There was always going to be some dialogue when Conor McGregor shared the Octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Both fighters vowed to speak up during the UFC lightweight title bout which rightly earned the hype of being the biggest fight in UFC history.
Nurmagomedov has made a habit of destroying his opponents’ confidence with mid-fight trash talk as both Michael Johnson and Al Iaquinta have found out in recent years.
‘The Eagle’ vowed to speak to McGregor in the main event of UFC 229 and the Irishman is probably regretting his prediction for the fight now.
“I am going to maul him and then let’s see who’s doing the talking, let’s see who’s having a conversation in there,” McGregor said in the build-up to his long-awaited return to mixed martial arts.
But Nurmagomedov was certainly the more vocal of the two men when he defended his 155lbs belt in Las Vegas.
Despite some early resistance from McGregor, Nurmagomedov secured several takedowns and dominated from top position throughout the fight.
And, as he tends to do, Nurmagomedov happily chatted to his victim while landing devastating ground and pound.
In the second round, the undefeated Russian invited McGregor to follow up with his promise to talk as he hammered home some devastating shots from guard in a mauling which the judges deemed a 10-8.
https://twitter.com/JackCook95/status/1048975738400063489
“Let’s talk now,” Nurmagomedov clearly shouted as he mixed up punches to the body and head of the overwhelmed McGregor.
The comment didn’t go unnoticed as fight fans acknowledged the terrifying confidence of Nurmagomedov two rounds before he ultimately drew the tap with a vice-like neck crank.
bruh there’s a video of Khabib during the ground pound saying “let’s talk now” and just starts wailing on Conor. That man was on a mission lmaooooo 💀
— ㊙️ (@Joedism_) October 7, 2018
Khabib was smashing Conor and he starts speaking "let's talk now" this guy is a killer
— ꪻ (@tzwrld) October 7, 2018
https://twitter.com/Crey91/status/1048900998620729344
The smothering performance and maintenance of his undefeated record should be the reason we’re talking about Nurmagomedov on Sunday but, unsurprisingly, the post-fight melee which you know all about has dominated headlines.
