We all know what happened when Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor met in the Octagon in October 2018.But during the first five seconds of the encounter, it looked like the Irishman may be the man on the front foot, well, it did according to one fan on Twitter anyway, who has shared the opening stages of the fight.Going under the account name @SoldierOfRomero, he posted the clip with the caption: "Ngl 5 seconds into the fight I thought that Khabib was about to get KO'd."He then followed that tweet up with: "Conor looked like a f****** b***** and I saw fear in Khabib's eyes. But I was wrong sadly."As we all know now, Khabib went on to dominate the fiery encounter as he beat the Irish star via a fourth-round submission.The Russian fighter never really looked in any danger throughout and it was a punishing evening for McGregor.
The fight ended with a post-bout brawl where Khabib jumped into the audience and charged towards McGregor’s teammate Dillon Danis.
It led to the Notorious then being attacked by two of Khabib’s cornermen on a dark day for the UFC.
The 33-year-old from Dublin has since struggled to get back to the dizzying heights in his career that he had before his fight with the Russian.
A victory against Donald Cerrone in January 2020 at UFC 246 proved just what the Irishman is capable of, but since then, his career has taken two steps back as he suffered consecutive stoppage defeats in 2021 to Dustin Poirier and it is unclear what his future may hold.
But during those first few seconds of his fight against Khabib, there was a glimpse of the fear he could possibly strike into his rivals if he gets it right.
Khabib beat Poirier and Justin Gaethje following the biggest win of his career to improve his record to a brilliant 29-0.
He has since retired from the UFC, becoming a promoter and a coach to a number of different fighters in the sport.
The Eagle has had to regularly distance himself from rumours of a comeback and it remains to be seen whether he can be tempted back into the Octagon, but the longer it goes, the more unlikely it is.
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 20: Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov faces-off with Conor McGregor during the UFC 229 Press Conference at Radio City Music Hall on September 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
McGregor has recently been called out by top lightweights Charles Oliveira and Michael Chandler, which shows just how much of a massive draw that the Irishman still is.
He will possibly return to the sport either later this year or in early 2023, so luckily for fans, it doesn’t sound like it’s the end of Conor McGregor’s UFC days.