Conor McGregor strategy revealed by Khabib Nurmagomedov as coach makes big admission
CONOR MCGREGOR - Express Sport brings you the latest headlines on the former UFC lightweight champion.
Conor McGregor fight strategy revealed by Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov has revealed he intends to defeat Conor McGregor at UFC 229 by punishing him with brutal ground-and-pound.
“My plan is to make him flat, make him tired and make him give up!” Nurmagomedov said in an interview with the UFC’s media team.
Nurmagomedov’s showdown with McGregor will be his first defence of the lightweight title he claimed in the main event of UFC 223, where he defeated Al Iaquinta via unanimous decision to become Russia’s first UFC titleholder.
He has only one chance, a lucky punch.
Conor McGregor - Khabib Nurmagomedov makes bold UFC 229 fight statement
Nurmagomedov has claimed McGregor only has one way he can win their eagerly-anticipated showdown.
“We have to fight. Me versus Conor, this is the biggest fight in UFC history. People want to watch this fight. Conor is money fight, he is very popular and he has a very big name,” Nurmagomedov said.
“He has only one chance. A lucky punch. He has only a left-hand. That's it.
“Worry about wrestling, worry about grappling. My dream is to smash this guy.
"My dream is to make this guy like chicken inside the cage.
“What I want is the cage closed, then we know everything. I don’t see how he’s going to beat me.
“I have my location. T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada.”
Conor McGregor - Khabib’s coach makes admission
Nurmagomedov's head coach Javier Mendez believes some mixed martial arts fans won’t see 'The Eagle' as the true lightweight champion until he defeats McGregor.
“I think that the asterisk will be Conor,” the American kickboxing head coach told Express Sport earlier this year. “Because he’ll have to fight Conor to really in everybody’s eyes be considered the best lightweight. Even though I consider him the best lightweight.
“But to be honest, a lot of people won’t consider him to be the best until they clash. Unless Conor moves up in weight or retires.
“As long as Conor is still in the game and it was his title, people are going to say, ‘What if? What if?’ And rightly so.”