When Khabib Nurmagomedov choked out Conor McGregor at UFC 299, a huge chunk of the UFC audience claimed that the Irishman had given up by that time and had prematurely tapped out. Arguments were made about how Khabib never even had his forearms under Conor’s chin. But did he… actually just give up?
UFC commentator Joe Rogan has set the record straight, explaining that Khabib’s grip wasn’t just tight—it was nasty, and McGregor had absolutely nowhere to go.
‘The Eagle’ had McGregor up against the cage in the 4th round and managed to secure his back. And once he was on top, Nurmagomedov sunk in a choke. Instead of going under the chin, his hands went right across McGregor’s face, smothering him.
As Nurmagomedov amped up the pressure, ‘The Notorious’ caved in and submitted.
Rogan in an episode of his podcast from 2019, claimed that while Conor didn’t defend the submission, it was only because he was done from four rounds of being beaten up by Khabib.
However, he was quick to explain that by no means was that a cop out from McGregor.
“People that don’t train that think that it was something you should not tap to. They are out of their fking mind. That is what is called a fulcrum choke, it is not necessarily a choke, it chokes you but it really feels like your f*king head is going to pop off”, he added.
It would take a few years for people to come to terms with what they had seen on that fateful night in 2018.
It would only be almost 7 years later, at UFC 308 in October 2024, that fans would see the true extent of the damage that a face-crank could do to an opponent
The brutal effects of the face-crank
The lead-up to the fight had middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis label it as a #1 title contender fight. However, for Chimaev, this meant a lot more.
Chimaev’s aggressive wrestling and grappling had people calling him a future world champion since he had made his debut in 2020. However, in the years since, he had fallen consistently ill to viral fevers and flus, missing weights and pulling out of fights consistently.
In fact, he was supposed to fight Whittaker at a Fight Night in June earlier in 2024, but had pulled out, making even the UFC president Dana White concerned about his future in the company.
But at UFC 308, his vibe just seemed different. He had gone from screaming death to a respectful man who claimed to be setting the right example for his son.
Perhaps that is why nobody saw what he did to Whittaker coming. As soon as the bell rang, Chimaev ran across the octagon and shot at the Aussie from about 5 ft, taking him down.
Seconds later, he had taken the former middleweight champion’s back and locked in a face crank, forcing Whittaker to tap immediately.
Twitter again seemed enraged that the Aussie had tapped in too early, only for the UFC commentator on the night, Daniel Cormier, to reveal a picture of what the choke had done to Whittaker. His teeth had been pushed back into his mouth, dislocating the jaw.
So perhaps, next time, we can all hold off on our opinions about the toughness of professional fighters.
