Nearly two years on from Khabib Nurmagomedov’s infamous victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 229, fans are still talking more about the post-fight brawl than the one which happened inside the Octagon.
Heading into the bout with McGregor, the undefeated lightweight champion Khabib would eventually go on to defeat Notorious thanks to a fourth-round choke hold forcing the Dublin-born fighter into submission.
What ensued after the bell is perhaps what the Vegas clash is better known for, as the Russian champion jumped into the crowd and decided he wasn’t content in fighting just McGregor.
The Eagle threw punches at the then 30-year-old’s entourage, before three of his own team were arrested.
A detail perhaps overlooked from the fight was a conversation that was had between the two fighters at the end of the third round, as McGregor seemed to realise he had perhaps picked the wrong fighter to mess with.
McGregor seemed to apologise to his opposite number as he said, ‘it’s only business’, before Khabib replied, ‘Aye, I guess so’.
You can see the interaction below.
There was always going to be fireworks given the build-up to the fight. In April 2018, McGregor was arrested after attacking the Russian fighter’s bus in New York. He was charged for the attack on three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief, before eventually getting off with just five days of community service.
UFC then used derogatory comments made by the Irish-fighter about Nurmagomedov’s faith as further promotion for the fight, before tensions eventually boiled over after the Russian’s fourth-round victory.
After the fight, McGregor tweeted that it was a ‘good knock’ and how he was ‘looking forward to the rematch. Since the sport’s resumption on ‘Fight Island’, however, Khabib’s camp have distanced themselves from any potential sequel.