Conor McGregor claims he fought Khabib Nurmagomedov on a broken foot
Conor McGregor is no stranger to fighting injured and it turns out the former two-division UFC champion was less than 100-percent yet again for arguably the most important contest of his career.
On Wednesday, McGregor revealed that he walked into his fight against reigning UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov with a broken foot.
According to McGregor, the injury occurred a few weeks out from UFC 229 this past October but it didn’t stop him from stepping into the cage and fighting the ferocious Russian.
“I broke my foot three weeks out from the bout,” McGregor wrote on Twitter. “I still marched forward however, and also landed the final blows of the night. On his blood brother.
“I am happy with how the contest went and the lessons learned. In my fighting and more importantly my preparation. Time will reveal all.”
https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/1116144994715348992
The "final blows" as McGregor describes it references the post fight brawl that broke out seconds after the fight ended with Nurmagomedov leaping into the crowd to go after the Irishman's teammate, Dillon Danis. McGregor ended up trading punches with two of Nurmagomedov's teammates Zubaira Tukhugov and Abubakar Nurmagomedov.
The incident cost McGregor a six month suspension and a $50,000 fine while Nurmagomedov was hit with a nine month suspension and a whopping $500,000 fine for his part in instigating the brawl.
McGregor also defended his performance on the ground where Nurmagomedov did the majority of his damage over the course of three-plus rounds before finishing the fight by rear naked choke in the fourth.
Nurmagomedov is best known for his ground game where he has routinely mauled his competition since first joining the UFC roster.
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“Very happy with my defense,” McGregor said. “A precarious position with the head pinned against the fence. Every movement must be calculated as any over exertion leaves the guard open and could lead to a finishing blow. None of which came close.
“Zero facial damage taken and I won the next round.”
https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/1116150722201042944
McGregor was the first fighter in the UFC to earn a round against Nurmagomedov when he won the third round on the judges’ scorecards.
Still the fight came to an end in the fourth round after Nurmagomedov secured yet another takedown and then finished McGregor on the mat.
Judging by McGregor’s latest responses, he’s still contemplating a rematch against Nurmagomedov in the future but what it will take for that to happen remains to be seen. Nurmagomedov is out of action until at least July but most likely won’t return until September.
Upon his return, Nurmagomedov is then expected to face the winner of the UFC 236 interim title fight between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier.
