Conor McGregor Reveals What Went Wrong In His Fight Against Khabib Nurmagomedov
Conor McGregor has finally broken his silence regarding his defeat at the hands of Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 just two weeks ago.
While McGregor was candid in his previous UFC defeat after falling to Nate Diaz, the Irishman didn’t have a chance to address the media following his fight against Nurmagomedov.
Now McGregor has offered a lengthy breakdown of his fight and performance against the undefeated Russian including an explanation of where he went wrong in his preparation.
McGregor went round by round in his post including a shocking second round that saw him dropped by a Nurmagomedov right hand out of nowhere.
“Thoughts on my last fight,” McGregor wrote on Instagram. “Round 1. I believe from a sport standpoint, round 1 was his. Top position against the fence. Zero position advancement or damage inflicted. But top position. From a fight standpoint the first round is mine. Actual shots landed and a willingness to engage. Straight left early. Knee to the head on the low shot. Elbows in any and all tie up scenarios. Opponent just holding the legs against the fence for almost the entire round.
“Round 2 he is running away around the cage before being blessed with a right hand that changed the course of the round, and the fight. It was a nice shot. After the shot I bounced back up to engage instantly, but again he dipped under to disengage. That is the sport and it was a smart move that led to a dominant round, so no issue. Well played. If I stay switched on and give his stand up even a little more respect, that right hand never gets close and we are talking completely different now.”
McGregor goes onto explain that in his training camp to prepare for Nurmagomedov, he gave no respect whatsoever to his opponent’s striking skills, which backfired when he got caught with that right hand.
The former two-division UFC champion also added that his grappling against Nurmagomedov was severely lacking because he was so focused on defense that he failed to offer any sort of resistance from an offensive strategy.
“I gave his upright fighting no respect in preparation,” McGregor said. “No specific stand up spars whatsoever. Attacking grapplers/wrestlers only. That won’t happen again. I also gave my attacking grappling no respect. Too defense minded.
“Lessons. Listen to nobody but yourself on your skill set. You are the master of your own universe. I am the master of this. I must take my own advice.”
McGregor was able to stage a comeback in the third round but it all fell apart in the fourth when he was taken down again and eventually submitted by Nurmagomedov to end the fight.
“Round 3. After the worst round of my fighting career, I come back and win this round. Again walking forward, walking him down, and willing to engage,” McGregor explained.
“Round 4. My recovery was not where it could have been here. That is my fault. Although winning the early exchanges in 4, he dips under again and I end up in a bad position with over 3 on the clock. I work to regain position and end up upright, with my back to the fence. A stable position. Here however, I made a critical error of abandoning my over hook at this crucial time, exposing the back, and I end up beaten fair and square. What can I say? It was a great fight and it was my pleasure. I will be back with my confidence high. Fully prepared.”
Following the conclusion of UFC 229, there has been a lot of talk about a potential rematch between McGregor and Nurmagomedov, especially after they sold 2.4 million pay-per-view — the biggest selling card in UFC history.
While McGregor sounds like he’d gladly take a second shot at Nurmagomedov, he’s not going to complain if he has to fight somebody else instead.
“If it is not the rematch right away, no problem,” McGregor said. “I will face the next in line. It’s all me always, anyway.”
As of now, no decision has been made regarding McGregor’s next fight or who Nurmagomedov will face in his next title defense in 2019.
