UFC 229 ended on a soar note as UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov stirred a brawl after beating former two-division champion Conor McGregor and then jumping out of the cage to start a fist-fight with Conor’s team-mate Dillon Danis.
In a post-fight press conference, Khabib apologised for his actions but reiterated that he was provoked by McGregor’s verbal onslaught against his family, father and religion. During the build-up to their fight, Conor had hit some soar notes. In an Instagram post, McGregor had called Abdulmanap, Khabib’s father, a ‘quivering coward’.
This did not sit down well with the Eagle and that lead to the animosity between him and the Irishman.
Abdulmanap has, however, put the insult behind him and has forgiven McGregor. In an Instagram post, Nurmagomedov senior said: “I forgive Conor McGregor for what he said. It is necessary to analyse what happened in the past and learn lessons from it. We have decided to move to other heights. I hope this is a blessing. InshAllah.”
While Abdulmanap has settled the issue, the same can not be said about Khabib, who continued his jabs at McGregor and team after landing in Dagestan earlier today.
Speaking to a packed football stadium in his hometown, Khabib said: “You can not confine an eagle to the cage. And I showed them that.” He added that he had prayed to God to allow him and McGregor fight one another so he could teach the Irishman a lesson.
“I prayed to God that we both get locked inside the cage. I prayed that I don’t get injured, make weight and then give him a beating of his life. We all saw what happened, when he in bad position, he always tap,” Khabib said, according to Russian paper RT.
The Eagle added that there is a difference between his people and Conor’s. He added that the people of Dagestan have gone through so much, and that his ancestors have seen such tough times that now Dagestanis are unbreakable.
Speaking about the post-fight melee, Khabib said: “I know there is a lot of talk going on about what I did. Some people say I did wrong, while some say that I did right. That’s okay.”
