"It'll plague him for the rest of his life" - When Sylvester Stallone predicted Conor McGregor's fate if he didn't defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov
Conor McGregor famously lost to bitter rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. As it turns out, a five-year TMZ interview with Sylvester Stallone saw the action movie legend predict the Irishman's obsession with Nurmagomedov following the Irishman's one-sided loss to the Dagestani sensation.
Stallone, who was seated in his car during the course of this interview, spoke to TMZ, and touched on his belief that if McGregor is never given the opportunity to avenge his loss to Nurmagomedov, it would consume him. Furthermore, he expressed concern for the Irishman. He said:
"This is a crossroad. This is probably the most important one, because if he doesn't live up to his ideal, if he can't overcome his fear and beat this man, it'll plague him for the rest of his life."
Check out Sylvester Stallone talk about Conor McGregor fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov (0:53):
Stallone's assumptions were correct. Not only did McGregor develop an obsession with securing a rematch with Nurmagomedov, it marked the end of the Irishman's tenure at the top of the sport, at least from a competitive standpoint. Furthermore, McGregor began a relentless campaign to goad Nurmagomedov into a rematch.
He needlessly targeted the Dagestani's family members, only to be dismissed each time. McGregor had an especially difficult time stomaching Nurmagomedov's sudden retirement from MMA, even claiming the latter only retired out of fear.
Nevertheless, he continued angling for a rematch and even claimed that Nurmagomedov was avoiding a second bout over fear that McGregor had uncovered the solution to beating him.
Sylvester Stallone incorrectly predicted that Conor McGregor would beat Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Right before Conor McGregor fought Khabib Nurmagomedov, he took on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match and was handed a 10th round TKO loss for his troubles. However, ahead of his historic bout with Mayweather, Sylvester Stallone expressed his support for the Irishman.
During an interview with TMZ, Stallone was asked if he was backing McGregor to win, and was quick to throw his support behind the Irishman. He said:
"I always got the underdog."
Check out Sylvester Stallone predicting Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather (0:16):
Following McGregor's loss to Mayweather, he made his octagon return against Nurmagomedov at UFC 299, where he was dropped, outwrestled and ultimately submitted in round four with a neck crank.