“Almost killed a couple of people” - When Khabib Nurmagomedov broke down UFC 229 brawl with Conor McGregor
The highly anticipated showdown between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018 lived up to its hype, both inside and outside the octagon.
Despite McGregor landing some key strikes, Nurmagomedov's wrestling prowess proved too much, culminating in a fourth-round rear-naked choke submission. However, the real fight erupted outside the octagon.
Fuelled by months of trash talk and a pre-fight bus attack by McGregor, 'The Eagle' vaulted over the cage and engaged in a scuffle with the Irishman's team. His entourage followed suit, attacking McGregor inside the cage.
In a later press conference, Nurmagomedov apologized for the chaos but defended his actions, citing McGregor's inflammatory remarks targeting his religion, nation, and even his father. He said:
“I don't understand how people can talk about how I jump on the cage. He talked about my religion, my country, and my father. What about this s***? Why do people talk about me jumping over the cage? I don't understand. This is a respectful sport, not a trash-talking sport. I want to change the game; you cannot talk about religion, about nationality."
He also emphasized the severity of the bus incident, stating:
"He broke a bus, he almost killed a couple of people."[h/t: Express]
Henry Cejudo lauds Conor McGregor's "Crazy" move to 185 pounds
Conor McGregor's bold leap to 185 pounds has earned him an unlikely fan in former two-division champion Henry Cejudo. After McGregor's New Year's Eve announcement of a June 29th showdown with Michael Chandler, 'Triple C' took to his YouTube channel to shower rare praise on the Irishman.
Cejudo said:
"I had actually mentioned, if you guys recall... Conor had the ability to go [1]55, [1]70, and guess what guys, even [1]85 [pounds], and that's exactly what he just pulled... The simple fact that Conor has fought at [1]45, [1]55, [1]70, and now [1]85, I mean those are four different weight classes... Maybe Conor just wants to be the first person to say - 'Hey, I fought at four different weight classes in the UFC', which is absolutely crazy, which is absolutely nuts."
Check out Henry Cejudo's comments on Conor McGregor's move to middleweight in the video below (01:40 mark):