Why do Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov hate each other? Fierce rivalry revealed
CONOR MCGREGOR locks horns with the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov in the early hours of Sunday morning.
McGregor: Artem Lobov helped me be the fighter I am today
The biggest fight in mixed martial arts history headlines UFC 229, which takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
McGregor's showdown with the reigning lightweight champion is one of the biggest grudge matches in the history of mixed martial arts.
But why do the pair hate one another?
The beef between McGregor and Nurmagomedov first arose after the announcement of the Irishman's title shot at UFC 205.
Nurmagomedov was originally offered a fight against then-champion Eddie Alvarez, but the UFC brass took it away from him and handed it to McGregor, who claimed the title with an emphatic second-round TKO victory.
The Russian remained on the card and had a run in with McGregor backstage at the weigh-ins 24 hours before calling him out after his beatdown of Michael Johnson.
"I want to stay humble but I have to talk," Nurmagomedov said during his post-fight interview. "I understand how crazy powerful the UFC PR machine is.
"At the start of the year your guy (McGregor) tapped like a chicken [to Nate Diaz], now he has a title shot. It's crazy. You know, guys, this is true, this is true.
"Ireland only has six million people, Russia has 150 million. I want to fight your chicken! Let's go. Let's go with your chicken."
The bad blood between the pair subsided until Nurmagomedov cornered and slapped McGregor's good friend Artem Lobov during the UFC 223 fight week for comments he made about him in an interview.
A furious McGregor flew to New York a few days later to confront Nurmagomedov at the UFC 223 media day, though he was unable to get to the Dagestan native as he was on a bus about to leave the venue.
And in a fit of rage, the former UFC lightweight champion threw a dolly through the window of the vehicle, injuring two of his fellow fighters on board.
That act of violence set up one of the most anticipated bouts in MMA history, which the entire combat sports world will be tuning in for.
McGregor has vowed to end his first MMA fight in nearly two years in emphatic fashion, saying: "Devastating KO. "He's too easy to hit. Too flat-footed and too predictable. I'm gonna knock him clean out.
"I'm gonna come out the gate fast. I don't give a f*** about anything – any wrestling, any technique, any anything.
"I'm coming for that man's head from the f****** bell. Trust me on that."
UFC 229 Fight Card
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor (lightweight title fight)
Tony Ferguson vs Anthony Pettis (lightweight bout)
Ovince Saint Preux vs Dominick Reyes (light-heavyweight bout)
Derrick Lewis vs Alexander Volkov (heavyweight bout)
Michelle Waterson vs Felice Herring (women’s strawweight bout)
Prelims
Sergio Pettis vs Jussier Formica (men’s flyweight bout)
Scott Holtzman vs Alan Patrick (lightweight bout)
Ryan LaFlare vs Tony Martin (welterweight bout)
Lina Lansberg vs Yana Kunitskaya (women’s bantamweight bout)
Gray Maynard vs Nik Lentz (lightweight bout)
Aspen Ladd vs Tonya Evinger (women's bantamweight bout)
Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor both weighed inside the lightweight limit ahead of their highly-anticipated UFC 229 title showdown in Las Vegas this weekend.
Nurmagomedov came in on the limit at 155lbs while his bitter rival weighed in half a pound less.
Khabib - McGregor in numbers
30 Age 30
The Eagle Nickname The Notorious
26 Fights 24
26 Wins 21
8 KOs 18
8 Submissions 1
0 Losses 3
5ft 10in Height 5ft 9in
70in Reach 74in
40in Leg reach 40in
155lbs Weight 154.5lbs