Khabib Nurmagomedov relives iconic showdown vs Conor McGregor, labels it “Smash Day”

On this day two years ago, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor in a highly anticipated showdown which created history in PPV sales. Though the UFC 229 bout saw a dramatic end, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor drew 2.4 million PPV buys - the most ever for an MMA event. The bout was supposed to go five rounds but ended in the fourth after the undefeated lightweight champion trapped Conor McGregor in a neck crank to get a submission victory.

Despite winning the biggest bout of his career, an angry Khabib Nurmagomedov jumped over the octagon after the fight and attacked Conor McGregor’s teammate, causing a brawl in the T-Mobile Arena. While celebrating the second anniversary of UFC 229 this week, Khabib Nurmagomedov commented on the post-fight brawl on his Instagram story, claiming that he was ready to go to jail, “but not lose in any way.” He also shared some pictures and videos from the bout on social media while taking a dig at Conor McGregor and asking fans to label this day "Smash Day".

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UFC 229: What happened after the bout?

After the brawl, three members from Khabib Nurmagomedov’s team were arrested by the police. However, they were soon released as Conor McGregor decided not to pursue any charges against them. Khabib Nurmagomedov also received a six-month ban for his actions and gave a large chunk of his fight purse as a fine. Despite that, Khabib Nurmagomedov made an incredible return from the ban in June 2019 where he retained his title against Dustin Poirier. He’s now scheduled to fight interim champion Justin Gaethje on October 24, 2020, at UFC 254.

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UFC 229: Why did Khabib Nurmagomedov lose his cool after the Conor McGregor bout?

In the post-fight conference, the usually calm champion revealed why he lost his cool after the Conor McGregor fight. Khabib Nurmagomedov claimed Conor McGregor said a lot of offensive things about his wife, family and religion leading up to the fight and after the brawl, something took over him, making him snap. "This is not my best side, I'm a human being and I don't know how people can talk about me jumping out the cage. What about him talking about my family, my religion, the bus? Why are people talking about me jumping over the cage?" Khabib Nurmagomedov asked reporters.

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Image Source: UFC Instagram