UFC 229: Khabib was disappointed with McGregor as he expected him to be mentally tougher

Khabib Nurmagomedov was disappointed with the version of Conor McGregor he faced at the main event of UFC 229. The title match between the two rivals took place in 2018, which the Russian won convincingly by a fourth-round submission. McGregor's pre-fight trash-talking made this bout even more anticipated as some hailed it as one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history.

Because McGregor had vowed to win and even called the champion a “dead man walking” during their pre-fight face-off, Nurmagomedov was surprised when the Notorious One changed in the cage and refused to trade words. While talking about the UFC 229 bout at a Moscow press conference, Khabib Nurmagomedov claimed he expected McGregor to continue his trash-talking throughout the bout, but after getting punished in the initial rounds, “Conor immediately switched to the ‘It’s just business’ mode”.

“I was even a bit disappointed. I expected him to be mentally tougher. When I was ground-and-pounding him, talking to him, and he responded that it was just business,” he added.

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Since his crushing defeat at UFC 229, the Notorious One has campaigned for a rematch with the current Lightweight Champion. However, his shot at revenge took a massive hit after the Russian announced his retirement from the sport after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. Khabib Nurmagomedov is scheduled to meet UFC president Dana White in Abu Dhabi during the same week Conor McGregor makes his return against Dustin Poirier.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov on his UFC return

Lightweights Poirier and McGregor will collide in a rematch on January 23 at UFC 257, with Conor McGregor entering the bout as a favourite, considering he had defeated The Diamond in their initial bout. As for Khabib, he’s expected to talk to Dana White about his UFC future, with the UFC supremo claiming that the Eagle could return for one last bout. However, before their meeting, Khabib has warned White it would cost around $100 million to get him back into the octagon.

"The most likely thing is that Dana offers me money. If, for example, it's 100 million dollars, it would be hard to make a decision. We'll see what he's thinking," he told Marca.

Also Read l Khabib Nurmagomedov snubs Conor McGregor, reveals the toughest opponent of his MMA career

Also Read l Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov could come face to face on January 23 at UFC 257

Image Source: AP, UFC/ Instagram