Several historic moments in MMA have been etched in the annals of history over the years. One such unforgettable moment was the iconic Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight, majorly because of what happened at the UFC 229 main event post-fight on 6th October 2018. ‘The Eagle’ emerged victorious at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seconds after his win, the Dagestani jumped outside the octagon on Team McGregor and fans still remember the moment. Even Conor McGregor himself hasn’t let go of this rivalry, as he recently reignited the feud on Twitter while marking the 5-year anniversary of UFC 229.
The lead-up to the fight was intense, and the post-fight brawl was even more chaotic. Thus, leaving no doubt that their rivalry would never end. Furthermore, years after the match, the combatants have persistently targeted each other.
Conor McGregor called out Team Khabib Nurmagomedov
The first UFC double division champion is known for his outspoken persona. In particular, he has mocked Nurmagomedov several times after their fight. Recently, he repeated this pattern while the MMA community celebrated the 5th anniversary of UFC 229.
Remaining true to his moniker, ‘The Notorious‘ tweeted, hurling insults at Team Nurmagomedov by giving them names. He wrote:
“Dead rats in the swamp.“
Dead rats in the swamp. https://t.co/Juzhw6ZVTi
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 7, 2023
For the Dagestani fighter, merely defeating ‘The Notorious’ wasn’t sufficient; he also confronted McGregor’s team after his victory by jumping out of the octagon. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov’s team, including Islam Makhachev, took matters into their own hands, with some members taking swings at the Irishman who was resting at the side of the octagon.
The UFC 229 main event bout was a big match, both finance and audience-wise. Thus, there were talks for a rematch, but it didn’t happen due to several reasons.
McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov II – The one that got away
Despite the desire of the MMA community and McGregor for a rematch, fans never got to witness it. In 2020, the Irishman claimed the rematch was inevitable. However, ‘The Eagle‘ had a different perspective.
According to a report by ESPN, the UFC Hall of Famer had previously mentioned that he would contemplate offering the Irishman another rematch if he managed to secure a 9-10 fight win streak.
Despite the potential for a lucrative payday, Nurmagomedov was not inclined towards an immediate rematch. Instead, he desired to see McGregor accumulate a series of victories to merit such an opportunity.
Even the UFC president made significant efforts to facilitate the fight. Back in 2019, during the UFC 242 post-fight press conference, White discussed how a rematch would be sensible. He said:
“But yeah, Conor would make a lot of sense. Conor McGregor wants that fight really badly and I’m sure the fans would want to see it.“
However, ‘The Eagle’ shocked the world by announcing his retirement after successfully defending his belt against Justin Gaethje at UFC 254, leaving fans yearning for the big rematch against McGregor.
With the Irishman currently on a two-fight losing streak and Nurmagomedov remaining retired since 2020, it appears increasingly unlikely that the highly anticipated rematch will ever take place under these circumstances.
