then make weight and combat. And most significantly, he had to try this too, so we might really combat.

“Everything else – all of the issues he was saying – was freedom of speech, particularly in America.”

Conor McGregor press conferences: ‘I needed to be there’

McGregor insulted Nurmagomedov in sometimes ranting fashion in New York, inflicting White to name the two-weight champion – who didn’t have a title on the time – the “absolute better of all time” at “psychological warfare”.

“When I walked in, I already knew: it doesn’t matter what he says, I’m not going to react, as a result of this can be a press convention, not a combat,” mirrored Nurmagomedov.

“We got here right here to speak – in any other case, don’t come in any respect. If you come, then don’t say ‘respect me’ or ‘solely say good issues about me’.

“That’s not simply mistaken, it is unnecessary. Sometimes I watch these pretend press conferences we’ve got. Guys sit there all severe, saying ‘don’t insult me’, ‘don’t discuss to me’.

“In that case, don’t present up. If you got here, cope with it. You’ve bought to discover a strategy to deal with it. There are completely different approaches. That combat blew up worldwide, so I needed to be there.”

Khabib Nurmagomedov: ‘Why hearken to McGregor?’

Nurmagomedov, who submitted McGregor in spherical 4 as a part of a light-weight reign of virtually three years throughout an unbeaten profession, mentioned he was entitled to depart the October press convention.

“When I had the choice to not be there, I took it,” he defined. “I didn’t need to be there anyway. Sitting there listening to the man cursing and all that, we will’t permit ourselves to try this.

“At the very least, it’s not fascinating. You’re simply sitting there, having to hearken to him for an hour, and there have been solely three days earlier than the combat

“I had weight to chop and all the things was scheduled to the minute. You go backstage and wait – all people was presupposed to be there by 2.30.

“According to the schedule and contract, the press convention runs from 3pm till 4pm, I feel. No delays allowed.

“I confirmed up and requested if he had arrived but. They mentioned no, and somebody mentioned ‘he hasn’t even left but. He’s most likely going to be late.’

“I mentioned ‘aha.’ I do know my rights, I learn my contracts. I counsel all fighters: learn all the things you signal, don’t depend on others.

“So I’m sitting there within the locker room. I didn’t say something to anybody. And I feel to myself, ‘when there are 5 minutes left, I’ll say I’m not doing it.’

“Five minutes left, I mentioned ‘I’ll sit for 10-Quarter-hour. If he doesn’t present up, I’m out. I mentioned ‘get the automobiles prepared’. There have been loads of followers outdoors.

“They began saying this and that after which I mentioned to the producer ‘I’m staying till 3.15, then I’m leaving. I gained’t be there – you gained’t be capable to maintain me.’

“Then he went to Dana. Dana got here as much as me and I mentioned ‘I’ll keep for Quarter-hour. Then I’m leaving.’ I keep in mind the dwell stream. He mentioned ‘all proper’. He mentioned ‘OK, child’. That’s Dana’s fashion.

“So I sat there and he didn’t flip up. I left. Turns out he arrived like half an hour later. I nonetheless had weight to chop on Thursday – why sit and hearken to him?”

UFC 229: Khabib ‘excellent’ vs McGregor

Nurmagomedov’s victory preceded a mass brawl that broke into the gang at Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena, however the 36-year-old believes he entered the encounter “with an ideal psychological state”.

“At the weigh-in, he was performing up once more,” he recalled. “I assumed ‘simply wait – we’ll see one another tomorrow.’

“Everything I did, I noticed I did all of it proper. If you watched after we entered and through the staredown earlier than the combat, when the ref introduced us in, [McGregor] wasn’t even taking a look at me anymore.

“Everything he did as much as that time, he realized it didn’t work. It stopped working, and now he really needed to combat.

“He’d should depend on abilities versus abilities, not psychology. By that time, I used to be strong, I used to be there.”

McGregor vs Khabib ‘went past sport’

Nurmagomedov doubts whether or not a UFC occasion will ever appeal to as a lot consideration as his rivalry with McGregor, which is among the highest-grossing pay-per-view occasions of all time.

The icon referred to as ‘The Eagle’ regards Spaniard-Georgian featherweight champion Ilia Topuria as an excessive amount of of “a superb man” to create genre-crossing animosity.

“You can inform he’s attempting to be somebody,” mentioned Nurmagomedov, praising Topuria. “[A comparable rivalry] is feasible. MMA is continually evolving, in spite of everything.

“Fighters are getting higher and higher. But whether or not somebody will generate that type of curiosity, that’s a special story.

“For it to transcend the game, that’s onerous to say. Our combat went past the boundaries of MMA. Hopefully we’ll see some massive rivarly once more however, within the close to future, I actually don’t see it.

“I don’t see any opponents who might generate that. Of course, UFC will push it. They must fill that hole.

“I don’t see that stage of anticipation that breaks past the game itself. It all occurred very naturally – that’s what made the combat blow up.

“It was Dana White who constructed that combat up. It was all Dana’s doing. I even informed him he did a superb job.”

Nurmagomedov on McGregor: ‘I simply don’t care’

McGregor has overwhelmed Donald Cerrone and misplaced successive fights to Dustin Poirier since dropping to Nurmagomedov, final combating in July 2021.

“I don’t even know,” Nurmagomedov replied when he was requested for his views on McGregor, accusing the businessman, who often promotes his whiskey model, of “consistently consuming” and “all the time hitting golf equipment”.

“Honestly, I simply don’t care. Sometimes I’ll see a headline or one thing and I’ll simply look at it… all of it is determined by what sort of life-style you reside.”

Nurmagomedov earned the final of his 29 wins at UFC 254 in October 2020, submitting Justin Gaethje in Abu Dhabi.

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